Oh....that soap rut I was in? Well, BAM! I'm free! Here's a completely different kind of soap I made today for small gifts, and WOWIE, it turned out unexpectedly fabulous! It's a Tomato Basil & Pepper Country Soap Recipe---and it smells fresh, green, and just a little spicy. It's colored with the tomato juice it's made from, and a bit of added Red Moroccan Clay at the very end for some pretty complementary swirls.
Did you know tomatoes are great for your skin? They are! Tomatoes are filled with anti-oxidant powers, along with lycopene, which make them great in anti-aging skin care products.
The essential oils I chose for this soap are far and away from my typical essential oil blend I use for making soaps. I chose each of these three essential oils for a specific reason, and they happened to blend together beautifully, creating a lovely fresh garden scent.
The Lemon is uplifting and balances the other two oils. The Basil essential oil is one of the best oils available for your alertness and brain power! Black Pepper is warming and stimulating, helping to improve circulation to the skin. I may just create a night time toner from this blend at some point!
NOTE: The instructions in this post are pretty basic. If you have never made soap before or are new to the hot process method of soap making, please read these complete picture tutorials: How to Make Hot Process Soap and Lavender-Rosemary-Vanilla Hot Process Soap.
Also, the color of the soap is not as bright yellow as the picture appears---it's actually more of a dark cream with little red swirls from the clay. I didn't take enough pictures, so this is the only one. I would not have chosen this one, but it's all I had---So just note: the soap is NOT this yellow looking!
FTC Disclosure: There are affiliate links throughout this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may earn a very small commission at no extra cost to you.
This hot process soap recipe was inspired by a cold process recipe in Jan Berry's book, Simple & Natural Soap Making, and I adjusted the ingredients to create 1) a tomato version; and 2) a hot process version! This is a Country Tomato, Basil, and Black Pepper Soap....and it is NICE!
How to Make Country Tomato, Basil & Black Pepper Soap (Yep! That's Soap! Not Soup!)
Ingredients:
Lye Solution:
*** 4.25 ounces tomato juice. I didn't strain it, but it had settled, so I just gave it a slight swirl---there wasn't much tomato matter in it--just a little. This was a tomato juice my dad canned a few years ago, and I thought I go for it!
*** 5.4 ounces distilled water
*** 3.95 ounces Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
Oil Mixture:
*** 7.5 ounces Coconut Oil
*** 17 ounces Olive Oil (SO, SO good for your skin, my friends!)
*** 3.5 ounces of Sweet Almond Oil
Colorant:
*** 1 tbsp. Red Moroccan Clay
Scent:
*** 1 ounce Lemon Essential Oil
*** 3/4 ounce Black Pepper Essential Oil
*** 1/2 ounce Basil Essential Oil
Note: Links for essential oils are to Starwest Botanicals---Where I buy my soap making essential oils.
Tools You'll Need for Hot Process Soap:
A heat resistant pitcherfor the lye solution
A kitchen scale for accuracy
Safety gear (glasses and gloves)
Directions for Making Country Tomato Hot Process Soap
Step 1) Turn your crock pot on LOW and add the oils. Allow them to melt.
Step 2) Get your lye solution ready.
Measure out the water and tomato juice in a heat resistant pitcher, then add your sodium hydroxide to the liquid (never the other way around, please). Stir well.
Step 3) Combine the lye solution with oils and bring to trace
Gently pour the lye solution into the melted oil mixture. Using your hand blender, bring the batch to trace. (See How to Make Hot Process Soap for more on trace, if you are not familiar.)
Step 4) Allow to cook until ready
You will need to stir the soap down two to three times during the cook, because it will go through stages and possibly cook right up the sides of the crock pot. Just give it a good STIR, STIR, STIR!
Wondering when your soap is done? Well, depending on the recipe, the temperature in the room, and humidity, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to about an hour and a half. I've never had my soap cook longer than that.
For more information on how to be sure your soap is ready, please visit one of these two articles with complete picture tutorials: How to Make Hot Process Soap and/or Lavender-Rosemary-Vanilla Hot Process Soap Recipe.
Step 5) Glop the soap into the mold and press down firmly
I actually will gently drop the soap mold onto a counter top because you really don't want any air pockets in there! Push the soap down really well.
Step 6) Allow to cool completely
This can take several hours or over night.
Step 7) Unmold
If you have a bread top on your soap, you can cut this off before you remove the soap from the mold. It will be beautiful and smooth, just like cold process looks.
Step 8) Cut what you need and enjoy!
Can Hot Process Soap Be Used Right Away?
There is some debate about this. I say, "YES."
I have successfully used my hot process soap, once it's completely cooled down, the very same day. However, some folks like to allow it to cure for a week or so. This allows any extra moisture in the soap to evaporate, creating a harder bar. It's totally up to you.
****A Note about appearance: The tomato juice in this recipe actually turns the soap a dark creamish color. I added the moroccan clay, just a bit, to provide a little visual interest. The picture in the photo is brighter than it looks in real life due to the sun that day!
Final Thoughts on Country Tomato Basil & Black Pepper Hot Process Soap
It's GREAT! The color turned out a little browner than I had hoped, but it's still really pretty with the Red Moroccan Clay swirled through. Also, I love the fact that the tomato juice is SO good for your skin. The scent is not my usual, and I'm loving that too! It's a fresh, herbal, "green" scent. If the scent of Basil is not your thing, then you could substitute with a bit of invigorating Rosemary essential oil instead!
Talk about getting out of my soap making rut! YES!
I hope you'll give this soap a try some time, and let me know how it goes for you!
Here are some other articles you might be interested in taking a look at:
Gardener’s Handmade Soap Recipe
Sexy Wild Man Soap Recipe
Octoberfest Beer Soap Recipe
Cold Process vs. Hot Process Soap Making
Pumpkin Spice Soap
Goat Milk and Honey Soap
and there are tons more on the blog!
That's a wrap! Let me know what you think!
Hugs, Health, & Self-Reliance,
Heidi
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, Preparedness, Soap Making
Heidi Villegas, MA, CA, Herbalist
handmade soap making, how to make soap, how to make hot process soap, hot process soap
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