Make Your Own Pink Clay and Primrose Hand-Milled Soap

Valentine's Day is around the corner and the perfect holiday to tap the garden for gifts!
You’ll find the results of this delightfully feminine project featured in our home-fragrance story in the January/February 2016 issue of Victoria magazine. 

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Formulating personalized skin-care products yields hours of enjoyment—first in their creation, and later in the moments of pampering provided by these toiletries. Kits give crafters the ease of melting and customizing premade cold-process soap before pouring the mixture into molds. Our friends at Bramble Berry, a trusted resource for soap-making supplies since 1998, have graciously shared their tutorial for making a fragrant, rose-garnished soap, using their Pink Clay and Primrose Hand-Milled Soap Kit.

 

Pink Clay and Primrose Hand-Milled Soap

Yields approximately 12 bars

 

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon pink Brazilian clay
2. 6 ounces plus 1 tablespoon rose water, divided
3. 2 pounds Luxury Rebatch
4. 1 tablespoon evening primrose extract
5. .8 ounce Ylang Ylang III essential oil
6. 1 (12-bar) oval silicone mould
7. Rose petals

Instructions

1. In a small container, combine pink Brazilian clay with 1 tablespoon rose water. Use a mini mixer to get clumps worked out smoothly. The clays tend to sink to the bottom of the container, so be sure to give them one final mix right before you add them to the soap.
2. In a slow cooker or double boiler, heat Luxury Rebatch and remaining 6 ounces rose water over medium heat until the mixture reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes, stirring frequently to ensure the soap heats evenly.
3. Add pink Brazilian clay mixture to soap, and use a spatula to stir in and fully incorporate.
4. Add evening primrose extract and Ylang Ylang III essential oil, and use a spatula to fully incorporate.
5. Once all additives are fully incorporated, use a spatula to scoop soap into silicone mould. Using your hands or the spatula, press soap into mould to eliminate bubbles and air pockets.
6. Sprinkle rose petals on top of soap, and use your fingers to gently press them into rebatch to ensure they adhere.
7. Allow soap to remain in mould for 5 to 7 days. Once it is firm enough to remove, allow soap to cure for several more days. This will enable moisture to evaporate, creating harder and longer-lasting bars.

 

*Ingredients are available online in Bramble Berry’s Pink Clay and Primrose Hand-Milled Soap Kit.