This is yet another gorgeous and refreshing cold process soap DIY. I try to share at least one cold process soap DIY per month to give you unique ideas to try, show you new techniques, and let you know of new scents, colors, and best practices. I love making and sharing how to make cold process soaps at home. In this Refreshing Avobath cold process soap DIY, I used the hanger swirl technique you can try at home. The Avobath scent is refreshing and uplifting. It is a duplicate of the scent from the Lush stores. It has strong notes of lemongrass and refreshing citrus fruity notes. If you are looking for an uplifting and refreshing scent, this is it. This scent is just outstanding and wonderfully complex.
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If you prefer using essential oils, sweet orange, lemongrass, grapefruit, and lime, are great essential oils that can be added to your soap formulation for scenting the soap. 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 called the hanger swirl technique. The goal is to create beautiful swirls inside the poured soap with various complementing colors. For this type of swirl design, a medium trace is best. The fragrance oil behaved very well. I love how these refreshing avobath cold process soaps turned out.
A few notes about the scent and discoloring fragrances
The Avobath duplicate fragrance oil does not contain any vanillin therefore it will not discolor the soap. This is great because the colors selected will remain as designed. It can be hard to design soaps with high vanillin content scents. I love using coffee scents in my soaps and most of them have a high vanillin content. To minimize discoloration’s impact, 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.
The hanger swirl technique can give you very intricate and beautiful designs. Each soap will be unique in its design.
For this soap, I used a base of bright yellow color mica (Yellow Vibrance from Nurture Soap). The swirl colors are Adobe Orange from Wholesale Supplies Plus and the green is Alpine Green mica from Nurture Soap. I love how these colors seem to match the scent so well.
How to make the Refreshing Avobath Cold Process Soap
Additives used in the Refreshing Avabath Cold Process Soap
Kaolin clay is a very gentle clay 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 skip it but I like it in my soaps because of its excellent skin properties.
Additional equipment and tools 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:
- 30% Lemongrass EO
- 25% Sweet Orange EO
- 25% Grapefruit EO
- 20% 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 of essential oils to use.
Basic steps for making cold process soap at home
Check out the posts linked below for several free cold process soap recipes and techniques. 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
Hibiscus Guava Fresca Cold Process Soap Layers – Tiger Stripe Technique
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.
Step by Step cold process soap DIY
- Weigh out the butters and coconut oil and melt them in the microwave
- 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 to 85-90 degrees F
- Add the lye water solution to the melted oils and butters
- Mix using the immersion blender until you achieve a trace
- Split the batter into separate containers and mix in the mica colorants
- Pour the base color layer (yellow) into the mold approximately to the midpoint of the soap mold
- Pour the orange color soap into the yellow soap in the mold in a line motion going side to side
- Pour the green color soap into the yellow soap in the mold in a line motion going side to side
- Use a hanger or a hanger swirl tool and use circular motions and infinity sign motions going from the bottom of the soap to the top
- Decorate the top
- Allow the soap to go through the saponification process for at least 24 hours
- Cut the soap and allow it to cure for four to six weeks
I hope you enjoy making this refreshing avobath cold process soap. 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
Thank you for sharing this incredible Avobath soap recipe, Jasmine. Your attention to detail and the vibrant outcome truly makes this a refreshing DIY treat. The instructions are so easy to follow.
Thank you so much! I am so glad you liked it.