Soap recipe

This is the recipe I used for the sunflower oil soap below, using elderflower water and lavender oil. It's adapted from the Sunflower and Calendula soap recipe in the book Making Scented Soap by Linda Hamblen.

4 1/2 oz/130g sodium hydroxide
13oz/375g elderflower water
10 1/2 oz/300g olive oil
1 lb 1 1/2oz/ 500g coconut oil
7oz/200g sunflower oil
1 tsp lavender essential oil

Make the elderflower water by steeping fresh or dried elderflowers in hot water until cool, then strain. Add the sodium hydroxide carefully to the water, stir to dissolve and set aside to cool. Warm the oils gently, and when the two preparations have reached approximately the same temperature, stir the cooled lye solution into the oils. Continue stirring to prevent splitting. When the mixture has traced, add lavender oil and pour into moulds; wrap and cure 4 - 6 weeks, then cut and store.

This is just a brief outline of the recipe and method - for further details on the process, a book is recommended; I like this book, plus the one by Melinda Coss.
Teh soap is looking good so far, and is hardening up nicely, a lovely creamy colour. Looking forward to using it.
Take care when making soap - the sodium hydroxide can be dangerous stuff; wear rubber gloves ang goggles, and make sure there are not children and pets around. Store it safely, and read all the insturcions on the container.

Happy soaping!