I love making and sharing how to make cold process soaps at home. In this hibiscus guava fresca cold process soap DIY, I share another cold process soap pour technique you can try at home. The hibiscus guava fresca scent is refreshing and uplifting. It is also very tropical and will transport you to beautiful tropical rainforests and paradise. I love this scent because it reminds me of my visits to El Yunque Rainforest in Puerto Rico. This scent is just outstanding and wonderfully complex. It is a fruity floral blend with green foliage in mid-notes and sweet base notes of cream musk, sweet vanilla, amber, and sandalwood.
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If you prefer using essential oils, sweet orange, rosemary, patchouli, and lime, are great essential oils that can be added to your soap formulation for scenting the soaps. The scent is also very refreshing and lovely. Make sure to run through an essential oil calculator and use the appropriate usage rate. With so many options and variations you can make many unique scents for your soaps.
The technique I used for this soap design is often called tiger swirl or line pour. The goal is to pour from one side of the mold and as you pour lines of different colors are being created. For this type of swirl design is best to have a very fluid soap batter. This scent accelerated the soap a bit and I had to work fast. I love how these turned out with the layered colors and I was able to cut them into smaller pieces for party gifts.
A few notes about the scent and discoloring fragrances
The hibiscus guava fresca fragrance oil does not contain any vanillin therefore it will not discolor the soap. This is great because the color selected will remain as designed. It can be hard to design soaps with high vanillin content scents. I love using gourmand scents in fall soaps and most of them have a high vanillin content. To minimize the impact of discoloration you can add titanium dioxide to the lye water solution. This will make the colors more pastel and also reduce discoloration. Keep in mind that the soap will still turn a bit darker over time but it will not be as dark as it would normally be without it.
This soaping technique is also great for creating ombre designs and a great way to create intricate designs in your soaps. I used purple at the bottom, then green in the middle, and pink at the top of the pouring bowl. As you plan the design remember that the color on the top of the pouring bowl will end up on the bottom layer of the soap and the color on the bottom of the pouring bowl will be at the top of the soap.
How to make Hibiscus Guava Fresca Cold Process Soap
Additives used in the Hibiscus Guava Fresca Cold Process Soap
Kaolin clay is a very gentle clay that is used in many cosmetics and face masks. It is not only gentle on the skin but it is also great for anchoring the scents in the soaps. I also think it gives a great slip to the soaps that make the soap super luxurious.
Colloidal oatmeal is also used in several skin care products and is considered a skin protectant. It helps retain moisture on the skin. It is very soothing and is usually recommended for people with dry skin. You can certainly skip this but I like it in my soaps because of its great skin properties.
Additional materials needed for cold process soap making at home
- Mixing pitchers
- Immersion blender
- Silicone spatulas
- Funnel pitchers
- Infrared thermometer
- Digital scale
Essential Oil Blend for Cold Process Soaps
You can also use a mix of wonderful essential oils if you prefer not to use fragrance oils. All the fragrance oils that I use in my soaps and recommend on this website are phthalate free and from reputable soap making suppliers.
Below is one of my favorite essential oil blends that can be used for this soap as well:
- 40% Sweet Orange EO
- 25% Rosemary EO
- 25% Patchouli EO
- 10% Lime EO
The values to use in this essential oil blend will vary depending on the size of your batch of soap. I recommend using a website such as eocalc.com to get the actual values for your specific needs. When visiting the website select “Create Your Own Blend” from the top menu. Then enter the percentages and select the specified essential oils. Enter the total amount of oils in your soap batch and the website will provide the correct amounts to use.
Basic steps for making cold process soap at home
Check out the posts linked below for several free cold process soap recipes. I hope you find one that is perfect for you.
Handmade Cold Process Soap Making
All Natural Aloe Vera Cold Process Soap
In this Kiss Pour and Handmade Mold DIY I not only give you a recipe and another fun technique to use, I also share how to make a mold using a cardboard milk box.
Summer Vibes Double In the Pot Swirl Cold Process Soap DIY
Coconut Milk & Coconut Water Cold Process Soap
Mahogany & Amber Cold Process Soap
Step by Step cold process soap DIY
- Weigh out the butters and coconut oil and melt them
- Add the liquid oils to the melted butters
- Weigh out the water in a separate container
- Weigh out the sodium hydroxide (lye) needed for the soap also in a separate container
- Sprinkle the sodium hydroxide (lye) into the water and mix well, then allow to cool
- Add the lye water solution to the melted oils and butters
- Mix using the immersion blender until you achieve trace
- Split the batter into separate containers and mix in the mica colorants
- Pour the three colors in layers in a separate container
- Pour the soap using a side-to-side motion on one side of the soap mold (see the video above)
- Allow the soap to go through saponification for at least 24 hours
- Cut the soap and allow it to cure for four to six weeks
Ready to start making your own cold process soaps? Then this eBook with 25 different cold process soap formulations is the perfect resource. With so many formulations, you will have lots of inspiration to experiment and find the perfect one.
This eBook also includes best practices to modify the formulations to your liking.
My goal is to give you some inspiration and techniques to help you make your own soaps. To learn more about cold process soap making I’ve summarized several questions that I always get asked in my Cold process soap most common questions answered in one place post. Head over to my all cold process soap making questions answered post to learn so much more!
Cold process soap DIYs and Design Ideas:
Cashmere Fig Cold Process soap with In The Pot Swirl
Marbled Technique Cold Process Soap DIY
All Natural Facial Cold Process Soap with Activated Charcoal and Rose Clay
How to make soap dough embeds for cold process soap
Hi. I’m so new to Pinterest. I’m interested to learn how to make cold pressed soaps. I tried to find your recipe but I couldn’t find anywhere here. Do I need to email you for it? How much would it be? Would love your feedback on that one.
Thanks, Sophia
Hello Sophia, thank you for stopping by. The recipe for this soap is in the pictures, maybe you are not able to see the pictures but look for the picture from soapcalc that has the oils with percentages and quantities. Since you are new to learning how to make cold process soap this post is a great place to start: https://eccentricitiesbyjvg.com/joy-handmade-soap-making-free-cold-process-recipe/ it includes a basic recipe that you can use. Another great post to follow is the one that answers the most common questions I usually get: https://eccentricitiesbyjvg.com/cold-process-soap-most-common-questions-answered/ . I also have an ebook that you can purchase if you are interested: https://eccentricitiesbyjvg.com/product/cold-process-soapmaking-with-25-unique-formulations/
All the best,
Jasmine