Making Cold Process Soap
First you have to understand the basics of what happens when you want your end-product to be: beautiful, bubbly, beneficial soap. What you need to achieve is a chemical reaction between your basic ingredients which need to be oils, water and Sodium Hydroxide (lye). I will talk you through it here, but I would highly recommend that you read some books on the subject first, which is how I started. This is the book I started with and highly recommend!! It gives an easy explanation of the process and starts you off with basic recipes which contain only 3 ingredients, to which you add your own blend of essential oils/fragrances. You can then continue through Melinda's further, excellent recipes as you gain in skill and confidence. But first, a caution! Sodium Hydroxide / Caustic Soda / Lye ~ whatever you call it, it's a dangerous chemical and you MUST take precautions: Equipment You Will Need: Heatproof equipment and utensils: 2 x glass 4-cup measures, 2 spatulas, a cooking thermometer, a large knife, a 2-pound+ scale, and a soap mould - you can re-use Pringles cartons (thoroughly washed first!), plastic food trays from the supermarket, shoe boxes lined with bin bags... almost anything!Old towels or blankets A Basic Recipe for Beginners Makes a 2lb batch of soap Instructions: Take one measuring cup and add the water. Gently stir in the Sodium Hydroxide, just a bit at a time, until it fully dissolves. Set aside to cool to 110 degrees. Weight out your oils and add to your pan. Gently heat with an occasional stir until thoroughly melted. When both oils and Sodium Hydroxide have reached 110degrees very slowly pour the Sodium Hydroxide into the oil, stirring gently as you pour. Continue stirring until you reach “trace” - the point when your utensil leaves a pattern on the surface of the soap. This should take about 15 minutes. Add whichever essential or fragrance oils you have chosen - I suggest approx 12 drops per 2lb batch. Very carefully pour the liquid into your soap mould, scraping from the edges and bottom of the pan as well. Some people suggest covering the top of the soap with cling film as it prevents soap ash forming on the top, then wrap your entire mould with a couple of towels and leave for 24 hours. With gloves on as the soap is still caustic, release the soap from the mould by turning upside down on a further towel. Take your knife and carefully cut the block into bars of your own size preference. Place the bars in a cool, dry place and leave to cure for 4 weeks. I write notes telling me the dates the soap was made and the end date for when it will finish curing, otherwise it is too easy to lose count! Turn the bars occasionally (with gloves on!) to ensure they dry evenly. You’ve just made cold process soap! And that's when the fun begins! Once you've started using your fist handmade bar of soap and felt the texture and lather, so different from commercial bars, you'll want to pass it onto your friends and family and then you'll want to experiment more and more! At least, that's what happened to me! You can see the results of some of my efforts here:www.folksycom/everything4bathtime and here: What I would always recommend you do is double check your recipes before you start, and to do this you will need to learn how to use a recipe calculator, my favourite calculator can be found here: www.summerbeemeadow.com, just select the 5th button down: SBM Soap Calculator, enter your ingredients and click on "click here when done" button - this will tell you the correct amounts of water and Sodium Hydroxide and also your final weight so you can ensure it will fit your mould! And lastly: enjoy yourself!!
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