How to Make Your First Cold Process Soap
Making your own soap can be pretty intimidating. But for real, it’s pretty easy. In this recipe I will show you how to make a cold process soap at home with simple material and ingredients.
First let’s talk about safety. Soap is in fact simple to make but you need to be guarded. To make soap you need NaOH or caustic soda. Caustic soda is a pure acid. For example, if you put some HaOH on some meat it would eat (destroy) it. So when using NaOH you need to be cautious. Always wear gloves, goggles and use material you’re only going to use for soap making. We do not want to take any chances. This part might seem scary, but if you are cautious and you read a recipe carefully, it will work.
Finally, what’s cold saponification soap? Well, when you buy soap most of the time it’s a hot saponification process soap. Cold process is just soap made around 33° to 48°c and this technique is much better for your skin. Cold process keeps natural glycerine from the oils and the benefits from the oil. Hot process soap is just that you heat your soap to around 80° to 100°c. The difference is that cold saponification is the artisanal technique and it keeps all the good things in your product. Hot saponification destroy a large part of the glycerine and oils properties but is much quicker to make ( in industry ). I hope you will enjoy making homemade soap!
To make this soap you will need
Ingredients:
- Water: 358 g
- Lye: 146 g
- Coconut oil: 225 g
- Shea butter: 204 g
- Olive oil: 347 g
- Canola oil: 245 g
- Fragrance: 10 drops
- Accessories (to add on top or in your soap for decoration)
- Mica powder (for some color)
To make soap you need a bunch of material only used for soap making.
Material to make soap:
- A soap mold of 1555,43ml *or bigger. Divide the recipe if you use a smaller mold. *if you adjust the recipe for a different portion, you can use a web site : soap calculator
- two big glass bowls
- A large bowl
- A small and a big spatula
A balance- A stick blender
- One whip
- A microwave or a ( bain-marie )
- A spoon to take out the oil out of the containers
Make sure to protect yourself while doing this process.
Safety material
- Goggles
- Long science gloves
- A long-sleeve T-shirt
- Closed shoes
- A table for soap making or a table with a cover
- A tray with water and vinegar ( the vinegar will stop the NaOH reaction )
Step one:
Prepare your area.
* Having your material close to you will help you to manage your time more easily, so your oils and NaOH don’t drop in temperature.
Step 2
To begin, melt your coconut oil and your shea butter in two separate bowls into the microwave 30 seconds by 30 seconds. *Shea butter does not melt as fast as coconut oil. After combining your olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and canola oil in one of the bowls. Mix well. We need the oil to be around 40°c to a 48°c and set it a side.
To continue, you will need to slowly and carefully add the lye to your water and gently stir to dissolve all the lye. You must finish with a clear mixture. Put these bowls on the side.
Thirdly, take your stick blender and put it at the bottom of your oil bowl. Tap several times to release any bubble create by the stick blender.
Next, take your lye water and slowly pour it into your oil mixture next to the stick blender. (It would be easier to mix.)
Finally, pour your soap mixture into your mold.
Scrap out the edges so you get the most of your soap. Firmly tap your soap on the table to avoid any bubble. Optionally spray the top of your soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol. It will help to avoid soda ash. Set your soap a side for 3-4 days so it can firm a bit. After 3-4 days take your soap out of your mold and cut it. You need to rest the soaps for about 4-6 weeks before you can use it, so all the lye and water can dissolve.
To conclude, soap making is a long process. You will need to take precautions and to have patience. It’s a nice thing to do but what about liquid soap. How can you make it?
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