In order to make your own shea butter soap, you will need:
- All-natural Castile (olive oil based) soap
- distilled water
- 2 tbsp all-natural, unprocessed shea butter
- 1 tbsp finely ground almonds (optional, but a nice addition for a gentle exfoliating soap with a nice scent)
- A grater
- A double boiler, or a small pot that can be placed inside of a bigger pot
- Small plastic food containers for molds
- A mixing spoon
- A drying rack Begin by setting some tap water to boil in the double-broiler or big pot. Grate your castile soap until you have two cups full. Add this to the inner double-boiler, or the small pot, with ½ cup of distilled water. Melt it over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the soap is completely melted and stringy when you pull up the spoon.
Remove it from the heat. Add the shea butter and almonds, stirring gently until the mixture is well blended. Pour into small plastic food containers and let dry and harden for several hours. They should pop out when completely hard. Place on the drying rack and allow soap to set for 3 weeks, turning regularly throughout the day to prevent the bars from warping. Then, simply wrap them in plastic wrap to preserve them, or use them in your next bath.
