Clear Natural Melt and Pour soap from scratch with shea butter Recipe

Instructions
To begin making your glycerin soap base cover your work surface with newspaper. Always use gloves and safety goggles when handling lye. Have vinegar on hand in case lye spills or splashes occur.

Measure water into a heatproof container. Measure Caustic and slowly add to water, stirring until dissolved. (Never add water to lye.) Allow lye water to cool to 65.55 degrees celcius
Mix all of the oils together and heat to 57.22 degrees celcius – it’s easiest to use a slow cooker for this. Add the lye water to the oils in a slow steady stream.

Bring the mixture to a trace, or when it looks like vanilla pudding. An immersion blender works best for this.

Keep the heat at medium for a few hours, much like making crockpot soap. When the glycerine soap mixture reaches the gel phase, it will look translucent like petroleum jelly. Stir once in a while, but not all the time. If it gets too thick, you can use a potato masher. I have a stainless steel one I use just for this.

Test the Soap Base

After a few hours, take a bit of the soap and try to dissolve it in a cup of hot water. If it dissolves, you can move on. If it stays in a lump or has oil floating on the top, you need to “cook” it more. Leave it for half an hour and try again. If it’s ready, then add:

388.54g Everclear alcohol – 70% or higher (NOT rubbing alcohol)

85.04g liquid glycerine

Be very careful as alcohol has a low flash point and can start on fire. This is why I prefer the crockpot to the stove for heating. You may need to mash the soap up some. Do a bit at first, then do more in a little while. If you mash too much at once, you may get a lot of suds. This process can take a few hours, so be patient.

When the soap is all dissolved, there will probably be a few particles floating on top. These are impurities and must be removed. Skim them off and throw them away, or you can place them in a jar, cover with hot water, and use for dish soap.

When the soap is fully dissolved combine 226.79g sugar and 141.75g water and boil until the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not leave any crystals undissolved. When it is totally liquid, pour into the soap base. Stir and cover, then cool to 92.77degrees celcius.
Now you can pour glycerine soap base into a mold.
Let sit for a week or so. When it is clear (it may take a week or two) cut it into pieces and store it in a glass jar.

Once you are comfortable with the process you can make the soap in a stainless steel stock pot over the stove top to speed up the process. Do not make it over a gas stove top PLEASE!!!