Step 1

Place the frozen milk and distilled water in a heavy-duty plastic or stainless steel bowl.

Step 2

Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully sprinkle a small amount of lye at a time over the frozen milk, stirring well after each addition. The entire process will take several minutes, but working slowly ensures that the milk doesn’t scorch and that the lye completely dissolves. The lye solution does not need to cool further before adding to the oils.

Step 3

Melt the coconut oil and tallow/lard, then add to the other oils.

Step 4

Add the lye/milk solution to the oils.

Step 5

Using a combination of hand stirring and an immersion blender (stick blender), stir the soap until it reaches trace. (Trace is when the soap has thickened enough so when you drizzle a small amount of the batter across the surface, it will leave a fleeting, but visible imprint or “trace” before sinking back in.)

Step 6

At trace, stir in the essential oil, then pour into a prepared mold.

Step 7

If desired, add texture to the top with a spoon and/or sprinkle the top with dried flowers, gently pressing them into the soap batter to hold them in place.

Step 8

Once poured into the mold, you have two options. You can keep the soap at room temperature, covering lightly with wax paper and a towel or pillowcase. Peek at the soap every so often; if it starts developing a crack, that means it’s overheating and should be moved to a cooler location. Alternatively, for a lighter colored soap, place the filled mold in your refrigerator for 24 hours, then remove and allow to stay at room temperature another day or two before unmolding.

Step 9

Slice the soap into bars when it̕s firm enough not to stick to your cutting tool.

Step 10

Cure on coated cooling racks or sheets of wax paper about 4 weeks before using.