Guinness Soap

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all.

In the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, 17th March, I decided to create a Cold Press soap based on the famous stout brewed in Dublin.

The soap itself does not smell like Guinness as that is a difficult scent to pin down. It’s a scent which I have yet to crack! It does however mimic the full bodied, chocolate aroma of other dark stouts you can find at any good pub.

The soap is coloured to look like Guinness with its black body and white foam head and the lye solution was made using Guinness instead of water. To this I added a very small amount of chocolate fragrance.

Ingredients and equipment:

Black body of soap

• 62 g Sodium Hydroxide
• 168 g Cooked then cooled Guinness
• 235 g Olive Oil
• 100 g Coconut Oil
• 50 g Cocoa Butter
• 50 g Castor Oil
• 3 g Chocolate fragrance Scent
• 5 g Black Oxide
• Glass bowl for lye solution
• Large saucepan (do not use for cooking after this process)
• Mould

White Top of soap

• 32 g Sodium Hydroxide
• 78 g Water
• 118 g Olive Oil
• 50 g Coconut Oil
• 26 g Cocoa Butter
• 26 g Castor Oil
• 3 g Chocolate fragrance Scent
• Glass bowl for lye solution
• Medium saucepan (do not use for cooking after this process)

Method:

You can proceed with this recipe in two ways. Either make one big batch and separate it into two when adding the black oxide or, if you are low on containers like I was, you can make two batches from the very beginning and keep them separate all the way through the process.

1. Make sure you have pre-weighed all your ingredients before starting as you may need to work fast when pouring in the mould.
2. Add your oils and butters to a pan over a medium heat (if your pan is not metal, this can be done in the microwave in short bursts to avoid burning the oils).
3. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to your water slowly and mix to dissolve. Make sure you are wearing protective gear over your hands, arms and eyes. Also make sure you’re working in a well ventilated space, this stuff is nasty to smell! NEVER ADD THE WATER TO THE THE SODIUM HYDROXIDE.
4. Once all the oils and butters have melted, turn off the hob and allow to cool to around 20-30 degrees Celsius. Do the same for the lye solution.
5. To add the lye solution, pour it slowly down your mixer without any splashes.
6. Blend your mixture with the hand blender until you reach a medium trace.
7. When a medium trace is achieve, add your black oxide. It’s a good idea to make a paste with a little oil first, otherwise you find it wafting up in your face. Black bogies for a week 😆
8. Mix in the fragrance thoroughly and then pour into the mould.
9. If you are doing two separate pans, this is where organisation pays off. The first layer has to be slightly set (5 minutes at the most) before pouring the white layer on top.
10. Then cover and place in a cool, dark storage area. Mine was ready to remove from the mould and cut in 48 hours.

Here is the finished product. A lovely chocolate smell but a stunning contrast of colours. Smells so good, we couldn’t keep Annie (the cat) away.