Making your own soap is incredibly rewarding and surprisingly easy. Not only do you get to pick exactly what you want to put in it, but it is much less expensive than buying specialty soaps that might consist of harmful ingredients.
Ingredients:
- Coconut Oil – 6 oz.
- Cannabis or Hemp Oil – 5 oz.
- Olive Oil – 5 oz.
- Water – 4 oz.
- Lye – 2.32 oz. or 66 grams
- Essential Oil (optional) – 2 tsp
If you want to make a soap with cannabis oil, you can complement the terpene profile of the cannabis strain you are using by picking matching essential oils. Some examples are: Lemon Kush, best accompanied by lemon essential oil; AK-47 strain, an earthy scent, with frankincense or sandalwood; Burmese Kush, pine scented, matches well with pine essential oil. You can also match cannabis strains with complimenting scents that are less exact, Strawberry Cough would go nicely with lime essential oil.
Equipment:
- 2 Glass bowls (or 4-cup measuring cup)
- Wooden Spoon
- Stick Blender (Hand-mixer)
- Tupperware for measuring
- Kitchen Scale
- Candy Thermometer
Measurements are very important when making soap and need to be done by weight and not volume, so a kitchen scale is essential.
CAUTION: Lye can be harmful to the skin and eyes. Wear protective gear (gloves, long sleeve shirt, pants, shoes, protective glasses) when handling.
Instructions:
Place a glass bowl on your kitchen scale and zero out the weight. Add water and set aside.
In a dry tupperware, measure out the 66 grams of lye. Do not forget to wear protective gear and zero out the scale before measuring.
Using the wooden spoon, carefully pour the lye into the water. Mix well, so the lye does not settle on the bottom of the bowl. It is best to cover your mouth with your sleeve or a towel to prevent inhalation of the vapors. This is the most dangerous part of making soap, so be safe. Once the lye is mixed in well, set aside. It may be wise to use oven mitts for this as the lye gets hot quickly.
In a glass bowl or measuring cup, weigh out the 6 oz. of coconut oil. Add cannabis/hemp and olive oil, until you reach 16 oz.
Slowly heat up the oils in the microwave until the mixed oils’ temperature is between 100-120 degrees. At this point the lye solutions should be the same temperature, if it is too warm, allow it to cool until within 100-120 degrees.
Slowly add lye solution and give it a quick twirl with the wooden spoon. Mix with stick blender until it thickens, about 5-7 minutes. When the blender is pulled out of the soap and leaves an outline and any drips take a moment to settle in, the soap has reached trace and is finished.
Next, add in essential oils. I used bergamot and sage, one teaspoon of each. Blend with the stick blender one more time to mix in the oils, and pour out the mixture into a container to settle.
I use a rectangular glass tupperware lined with plastic for easy removal. This is not ideal for beautiful soap, but it is a great way of protecting it while it sets. Completely covering the soap will prevent an ash, or white dust, layer from forming.
Once you have poured your soap into a container and (preferably) covered it, place it somewhere where it will not be disturbed for 24 hours. The oven or microwave are great options.
After the soap has settled, remove it from its temporary home and cut it into bars. Wait a week or two to let the soap cure for best results, but if you cannot wait to use it, it is ready.
