Transparent Soap Base with Shea Butter 1kg

01 · MELTING IT WITHOUT SPOILING IT

Water bath, and no boiling

Cut it into small cubes — that way it melts evenly — and take it to a water bath or the microwave in short bursts. It melts between 60 and 70 °C, and that is where to stay: going hotter brings in bubbles and leaves a rubbery bar.

Essential oils and actives go in at the lowest temperature at which the base still flows: hot, they evaporate and you are left without the scent.

02 · SUSPENDING THE POLLEN

The trick is alcohol and waiting

Pollen grains and solid inclusions sink to the bottom if you pour the base very fluid. Pour it as it starts to thicken, or work in thin layers, letting each one set.

And between layers, a spray of alcohol over the surface: it pops the bubbles and welds the next layer on. Without it, the layers come apart when you unmould.

03 · HONEY, UNDER 3 %

And why it sweats

Adding liquid honey below 3 % of the total, the soap comes out well. Above that it starts to sweat: honey is hygroscopic and pulls moisture out of the air until beads appear on the surface.

Propolis tincture has another effect worth planning for: it colours. It is a resin extract, so the result comes out clear amber, not colourless.

04 · HOW MANY BARS, AND STORING

Wrapped from day one

The kilo gives ten or twelve bars of the 80-100 g kind. It comes in a reusable tub, so what is left over keeps as it is.

Glycerine soap is hygroscopic too: as soon as you unmould, wrap each bar in film. Left in the air of a kitchen it ends up beaded with drops in a couple of days.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the kilo of base: