Public Recipe

Cornmeal Bar Soap - With Video

Solid Soap · NaOH · 100 g oil load · 5% superfat · 4 views · 0 saves

This is an adaptation of a very old recipe from the book So maak ons seep by Jerry Maritz. I used the "Mieliemeelseep no. 3" from page 41 as the base and adjusted it with ingredients that I had available and/or was willing to use in soap. I dropped the paraffin from the ingredients and added glycerin instead. I chose ethanol as the alcohol since spiritus in South Africa is made from methanol, which is poisonous if ingested. Borax is commonly used in eye drops and contact lens solutions, so I assumed it would be safe in a wash-off product. For the cornmeal, I decided to use a cooked porridge instead, as cooking releases some of the starches and sugars from the meal/flour, which could contribute more to the soap than merely acting as a filler or exfoliator. I settled on a 1:2 lye-to-water ratio. I split the water into one part water and one part porridge, giving me enough water to dissolve the lye while incorporating a moist ingredient without adding excessive water that might extend the curing time.