Eucalyptus Laundry Soap with Coconut and Rice Bran Oils
Well, this is exciting… my very first recipe posted to my website! Ahh, feeling quite satisfied as I type this. My own home on the internet is finally here.
After taking a few weeks off making videos to get the site up and running, I was eager to make another soap video. I decided to take the practical route, as I often do, and make a batch of laundry soap to turn into laundry powder, which has been a long overdue job of mine! I adore eucalyptus oil in my laundry soap, but if it’s not your favourite scent you can choose a different essential oil or leave your laundry soap fragrance free.
I have shared a laundry bar soap recipe before, in the description box of my 100% coconut oil soap video (the video was for a high superfat coconut oil bathing soap, but I added a low superfat laundry soap version in the description), but this time I wanted to make a less coconut-heavy oil soap that contained only 50% coconut oil with 50% rice bran oil.
Why rice bran oil? There are three main reasons I chose it for this recipe:
I had a large bottle that needed using up
It’s an affordable and easily accessible oil for many people
It has similar qualities to olive oil and when mixed with a high amount of coconut oil, makes an effective but more gentle laundry soap.
*Note that you can use other oils instead of rice bran oil in this recipe, but the recipe would need to be re-calculated using a soap calculator to get the correct lye amount for the new oil type. You can see me demonstrate how to calculate a soap recipe here.
I made this soap batch in one of my lovely timber slab moulds my Dad made for me. They measure (internal dimensions) 25.5cm x 25.5cm x 6cm deep and their total soap capacity is around 3.9kg of soap batter (3900g).
This recipe makes 3.65kg (3650g) of soap, so it fits perfectly into my slab mould with a little room to spare.
If you don’t have a slab mould that can contain this amount of soap you could divide the recipe in half or use a number of moulds that, combined, will hold the amount of soap this recipe makes. If you’re not sure how to calculate the volume of your moulds, this video explains.
You can also learn to fold the non-stick baking paper liner as I did in the video using my method demonstrated here.
The recipe
(Please read: Important information and disclaimer if you haven’t already seen those)
Ingredients:
Water (I used rainwater from my tank) 767g
Sodium hydroxide (mine is 98% pure) 383g
Rice bran oil 1250g
Coconut oil 1250g
100g eucalyptus essential oil (optional ingredient - check your supplier’s usage rates if you are using another kind of oil or fragrance oil).
This recipe is calculated to have:
3% superfat
2:1 water to lye ratio (that means the water weight is twice that of the sodium hydroxide)
I used Soap Calc to calculate this recipe.
Pouring the soap, it thickens fast!
Method:
Please read: the what and how of soap making if you are new to this craft
You may also want to consult my soap making terms page
Make sure you are fully aware of the safety requirements of soap making. This video contains the essential information needed.
Watch the video demonstration of me making this recipe on Youtube.
Weigh out the oils. I weighed my rice bran oil into a small bucket first because my large bucket was too big for my scale. My coconut oil was weighed straight into a saucepan for melting.
Gently warm the coconut oil to melt it, if needed. Do not overheat the coconut oil, around body temperature (37°C/98°F) is perfect.
Line your mould/s if needed (this video shows my folding method)
With safety gear on (full goggles and gloves at minimum), weigh out the essential oil, sodium hydroxide, and water or water/ice combination (I like to use half ice for my lye water to reduce fumes, you’ll see that in the video). * Weigh the water and sodium hydroxide separately. You will need a 1.5 litre minimum sized jug for the water and another container with lid for the dry sodium hydroxide.
When you are ready, with goggles and gloves still on, make the lye solution by pouring the sodium hydroxide slowly and carefully into the ice-water mixture. Stir slowly as you do this to encourage it to dissolve. Once dissolved, set this solution aside somewhere safe while you prepare to mix the soap batter. Rinse off the spoon used to stir this mixture IMMEDIATELY.
Add the melted coconut oil and rice bran oil to a large mixing bucket and stir them together well.
Carefully pour the lye water solution into the oils and begin to stir by hand.
Using a stick/immersion blender, blend the soap mixture until it emulsifies and starts to thicken. Continue with a whisk after you have reached emulsion. This recipe will thicken quickly, especially if over-blended.
If you are adding essential oils, pour them into the soap batter and stir in quickly with a whisk. Once the mixture is combined, pour the soap batter into the mould/s.
Cover the soap moulds and wrap lightly with a towel to encourage the soap to gel.
Once the soap has gelled and then cooled, cut it as soon as it is firm enough to do so, using gloves if the soap has not yet fully saponified. This soap will harden much faster than most other soap recipes due to the high amount of coconut oil used. Don’t leave it overnight or for any longer than about 6 hours or it will be difficult to cut (the timing may be different in your own conditions).
Cut the soap into bar sizes of your choosing. I cut my slab into 26 bars of soap with an average weight of 140g.
Cure the soap for at least two weeks before using. Due to the high amount of coconut oil in this soap, it will be hard enough and safe to use as long as the saponification reaction is complete (don’t forget to test your soap before using it, here’s how to do that).
This soap can be left as bars for general household cleaning and laundry use, or it can be grated for processing into my DIY Laundry Powder recipe. It would also make a great hand soap for mechanics or to have by the sink if you handle oily foods/fats regularly. It’s got a wonderful lather and just the right amount of cleaning power for most uses.
Enjoy! And please let me know in the video or blog post comments what you thought and if you have any questions at all. I’d also love to hear what you all think of my very first recipe blog post!
Feel free to share with others too if you think they may be interested.
Thanks for your interest and support,
Elly 🌼
Ps. If you would like to support my work you can ‘buy me a coffee’ here (big thanks to all of you who have :)
There’s a lather test at the end of the video :)
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