Recipe for Cocoa Butter Soap/ New venue to sell soaps

1 lb. Batch Cocoa Butter Soap


OILS
1 oz. cocoa butter (available in 1 oz. size at most pharmacies)
6 oz. coconut oil (available at asian, middle eastern markets & health
food stores)
9 oz. olive oil (preferably not extra virgin)
1/2 to 3/4 oz. Fragrance or Essential Oil (Optional, must not contain
any alchohol, available at health food stores)

LYE/WATER
2.3 oz. 100% dry lye (Red Devil Brand 100% Lye is available at many
home improvement stores, including Menards, by the drain openers)
6 oz. water (distilled or rainwater works well, hard water does not)


EQUIPMENT
Googles to protect eyes
Long sleeve, long pants, wear shoes
Rubber gloves
Accurate postal scale
Dishwasher safe plastic pitcher with lid (Rubbermaid works well)
Dishwasher safe stir spoon, such as plastic, stainless steel or wooden
Stainless steel or enameled pot to melt oils
2 glass candy or stainless steel meat thermometer, one for oil mix,
one for water/lye mix
Mold to pour soap into - ideas...huggie wipes box, small plastic food
storage containers, round pvc pipe with an end cap on it, empty milk
container.
Old blanket or towels to cover soap with


Important: Wear safety goggles and gloves when mixing lye and water.
Use dishwasher safe plastic or 100% stainless steel containers and
utensils to mix lye and water together.
Keep children & animals away during the process.
Do not let anything containing aluminum to come into contact with the
soap mix. It will ruin the soap, turning the aluminum black.
Weigh everything out and have it ready, before mixing anything.

Pour dry lye into pitcher with water and stir this mix until lye is
dissolved (hold your breath while doing so). Set aside, preferably
with a cover (to avoid steam fumes), until this mix cools down to 100
to 120°F. It will take awhile to cool down. You can use a glass candy
thermometer or a stainless steal meat thermometer to check temps. Do
not breath fumes from the steam that rises. Set this mix in a safe
place where it will not tip over (kitchen sink) until it cools down.
It will get very hot when you add the lye to the water. Lye burns if
it touchs the skin so avoid ALL skin or eye contact. The lye/water mix
is the most dangerous part of soapmaking, treat it with respect, as
any chemist would in a lab.

While waiting for the lye and the water mix to cool down, melt the
oils gently over low heat until the mix reach up to 100 to 120°F. You
are trying to cool the lye while heating the oil mix up.

When both mixes are within close temps of each other (5°F) and within
100 to 120°F range, you can start to slowly and carefully pour the
water/lye mix into the oil mix. Continue stirring until well mixed,
for at least 10 minutes. After that, you want to stir this
occasionally off and on until soap reaches trace, where the oil does
not separate to the top anymore and the mix thickens up. Sometimes
this can happen very quickly (with cooler temps), sometimes it may
take an hour or more (with higher temps). You have to watch it
carefully or you could end up with soap in the pan. If you stop
stirring for few minutes and see any layer of oil floating on the top,
it has not reached trace. Keep stirring until there is no longer any
separation.

When it reaches trace you can quickly mix in the fragrance (quickly
because sometimes fragrance can accelerate trace), pour the soap mix
into a mold & cover with a blanket or towel to keep the heat in. Let
this soap mix set covered undisturbed for 24 hours. Turn out of mold
and cut into bars. Set bars apart to air out for at least 3 weeks,
before use, for best results.

--------------------------------------------
NEW VENUE TO SELL SOAP PRODUCTS

Here is a brand new venue where soapmakers can sell their products. I
think this new system will be hotter for sellers than EBAY is.

If you do sign up with this, please say that lifesfun refered you.
They give 5 coupons for each referal. Thank You.

http://www.prizewise.com/ (lifesfun)