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Baby’s breath flowers are a delicate addition to any bouquet. They usually play second fiddle to larger flowers, but for this soap we let baby’s breath take center stage. We kept the design extremely simple – the entire batch is colored white and dried baby’s breath flowers are placed on top.
To get the bright white shade, we used only light-colored oils. We also added plenty of
titanium dioxide, which does pose a few obstacles. Using a large amount of titanium dioxide can lead to
glycerin rivers. They can be prevented by using a
water discount, so this recipe is discounted by 15%.
Titanium dioxide is similar to clay in soap – it tends to dry it out. The wood mold also insulates the soap, causing it to become quite warm. We found the combination of titanium dioxide, heat, and a water discount led to cracking. After tweaking the recipe a few times, we found an amount of titanium dioxide that led to extremely white bars without cracking. The key was soaping with slightly cooler temperatures (100-110 ° F) and placing the soap in the freezer for 24 hours.
The baby’s breath flowers used on top were purchased fresh and allowed to dry for several weeks. We picked off the flowers to sprinkle on top prior to soaping. Interestingly, we found that the flowers bled a yellow hue onto the soap.
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If you’ve never made cold process soap before, stop here. We highly recommend checking out our FREE four part
SoapQueen.tv series on cold process soapmaking, especially the episode on
lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of
books on the topic, including
Pure Soapmaking. You can also check out the
digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2.5 ounces of Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.
MOLD PREP: Line the Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold with freezer paper with the shiny side up. For tips on how to line the mold,
click here.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
ONE: Slowly and carefully add 5.6 ounces of lye to 11.2 ounces of water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add
sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of
sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 2.5 teaspoons sodium lactate.
TWO: In a large glass bowl, combine and melt the 10 ounces of coconut oil, 6.8 ounces of canola oil, 1.2 ounces of castor oil, 6 ounces of shea oil, 8 ounces of sweet almond oil, and 8 ounces of palm oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning).
THREE: Add 2 teaspoons of titanium dioxide to the oils and use a stick blender to fully combine until there are no chunks.
FOUR: Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to about 100-110 degrees F, add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until a thin trace.
FIVE: Add the 2.5 ounces of Baby’s Breath Fragrance Oil, and use the stick blender to mix in. Continue blending until you reach a medium trace.
SIX: Pour all of the soap batter into the mold. Firmly tap it on the counter to help get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon to manipulate the top and add a very light texture.
SEVEN: Sprinkle dried baby’s breath flowers on top of the soap, concentrating them toward the center. Use a little more than you’d like, as some may fall off during the cutting process. Use gloved fingers to gently press the flowers into the soap to help them stick better.
EIGHT: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help prevent
soda ash. To prevent cracking and glycerin rivers, place the soap in the freezer for 24 hours. Allow the soap to fully thaw and harden for another 2-3 days.
To remove, slide out the bottom piece of the mold and gently push the soap down and out. You can also grab the freezer paper and lift it up and out. Peel away the paper and cut the soap into bars. To avoid drag marks, lay the soap on its side and cut. Allow the bars to harden and cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.
Lots of firm butters like cocoa butter can cause soap to crack. I recommend using no more than 15% butter in your recipe to prevent this.
Lye heavy soap can be brittle and may crack. Learn how to test the pH of your soap here.
Adding honey to cold process soap can cause an extreme gel phase, which can lead to the soap cracking.
To prevent clays from drying out your soap, disperse them in distilled water. Above, dispersed French green clay is added to soap batter in the Avocado + Spearmint Cold Process Tutorial. 
