Jamaican Beer Soap

With only one successful batch of soap under my belt, I decided to dive in head first and make beer soap. I had read on other soap blogs that beer soap can be tricky and should only be attempted after you have been soaping for a while, but I'm far to ambitious to wait that long.

(Why is beer soap so tricky to make? Well, it turns out that if you attempt to mix fresh beer with lye you could end up with a beer volcano on your hands. For this reason it is important to let the beer go completely flat before you mix it with lye.)

Coming off of a bad soap loss (my next post will explain), I was pretty nervous about this batch so I took it slow, especially when mixing the lye solution in with the oils. I have to say I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

This was a batch of firsts for me. I used my new 2lb wooden soap mold, and incorporated the use of oatmeal, essential oils and beer.

Whew!



The essential oil blend includes black pepper, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. I chose to use finely ground oatmeal, instead of larger oats, so that the final bar will not be abrasive or exfoliating. I know that a lot of soap makers will add large bits of oatmeal, or other things, to their soaps for exfoliation and appearance, however, I have found that my personal preference is to have a smoother bar of soap.

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Palm Oil, Jamaican Beer, Essential Oils, and Finely Ground Oatmeal.

I can't wait to try out this soap! The cure time is 4 weeks, so until then I will just have to look at it and sniff it as I walk by.

Have a great week!