Want to capture the rich cocoa aroma, and comforting warmth of your favourite hot drink in the winter? Now you can with our hot chocolate soap recipe!
In this recipe, we are not using essential oils or synthetic fragrance oils to create a chocolate aroma. Instead, we are using 100% natural, unrefined cocoa butter as it has a strong, natural chocolate aroma. We are also using natural cocoa powder for a stronger cocoa aroma and as a natural colourant.
Ready to make the perfect seasonal soap? Let's have a go at our hot chocolate soap recipe…
This recipe makes 9 -10 bars of soap
Hot Chocolate Soap Recipe
Equipment:
To make our hot chocolate soap recipe, you will need:
- Gloves
- Goggles
- Digital scales
- Digital thermometer
- Stick blender
- Soap mould or DIY alternative
- Silicone spatula
- Heatproof bowl
- Plastic measuring jugs, ideally 2x 1L and 1x 2L
Ingredients
Method
1. Mix the sodium hydroxide solution
- Put on your gloves and goggles.
- Open a window, the fumes are unpleasant.
- Weigh the water.
- In a separate bowl, weigh the sodium hydroxide.
- Add the sodium hydroxide to the water not the other way around.
- Mix well until combined.
- Leave to cool, it will be hot.
2. Weigh and melt the oils
- Weigh the olive oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil and castor oil into a heatproof bowl.
- Melt over a pan of boiling water, or using short bursts in the microwave.
- Stir regularly.
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Once melted, leave to cool.
3. Test the temperatures
- Test the temperature of the sodium hydroxide solution. It should be between 25C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool if necessary, but don't reheat it if it's too cool.
- Test the temperature of the oil mixture. It should be between 35C and 40C.
- Leave it to cool or reheat if necessary.
- Once the temperatures are correct, add the sodium hydroxide solution to the oil mixture.
4. Blend until trace
- Stir with the hand blender, and blend with short pulses.
- Watch for the soap batter starting to thicken.
- Test for trace by dripping soap batter on the surface of the mixture. If the drips sit on the surface before disappearing, your mixture has reached trace.
- Stop blending once your soap has reached trace.
5. Split the mixtures
- Split the mixtures by pouring less than a quarter of your soap mixture into a separate jug.
- Weigh the cocoa powder and mix it into the main batch of soap mixture. Make sure it is fully combined.
- You should have a jug with 3/4 of the soap mixture with cocoa powder mixed in, and a jug with 1/4 of the soap mixture with no added colour.
6. Pour into moulds
- Pour the main batch of soap mixture into your soap mould first.
- Tap on the work surface to get rid of air bubbles.
- Then pour the uncoloured soap evenly over the top. When pouring this layer, pour it very close to the surface of the first soap layer, this way it won’t sink into the soap that is already in the mould.
- Finally, add some texture to the top and sprinkle on some extra cocoa powder.
- Insulate with towels.
- Leave on a flat surface for 48 hours.
7. Leave to cure
- Unmould your soap and cut it into equal sized bars.
- Place the bars with a space in between.
- Leave to cure for 4 - 6 weeks and then your hot chocolate soap is ready to use!
Continue Reading
Now you know how to make your own hot chocolate soap, why not try more recipes?
- Interested in more festive soap recipes? Make your colourful Christmas soap with this cold process soap recipe!
- Want to make another drink into a soap? Learn how to make your own coffee soap!
- If you love using cocoa butter, why not make your own skincare with it! Try our simple cocoa lotion bar recipe!
Let us know how you got on with this hot chocolate soap recipe! Tag us on Instagram or Facebook or use our hashtag #thesoaperyuk
