The picture above is the very last bar of the second batch of soap I ever made. It developed some staunch supporters.  I have been saving it to see how it behaves after a year of curing, and in another month it’ll be time to test.

• 135 g unrefined shea butter
• 90 g castor oil
• 100 g olive oil
• 200 g coconut oil (76F)
• 110 g palm oil
• 89 g lye (for 5% superfat)
• 209 g water

I pulverized dried calendula and sprinkled it the middle of the soap mold as I filled it and then on top.  It is very lightly scented with bergamot.  I use a lot of bergamot, since it seems almost universally pleasant.

Notice that you can resize a batch of soap on the Brambleberry calculator.  This is handy because it’s nice to experiment with small batches, but once I’m happy with it, I use about a kilogram of  base oils at a time, mostly because that’s what fits my rectangular soap mold.