Do you love DIY cosmetic products?

Making exfoliating soap bars with walnut shells is very easy and takes less time than you would imagine!

To make about three bars of soap, you will need these ingredients:

• 22 g coconut oil
• 66 g palm oil
• 81 g almond oil
• 2 g lanolin
• 23 g sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)
• 56 g purified water
• Shells from 5 or 6 walnuts
• Favourite perfumed essence

Process:

Coarsely crush the walnut shells with a mortar, then blend them until you get very small grains. Filter the obtained powder with a colander, to remove the larger fragments, then set aside the finer portion.

In a glass jar, pour the water and add the caustic soda little by little (and not the other way around!), being careful as the mixture overheats very quickly. Stir with a teaspoon until the solution becomes clear, then let it cool for a few minutes.

In a Pyrex glass container, melt the oils and lanolin through a heated bath, stirring slowly until a homogeneous liquid is obtained, then add the caustic soda solution and mix for a couple of minutes.

With an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth, reaching a creamy consistency.

Now you can add the perfumed essences in the quantity you prefer and, lastly, the grains of walnut shells, mixing with a spatula or a spoon.

Finally, pour the soap into the silicone moulds and let it cool for at least 24 hours.

After unmoulding the soap bars, it is advisable to let them rest for a few days before using them, so as to allow them to dry and solidify well.

The obtained soap can be used both for cleaning your hands and your face, as it is very delicate. In addition, its composition will avoid that annoying sensation of ‘skin tightening’, often caused by more aggressive commercial soaps.

Prepared by Dr. Bruno Emilio