- 1). Pour 28 oz. refrigerated, filtered water into a 2-quart heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Go to a well-ventilated area and slowly pour 12 oz. lye into the water, stirring carefully with a silicone spoon to completely dissolve the lye without splashing it out of the bowl. Set the lye solution aside to cool.
- 2). Add 48 oz. vegetable shortening, 21 oz. soybean oil and 18 oz. coconut oil to a 4-quart saucepan. Heat them on the stove over medium heat until all of them melt into a liquid. Stir the oils well. Test the temperature with a soap-making thermometer until it reaches about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust the heat of the burner to maintain this temperature.
- 3). Test the temperature of the lye solution. Once it reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit, pour the heated oils into a 6-quart soap-making pot and slowly mix in the lye solution. Initially mix the lye solution and oils together with a silicone spoon until combined. Continue to mix with a silicone whisk until the consistency reaches that of cake batter, at which point it will achieve trace, turning into soap. This process can take anywhere between 20 minutes and one hour.
- 4). Add 2 oz. fragrance oil to trace, stirring it in with the whisk to completely combine it into the soap mixture.
- 5). Pour the mixture into a soap mold, cover it and wrap it in towels for insulation. Let the mold sit for 48 hours.
- 6). Cut the soap into bars. Place the bars on two baker's cooling racks and let them cure for six weeks. Turn the bars over every week so they cure evenly.
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