Beyond coloring and essential or fragrance oils, there are a number of cool things you can add to your homemade soap. One of my favorites is honey (which is a moisturizer), but there is also milk, glycerin, silk, shea butter, tomato paste, cocoa powder, fruit juice and pulp, dried herbs and flowers, finely chopped oats, cornmeal (for an exfoliating bar), poppy seeds, finely ground coffee beans, beer and wine, citrus zest, berry seeds, yogurt, aloe vera gel, vitamin E capsule content (2-3 per pound), seaweed, raw adzuki beans or almonds ground into a fine powder, and embedded objects. In cold process soap making, add these additives after they have been mixed to a suitable trace. For liquids, add in light traces. For anything you want to suspend evenly throughout the bar (oatmeal, seeds), add it in a heavy trace or else the additive will sink to the bottom.
As for the milk, you can really use any type of milk: cow, goat, cream, buttermilk, half and half, plain yogurt mixed with water, even dry milk. Use the milk directly instead of the water your recipe calls for. However, once I used eggnog, it turned dark brown and lost its rich smell. Whatever milk you use, freeze it before you use it. It should be “slushy” when added to the mix. Milk soaps tend to overheat, just like honey soaps.
Also, whenever you use alcohol in a recipe, either let it go flat or boil it to release the alcohol, then chill it before using. If you don’t, even a small 1/2 pound batch will start to boil explosively when the lye is added.
As for honey, add about 1/2 ounce per pound of soap. Be sure to spray the honey measuring spoon with nonstick cooking spray so that no honey residue sticks to the spoon and messes with your measurement.
To embed objects into your soap, put, say, a small plastic toy, soap rope on a string, or similar item into the soap mold, and then place the soap dough into the mold. Of course, this works best with clear or glycerin soaps, which are generally “melt and pour” projects, not handmade cold-processed soap.
When adding dried herbs or flowers, sprinkle them over the soap just poured into the mold or stir them with a whisk just before pouring into the mold. Most herbs will turn brown in soap over time. Dried herbs often leave a brown color in the soap around them as well. Some people find this unsightly, while others feel that it is beautiful and a brand of handmade soap made from natural ingredients.
For more information on this and other soap-making topics, visit How2MakeSoap.Net. This website also offers free soap making video tutorials, pictures of the soap making process, free beginner soap recipes, and a 50 page “how to make soap” eBook for $12.99. The eBook includes 39 one-pound soap recipes, 60 soap-making images, and details on how to make your own soap recipes.