Aloe, Tea Tree, and Peppermint Soap

I found some aloe juice in the back of the fridge.  It smells okay but I decided to make soap with it rather than drink or cook with it.  I found a good recipe in Essentially Soap by Dr Bob.  I am going to substitute the aloe juice for all of the aloe vera gel and part of the water that the recipe calls for.  Aloe, tea tree, and peppermint are all said to be good for nourishing and soothing irritated skin.  I also love peppermint soaps in the winter when I have a cold.

Tea Tree Oil Bar by Dr Bob

12 oz lye dissolved in 650 g of water

175 g olive oil

50 g jojoba oil

650 g palm oil

650 g soy oil

660 g coconut oil
50 g canola oil

25 g tea tree oil

50 g aloe vera gel


I lined the loaf mold and put out a big bowl to catch rain water on Wednesday night.   

On Thursday, the Farmer and I made the soap.  There was more in the aloe bottle than I thought: 546 g.  So, I used the rain water and half the aloe to dissolve  the lye.  I wanted to avoid "cooking" the aloe if I could.  The aloe-water-lye solution turned a bright yellow and then went to a beige yellow with a cream foam on top as it cooled.  


It came to trace easily and glopped into the molds.  Half an hour later it is hot and firm.  I bet when I go back in it will be in gel stage. I picked it up to feel the bottom of the mold.  When I put it back down it cracked open a little bit as you can see in the picture.

It hit gel stage before I went to bed.  This morning the loaf is still warm.  It is also really hard. 

I cut it tonight using a miter box and a scraper.  I don't remember the ash you can see being there this morning.  It's not bad.  The soap is the texture of firm cheese, just a tab crumbly.  I got 15 bars from the loaf mold and 9 small bars from the tray mold.


The house smells great! Maybe I should clean out the fridge more often. 

Update: 4 weeks later I love this soap.  It has great bubbles, smells good, and is rock hard.