Green Tea Herbal Soap Recipe
The following green tea soap excerpt is used with permission and taken from Easy Soapmaking by Kelly Cable.
A beautiful, bright scented herbal bar. This recipe is easy to make using a green tea bag to add the anti-inflammatory properties of green tea and gentle exfoliation to your soap.
10% Superfat, 2 pounds or eight 4-ounce bars
Start to finish time: 30 minutes active work time, with time between for ingredients to cool.
Safety: Make sure everyone in the home knows you are making soap and the safety guidelines for working with lye. Do not make cold-process soap with very small children.Â
Equipment:Â
- Glass bowl or large glass measuring cup
- Zip-top bag
- Plastic bowl for lye water
- Small glass bowl to weigh essential oils
- Kitchen scaleÂ
- Rubber spatula
- Large stainless steel spoon
- Large stainless steel pot
- Measuring spoons
- Emersion blender
- Food thermometer
Base Oils
- 8 ounces olive oil
- 7 ounces coconut oil
- 7 ounces cocoa butter
Lye Water
- 7.7 ounces water
- 3 ounces lye
Natural Additives
- 0.5 ounces lemon essential oil
- 0.5 ounces eucalyptus essential oil
- 1 tablespoon green tea leaves (or contents of one tea bag)
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
Prep Ahead: Line soap mold with wax or parchment paper before beginning if you’re not using a silicone mold.
- Weigh olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter in a glass bowl and transfer the oils to a large stainless steel saucepan. Melt over medium low heat. Remove from heat and allow it to cool to 90°F.Â
- Weigh the water in a plastic container and set it aside. Put on gloves and weigh lye crystals in a small zip-top bag. Go outside and while wearing gloves, goggles, and a charcoal mask, pour the lye crystals into the water and stir. Note: Wear a charcoal mask because the lye water will give off a gas for 1to 2 minutes and heat rapidly. Allow it to cool to 90°F.
- When both oils and lye water are around 90°F, pour the lye water into oils and blend with an emersion blender on and off until mixture begins to thicken to light trace.Â
- Add essential oils, green tea, and honey (optional) and blend.
- Pour the soap into a prepared mold, cover, and allow it to cure for 24 hours. Remove the soap from the mold and cut with a knife or bench scraper. Allow to cure for 4 to 6 weeks to harden.
Tip:Â
- Remember to weigh each ingredient very carefully and check temperatures.
- If either the oil or lye water is a lot hotter than the other, you can use a cold water bath to cool it down so it reaches the correct temperature around the same time.
- If soap is too soft to unmold after 24 hours, wait another 12 to 24 hours and check again.
- For a vegan alternative to honey, add a tablespoon of cane sugar.
For more on soapmaking, see:
Herbal Soap Recipe for Eczema
A DIY Floral Delight Soap Recipe You’ll Love!