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1. Mix lye with water, stir until liquid is clear. Set aside to cool to 100 degrees.
2. Mix almond oil with 2 oz of Bramble Berry Chamomile/Bergamot fragrance oil. (This fragrance marries well with most anything. So if the soap curls hold a lot of fragrance, this fragrance will link everything together harmoniously.) Set aside.
3. Melt Coconut, Palm Kernel, Palm Oil together. Add castor oil. In separate container, measure out Olive oil and Avocado oil together. Set aside.
4. Melt Shea butter. Set aside. Once all oils and lye are at 100 degrees, mix lye with coconut mixture. Zap with stick blender until mixture thickens and pales a bit. Add olive oil mixture. Zap with stick blender for about 15 seconds, scrape sides and zap again.
5. Add shea butter. Hand stir until MEDIUM trace is achieved. Shea traces quickly, so hand stirring is sufficient.
6. Add almond oil with fragrance. Stir to maintain medium trace.
7. Carefully stir in the soap curls. Make sure everything is very well blended. At this point your soap mixture is going to look very lumpy and thick with the curls being the lumps. This is actually good. It shows your soap base is thick enough to support the weight of the curls, and they'll be spread out throughout the soap as opposed to huddling in the bottom of the mold.
8. Pour, glop or otherwise get the soap into your lined mold. If the mixture is very thick, bang the mold down a few times on your counter. Make sure there are no air pockets, as some of the curls may try to create some.
9. Place a layer of transparent film over the soap once you feel it's packed tightly into the mold. Take the mold lid, and press gently down with even pressure all over. Wrap your mold in towels and blankets, and ignore for 24 hours. No peeking!
After 24 hours, soap should be firm. Slice and cure for about 5 weeks. I like large square slices as that allows for the most color effects between the multicolored strands and the creamy soap. Your soap will look lovely, smell great, and feel fantastic. ENJOY!
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