MSDS Name: Sodium Hydroxide
Catalog Numbers:
MCC-031356, NC9532183, NC9731968, NC9830469, S392-12, S392-212, S392-50, S399-1, XX1.5SODHYD20L, XX55254F30LB, XXS320EPB50KG, XXSS2S4F30LB
Synonyms:
Caustic soda; Soda lye; Sodium hydrate; Lye.
Company Identification: Fisher Scientific
1 Reagent Lane
Fairlawn, NJ 07410
For information, call: 201-796-7100
Emergency Number: 201-796-7100
For CHEMTREC assistance, call: 800-424-9300
For International CHEMTREC assistance, call: 703-527-3887
**** SECTION 2 - COMPOSITION, INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS ****
+----------------+--------------------------------------+----------+-----------+
| CAS# | Chemical Name | % | EINECS# |
|----------------|--------------------------------------|----------|-----------|
| 1310-73-2 |Sodium hydroxide | 50 | 215-185-5 |
|----------------|--------------------------------------|----------|-----------|
| 7732-18-5 |Water | 50 | 231-791-2 |
+----------------+--------------------------------------+----------+-----------+
Hazard Symbols: C
Risk Phrases: 35
**** SECTION 3 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION ****
EMERGENCY OVERVIEW
Appearance: clear.
Danger! Corrosive. Causes eye and skin burns. May cause severe respiratory tract irritation with possible burns. May cause severe digestive tract irritation with possible burns.
Target Organs: Eyes, skin, mucous membranes.
Potential Health Effects
Eye:
Causes eye burns. May cause chemical conjunctivitis and corneal damage.
Skin:
Causes skin burns. May cause deep, penetrating ulcers of the skin.
May cause skin rash (in milder cases), and cold and clammy skin with cyanosis or pale color.
Ingestion:
May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive tract. Causes gastrointestinal tract burns. May cause perforation of the digestive tract. Causes severe pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and shock.
May cause systemic effects.
Inhalation:
Irritation may lead to chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary edema.
Causes severe irritation of upper respiratory tract with coughing, burns, breathing difficulty, and possible coma. Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract. Aspiration may lead to pulmonary edema. May cause systemic effects.
Chronic:
Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Effects may be delayed.
**** SECTION 4 - FIRST AID MEASURES ****
Eyes:
In case of contact, immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Get medical aid immediately.
Skin:
In case of contact, immediately flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes while removing contaminated clothing and shoes.
Get medical aid immediately. Wash clothing before reuse.
Ingestion:
If swallowed, do NOT induce vomiting. Get medical aid immediately.
If victim is fully conscious, give a cupful of water. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person.
Inhalation:
If inhaled, remove to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial respiration. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen. Get medical aid.
Notes to Physician:
Treat symptomatically and supportively.
**** SECTION 5 - FIRE FIGHTING MEASURES ****
General Information:
As in any fire, wear a self-contained breathing apparatus in pressure-demand, MSHA/NIOSH (approved or equivalent), and full protective gear. During a fire, irritating and highly toxic gases may be generated by thermal decomposition or combustion. Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers cool. Use water with caution and in flooding amounts. Vapors may be heavier than air. They can spread along the ground and collect in low or confined areas. Contact with metals may evolve flammable hydrogen gas. Containers may explode when heated. Non-combustible, substance itself does not burn but may decompose upon heating to produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic fumes.
Extinguishing Media:
Do NOT get water inside containers. For small fires, use dry chemical, carbon dioxide, or water spray. For large fires, use dry chemical, carbon dioxide, alcohol-resistant foam, or water spray.
Cool containers with flooding quantities of water until well after fire is out.
Autoignition Temperature:Not applicable.
Flash Point: Not applicable.
Explosion Limits, lower:Not available.
Explosion Limits, upper:Not available.
NFPA Rating: (estimated) Health: 3; Flammability: 0; Reactivity: 1
**** SECTION 6 - ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES ****
General Information: Use proper personal protective equipment as indicated
in Section 8.
Spills/Leaks:
Absorb spill with inert material (e.g. vermiculite, sand or earth), then place in suitable container. Avoid runoff into storm sewers and ditches which lead to waterways. Clean up spills immediately, observing precautions in the Protective Equipment section. Provide ventilation.
**** SECTION 7 - HANDLING and STORAGE ****
Handling:
Wash thoroughly after handling. Use only in a well-ventilated area.
Do not breathe dust, vapor, mist, or gas. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing. Keep container tightly closed. Do not ingest or inhale. Discard contaminated shoes.
Storage:
Keep container closed when not in use. Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area away from incompatible substances. Keep away from strong acids. Keep away from metals. Keep away from flammable liquids. Keep away from organic halogens.
**** SECTION 8 - EXPOSURE CONTROLS, PERSONAL PROTECTION ****
Engineering Controls:
Facilities storing or utilizing this material should be equipped with an eyewash facility and a safety shower. Use adequate general or local exhaust ventilation to keep airborne concentrations below the permissible exposure limits.
Exposure Limits
+--------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-----------------+
| Chemical Name | ACGIH | NIOSH |OSHA - Final PELs|
|--------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|
| Sodium hydroxide |C 2 mg/m3 | 10 mg/m3 IDLH |2 mg/m3 TWA |
|--------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-----------------|
| Water |none listed |none listed |none listed |
+--------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-----------------+
OSHA Vacated PELs:
Sodium hydroxide:
C 2 mg/m3
Water:
No OSHA Vacated PELs are listed for this chemical.
Personal Protective Equipment
Eyes:
Wear chemical goggles and face shield.
Skin:
Wear appropriate protective gloves to prevent skin exposure.
Clothing:
Wear appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin exposure.
Respirators:
A respiratory protection program that meets OSHA's 29 CFR :1910.134 and ANSI Z88.2 requirements or European Standard EN 149 must be followed whenever workplace conditions warrant a respirator's use.
**** SECTION 9 - PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES ****
Physical State: Liquid
Appearance: clear
Odor: none reported
pH: Alkaline
Vapor Pressure: 14 mm Hg
Vapor Density: >1.0
Evaporation Rate: Not available.
Viscosity: >1 (ether=1)
Boiling Point: 212 deg F
Freezing/Melting Point: 32 deg F
Decomposition Temperature: Not available.
Solubility in water: Completely soluble in water.
Specific Gravity/Density: 1.0
Molecular Formula: NaOH
Molecular Weight: 0
**** SECTION 10 - STABILITY AND REACTIVITY ****
Chemical Stability:
Stable at room temperature in closed containers under normal storage and handling conditions.
Conditions to Avoid:
Extreme temperatures.
Incompatibilities with Other Materials:
Metals, acids, nitro compounds, halogenated organics (e.g. dibromoethane, hexachlorobenzene, methyl chloride, trichloroethylene), nitromethane, flammable liquids.
Hazardous Decomposition Products:
Toxic fumes of sodium oxide.
Hazardous Polymerization: Has not been reported.
**** SECTION 11 - TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION ****
RTECS#:
CAS# 1310-73-2: WB4900000
CAS# 7732-18-5: ZC0110000
LD50/LC50:
CAS# 1310-73-2: Draize test, rabbit, eye: 400 ug Mild; Draize test, rabbit, eye: 1% Severe; Draize test, rabbit, eye: 50 ug/24H Severe; Draize test, rabbit, eye: 1 mg/24H Severe; Draize test, rabbit, skin: 500 mg/24H Severe. CAS# 7732-18-5: Oral, rat: LD50 = >90 mL/kg.
Carcinogenicity:
Sodium hydroxide -
Not listed by ACGIH, IARC, NIOSH, NTP, or OSHA.
Water -
Not listed by ACGIH, IARC, NIOSH, NTP, or OSHA.
Epidemiology:
No information found.
Teratogenicity:
No information found.
Reproductive Effects:
No information found.
Neurotoxicity:
No information found.
Mutagenicity:
No information found.
Other Studies:
See actual entry in RTECS for complete information.
**** SECTION 12 - ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION ****
**** SECTION 13 - DISPOSAL CONSIDERATIONS ****
Chemical waste generators must determine whether a discarded chemical is classified as a hazardous waste.
US EPA guidelines for the classification determination are listed in 40 CFR Parts 261.3. Additionally, waste generators must consult state and local hazardous waste regulations to ensure complete and accurate classification.
RCRA P-Series: None listed.
RCRA U-Series: None listed.
**** SECTION 14 - TRANSPORT INFORMATION ****
US DOT
Shipping Name: SODIUM HYDROXIDE,SOLID
Hazard Class: 8
UN Number: UN1823
Packing Group: II
Canadian TDG
No information available.
**** SECTION 15 - REGULATORY INFORMATION ****
US FEDERAL
TSCA
CAS# 1310-73-2 is listed on the TSCA inventory.
CAS# 7732-18-5 is listed on the TSCA inventory.
Health & Safety Reporting List
None of the chemicals are on the Health & Safety Reporting List.
Chemical Test Rules
None of the chemicals in this product are under a Chemical Test Rule.
Section 12b
None of the chemicals are listed under TSCA Section 12b.
TSCA Significant New Use Rule
None of the chemicals in this material have a SNUR under TSCA.
SARA
Section 302 (RQ)
CAS# 1310-73-2: final RQ = 1000 pounds (454 kg)
Section 302 (TPQ)
None of the chemicals in this product have a TPQ.
SARA Codes
CAS # 1310-73-2: acute, reactive.
Section 313
No chemicals are reportable under Section 313.
Clean Air Act:
This material does not contain any hazardous air pollutants.
This material does not contain any Class 1 Ozone depletors.
This material does not contain any Class 2 Ozone depletors.
Clean Water Act:
CAS# 1310-73-2 is listed as a Hazardous Substance under the CWA.
None of the chemicals in this product are listed as Priority
Pollutants under the CWA.
None of the chemicals in this product are listed as Toxic Pollutants
under the CWA.
OSHA:
None of the chemicals in this product are considered highly hazardous
by OSHA.
STATE
Sodium hydroxide can be found on the following state right to know lists: California, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota,
Massachusetts.
Water is not present on state lists from CA, PA, MN, MA, FL, or NJ.
California No Significant Risk Level:
None of the chemicals in this product are listed.
European/International Regulations
European Labeling in Accordance with EC Directives
Hazard Symbols: C
Risk Phrases:
R 35 Causes severe burns.
Safety Phrases:
S 26 In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice.
S 37/39 Wear suitable gloves and eye/face protection.
S 45 In case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately (show the label where possible).
WGK (Water Danger/Protection)
CAS# 1310-73-2: 1
CAS# 7732-18-5: No information available.
United Kingdom Occupational Exposure Limits
CAS# 1310-73-2: OES-United Kingdom, STEL 2 mg/m3 STEL
CAS# 1310-73-2: OES-United Kingdom, STEL 2 mg/m3 STEL
Canada
CAS# 1310-73-2 is listed on Canada's DSL List.
CAS# 7732-18-5 is listed on Canada's DSL List.
This product has a WHMIS classification of E.
CAS# 1310-73-2 is listed on Canada's Ingredient Disclosure List.
CAS# 7732-18-5 is not listed on Canada's Ingredient Disclosure List.
Exposure Limits
CAS# 1310-73-2: OEL-AUSTRALIA:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-BELGIUM:STEL 2 mg/m3
OEL-DENMARK:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-FINLAND:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-FRANCE:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-GERMANY:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-JAPAN:STEL 2 mg/m3
OEL-THE NETHERLANDS:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-THE PHILIPPINES:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-SWEDEN:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-SWITZERLAND:TWA 2 mg/m3;STEL 4 mg/m3
OEL-THAILAND:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-TURKEY:TWA 2 mg/m3
OEL-UNITED KINGDOM:TWA 2 mg/m3;STEL 2 mg/m3
OEL IN BULGARIA, COLOMBIA, JORDAN, KOREA check ACGIH TLV
OEL IN NEW ZEALAND, SINGAPORE, VIETNAM check ACGI TLV
**** SECTION 16 - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ****
MSDS Creation Date: 9/24/1997 Revision #4 Date: 8/06/2001
The information above is believed to be accurate and represents the best information currently available to us. However, we make no warranty of merchantability or any other warranty, express or implied, with respect to such information, and we assume no liability resulting from its use. Users should make their own investigations to determine the suitability of the information for their particular purposes. In no way shall the company be liable for any claims, losses, or damages of any third party or for lost
profits or any special, indirect, incidental, consequential or exemplary damages, howsoever arising, even if the company has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Sunday 15 September 2002
Lye Soap
Introduction
Contrary to what you might think, soap was not invented for purposes of personal hygeine. Rather, it was invented early on to solve a problem with textiles: wool as it comes from the sheep is coated with a layer of grease that interferes with the application of dyes. And colorful yarns were valued very early in the history of textiles. A colored garment was an expensive garment and therefore an indication of wealth and status.
Soap very likely counts potash as a direct ancestor. If you rub a solution of potash or soda ash between your fingers, it feels soapy. If you taste it, it tastes soapy. In fact, another name for soda ash is washing soda and you can buy it in the grocery store in the laundry detergent section.
Potash by itself is not a very effective soap. If fat is boiled in potash, however, it makes a pretty good soap. And a really strong soap comes from boiling fat in a strongly basic solution, such as a lye solution.
The Chemistry of Lye
Lye can be made very easily from lime and soda ash using a classic metathesis reaction:
Ca(OH)2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) -----> 2 NaOH + CaCO3(s)
While lime is more alkaline than soda ash, when reacted together they produce a stronger alkali than either of the two separately. Synonyms for lye are caustic soda, and sodium hydroxide. It remains one of the most important alkalis in modern chemical industry though it is no longer manufactured from lime and soda ash. In addition to its many uses in chemical manufacture, it is the most common ingredient in drain openers and can be bought in the grocery store in the drain opener section.
U.S. production of lye in 1989 was 10 billion kg making it the 9th most-produced chemical in the U.S.
The Chemistry of Soap
We have talked a bit about water solubility but have not really discussed why some things are soluble in water while others are not. We can in general divide compounds into ionic compounds (like salt, potash, and lime), polar compounds (like water and alcohol), and non-polar compounds (like fats, oils, and gasoline.
Let us begin by talking about the structure of water. Water molecules consist of 2 hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom with the oxygen in between the two hydrogens and a bond angle of about 104 degrees. Oxygen is far more electronegative than hyrogen and so it tends to hog more of the electrons. Consequently the water molecule is polar, with a positive charge at one end of the molecule and a negative charge at the other. In the figure, the molecule on the left shows two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom bound together into a water molecule. The molecule on the right shows the distribution of charges on the water molecule. A red color denotes a negative charge, while a blue color denotes a positive charge. The positive end of one water molecule will be strongly attracted to the negative end of another water molecule. When an ionic compound, like sodium chloride, dissolves in water, oxygen (negative) end is attracted to the cations (positive ions) while the hydrogen (positive) end of the molecule is attracted to the anions (negative ions). The solubility of a substance in water is largely determined by the relative strength of the attraction of water to the substance compared to the strength of the attraction between water molecules.
In contrast to oxygen, carbon has almost the same electronegativity as hydrogen and the carbon-hydrogen bond is non-polar. For example, the octane molecule (a component of gasoline) consists of 8 carbon atoms in a chain, with 2 hydrogens attached to the interior carbons and 3 hydrogens on the end carbons. Since the electrons are not hogged by any of the atoms, the molecule is electrically neutral along its entire length. In the figure, the molecule on the left shows eight carbon atoms and eighteen hydrogen atoms bound together into an octane molecule. The molecule on the right shows the distribution of charges on the octane molecule. No regions of red and blue show up because there are no strongly negative or strongly positive regions in the molecule. Instead, the molecule is green, which denotes neutrality in this figure.
The simplest way to understand solubility is to remember the rule "like dissolves like," that is polar and ionic substances are soluble in polar and ionic substances while non-polar substances are soluble in non-polar substances. Thus salt dissolves in water but not in gasoline. Oil dissolves in gasoline but not water.
Now, living cells need both polar and non-polar substances. The cell uses non-polar substances, fats and oils, to make up the cell membrane which separates the interior of the cell from the exterior. If the cell membrane were soluble in water, it would dissolve away and soon there would be nothing to divide the cell from the non-cell. But in order to get to the cell in the first place, all the parts of the cell must be water soluble because that's how materials get transported from place to place. What nature needs is a non-polar material that can be dissolved, moved around, and then made non-polar again. This material is known as a lipid, or triglyceride.
A lipid consists of two parts, a fatty acid, and a type of alcohol called glycerol, or glycerine. The fatty acid by itself and the glycerol by itself are both water soluble because of the polar oxygen atoms on the ends of these molecules. In a lipid, three fatty acids are bonded to the three oxygens on the glycerol. Although the oxygens are still there, they are now buried way down inside the molecule and the lipid is essentially non-polar and therefore insoluble in water.
Now fatty acids and glycerol may seem pretty exotic, but they are variations on molecules with which we are already familiar. Glycerol (aka glycerine) is simply a tri-alcohol, i.e. an alcohol with three OH groups. It has chemistry similar to that of ethanol. Whereas ethanol is C2H5OH, glycerol is C3H5(OH)3. The chemistry is dominated by the properties of the OH group. Because the OH group is polar, alcohols tend to be soluble in water.
We are also familiar with an organic acid, acetic acid, the acidic component of vinegar. Wereas acetic acid is CH3COOH, a fatty acid has formula CnH2n+1COOH. The chemistry is dominated by the properties of the COOH group. Because this group is polar, fatty acids tend to be soluble in water. Octanoic acid, C8H17COOH, is just one of a very large number of fatty acids. In fact, most fatty acids are longer than octanoic acid. Two very common components of lipids are palmitic acid (C15H31COOH) and stearic acid (C17H35COOH). Solid lipids are generally called fats.
All the fatty acids we have discussed so far are saturated, i.e. they have 2n+1 hydrogens for every n carbons. Another class of fatty acids are the unsaturated fatty acids, with less than 2n+1 hydrogens for every n carbons. Oleic acid, for example, has formula C17H33COOH and linoleic acid has formula C17H31COOH.
Saturated fats contain saturated fatty acids and are solids at room temperature. Lard, and butter are examples of saturated fats. Soap made from these fats tends also to be solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats contain unsaturated fatty acids and are liquids at room temperature. Generally called oils, examples include corn oil and safflower oil. These oils produce liquid soap. While unsaturated fats are generally more healthy than saturated fats, many times a liquid fat is not convenient. For example, margerine is made from unsaturated plant oils (e.g. corn oil) which has been hydrogenated to produce a saturated (solid) fat.
To make soap, we must break the fat into its fatty acid and glycerol constituents. The fatty acid has a long hydrocarbon tail which is soluble in fats, and a polar oxygen end which is soluble in water. Thus a fatty acid in solution acts as a soap by dissolving fats in one end of the molecule and water in the other. When we use a strong base, such as lye to break apart or hydrolyse the fat, the fatty acid is present as a large cation which is polar at one end and non-polar at the other. Just as we can have sodium chloride and sodium carbonate which are soluble in water, we can have sodium octanoate, the sodium salt of octanoic acid, which is also soluble in water.
Let's take a fat derived from palm oil (containing palmitic acid) and hydrolyse it using sodium hydroxide. Saponification is the term applied to the hydrolysis of fats using a strong alkali like lye. The reaction is
[C15H31CO]3[C3H5O3](s) + 3 NaOH(aq) -----> 3 C15H31COONa(aq) + C3H5(OH)3(aq)
fat(s) + 3 lye(aq) -----> 3 sodium palmitate(aq) + glycerol(aq)
While this reaction may appear intimidating because of the long formulas, it is, in fact, quite simple. It could be written generally as
[RCO]3[C3H5O3](s) + 3 NaOH(aq) -----> 3 RCOONa(aq) + C3H5(OH)3(aq)
Where "R" is some long carbon hydrogen chain. If you look on a list of ingredients on a soap, you will find things like "sodium stearate," "sodium palmitate," or, generally, "sodium somebiglongnameate." This is simply specifying the particular fatty acids present in the soap.
When fat is introduced to a soap solution, the non-polar tail of the fatty acids dissolves in the non-polar fat, leaving the water-soluble oxygen end at the surface of the fat globule. Now, with enough soap, these fat globules become covered with a water-soluble coating and disperse throughout the solution. They are not truly dissolved since individual fat molecules are not dispersed in the solution. Rather, we say the fat is emulsified. Notice the glycerol molecule in the upper right hand corner of the figure.
Instructions
You could make your own lye from soda ash and lime, but the reaction is so simple that we will dispense with it here and use commerical lye from the grocery store. You will need two containers, one in which fat can be melted, the other in which lye can be safely dissolved. Pottery would be ideal for both purposes. But none of the chemistry (with one exception) relies on the properties of the container. That exception is that lye must not be placed in an aluminum container as it reacts violently with aluminum.
That said, you are free to use any pottery, metal, or glass pot for melting your fat and any water-tight container for dissolving the lye. We will assume you are melting fat in a metal saucepan or glass beaker and dissilving your lye in our old friend, the 2 L soft drink bottle.
Since most students are not set up for general housekeeping, glass beakers and hotplates will be available in one hood of the general chemistry lab for you to use. You will need to bring one cup of fat and a container to put your finished soap in (e.g., the 2 L soft drink bottle). You may use any animal or vegetable fat, margerine, lard, or butter. You can even use bacon grease if you have a place to cook!
You may use the lab space only during th V period. You must let Dr. Dunn know you are working so he can assist you in case of problems.
Rubber gloves and safety glasses are available and must be worn while in the lab. Caustic soda is extremely caustic!
A typical soap recipe:
12 ounces of lye (a full can)
5 cups of water
2.75 kg of fat
This is way too much material to fit in our 2 L bottle! Use Unit Factor Analysis to determine how many grams of lye and fat to use with 250 mL of water. It may help you to know that there are 16 cups in a gallon.
Get one of the lab assistants to check your arithmetic: too much lye will produce soap that eats your skin. Too much fat will make soap that is greasy and ineffective.
Weigh your lye into a beaker and add enough water to make 250 mL of solution. The water will get hot as the lye dissolves. Stir the solution with a glass rod until the lye is completely dissolved.
Weight out your fat into a separate beaker (or saucepan) and melt it using a hotplate.
Let both the fat and the lye solution cool to lukewarm. You can test by feeling the outside of the beakers. They should be warm to the touch but not hot.
Pour the lye solution into the 2 L bottle. Then pour the cool but still melted fat into the 2 L bottle. The lye solution and fat will separate into two layers like oil and water.
Put the cap on the 2 L bottle and gently shake to mix these two layers, much as you would shake salad dressing. Stop shaking and look to see if the layers separate. If they do, shake again. Gradually, the fat will thicken and it will take longer and longer for the two layers to separate.
When the layers no longer separate, you can stop shaking. Let your mixture sit for a day or two until saponification is complete.
Clean up after yourself. Wash all the utensiles you have used. Make sure the lid is on the lye container. Leave the space cleaner than when you found it.
The whole process takes about an hour, depending on the properties of the fat you used. If the mixture seems to curdle and looks like cottage cheese, don't worry. Just let the mixture sit for a few days and every time you pass it, give it a hearty shake. The most frustrating thing is to work on a soap, assume it didn't work, and throw it away when all it needed was a little time.
Save your soap for a later project. You can use it to wash your yarn prior to dyeing it.
Criteria for Success
I will evaluate your soap by dissoving it in water and shaking it up to see if it makes suds. If it does, you pass; if it doesn't, you fail. Of course, you can try again (once per day) until you pass.
Introduction
Contrary to what you might think, soap was not invented for purposes of personal hygeine. Rather, it was invented early on to solve a problem with textiles: wool as it comes from the sheep is coated with a layer of grease that interferes with the application of dyes. And colorful yarns were valued very early in the history of textiles. A colored garment was an expensive garment and therefore an indication of wealth and status.
Soap very likely counts potash as a direct ancestor. If you rub a solution of potash or soda ash between your fingers, it feels soapy. If you taste it, it tastes soapy. In fact, another name for soda ash is washing soda and you can buy it in the grocery store in the laundry detergent section.
Potash by itself is not a very effective soap. If fat is boiled in potash, however, it makes a pretty good soap. And a really strong soap comes from boiling fat in a strongly basic solution, such as a lye solution.
The Chemistry of Lye
Lye can be made very easily from lime and soda ash using a classic metathesis reaction:
Ca(OH)2(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) -----> 2 NaOH + CaCO3(s)
While lime is more alkaline than soda ash, when reacted together they produce a stronger alkali than either of the two separately. Synonyms for lye are caustic soda, and sodium hydroxide. It remains one of the most important alkalis in modern chemical industry though it is no longer manufactured from lime and soda ash. In addition to its many uses in chemical manufacture, it is the most common ingredient in drain openers and can be bought in the grocery store in the drain opener section.
U.S. production of lye in 1989 was 10 billion kg making it the 9th most-produced chemical in the U.S.
The Chemistry of Soap
We have talked a bit about water solubility but have not really discussed why some things are soluble in water while others are not. We can in general divide compounds into ionic compounds (like salt, potash, and lime), polar compounds (like water and alcohol), and non-polar compounds (like fats, oils, and gasoline.
Let us begin by talking about the structure of water. Water molecules consist of 2 hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom with the oxygen in between the two hydrogens and a bond angle of about 104 degrees. Oxygen is far more electronegative than hyrogen and so it tends to hog more of the electrons. Consequently the water molecule is polar, with a positive charge at one end of the molecule and a negative charge at the other. In the figure, the molecule on the left shows two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom bound together into a water molecule. The molecule on the right shows the distribution of charges on the water molecule. A red color denotes a negative charge, while a blue color denotes a positive charge. The positive end of one water molecule will be strongly attracted to the negative end of another water molecule. When an ionic compound, like sodium chloride, dissolves in water, oxygen (negative) end is attracted to the cations (positive ions) while the hydrogen (positive) end of the molecule is attracted to the anions (negative ions). The solubility of a substance in water is largely determined by the relative strength of the attraction of water to the substance compared to the strength of the attraction between water molecules.
In contrast to oxygen, carbon has almost the same electronegativity as hydrogen and the carbon-hydrogen bond is non-polar. For example, the octane molecule (a component of gasoline) consists of 8 carbon atoms in a chain, with 2 hydrogens attached to the interior carbons and 3 hydrogens on the end carbons. Since the electrons are not hogged by any of the atoms, the molecule is electrically neutral along its entire length. In the figure, the molecule on the left shows eight carbon atoms and eighteen hydrogen atoms bound together into an octane molecule. The molecule on the right shows the distribution of charges on the octane molecule. No regions of red and blue show up because there are no strongly negative or strongly positive regions in the molecule. Instead, the molecule is green, which denotes neutrality in this figure.
The simplest way to understand solubility is to remember the rule "like dissolves like," that is polar and ionic substances are soluble in polar and ionic substances while non-polar substances are soluble in non-polar substances. Thus salt dissolves in water but not in gasoline. Oil dissolves in gasoline but not water.
Now, living cells need both polar and non-polar substances. The cell uses non-polar substances, fats and oils, to make up the cell membrane which separates the interior of the cell from the exterior. If the cell membrane were soluble in water, it would dissolve away and soon there would be nothing to divide the cell from the non-cell. But in order to get to the cell in the first place, all the parts of the cell must be water soluble because that's how materials get transported from place to place. What nature needs is a non-polar material that can be dissolved, moved around, and then made non-polar again. This material is known as a lipid, or triglyceride.
A lipid consists of two parts, a fatty acid, and a type of alcohol called glycerol, or glycerine. The fatty acid by itself and the glycerol by itself are both water soluble because of the polar oxygen atoms on the ends of these molecules. In a lipid, three fatty acids are bonded to the three oxygens on the glycerol. Although the oxygens are still there, they are now buried way down inside the molecule and the lipid is essentially non-polar and therefore insoluble in water.
Now fatty acids and glycerol may seem pretty exotic, but they are variations on molecules with which we are already familiar. Glycerol (aka glycerine) is simply a tri-alcohol, i.e. an alcohol with three OH groups. It has chemistry similar to that of ethanol. Whereas ethanol is C2H5OH, glycerol is C3H5(OH)3. The chemistry is dominated by the properties of the OH group. Because the OH group is polar, alcohols tend to be soluble in water.
We are also familiar with an organic acid, acetic acid, the acidic component of vinegar. Wereas acetic acid is CH3COOH, a fatty acid has formula CnH2n+1COOH. The chemistry is dominated by the properties of the COOH group. Because this group is polar, fatty acids tend to be soluble in water. Octanoic acid, C8H17COOH, is just one of a very large number of fatty acids. In fact, most fatty acids are longer than octanoic acid. Two very common components of lipids are palmitic acid (C15H31COOH) and stearic acid (C17H35COOH). Solid lipids are generally called fats.
All the fatty acids we have discussed so far are saturated, i.e. they have 2n+1 hydrogens for every n carbons. Another class of fatty acids are the unsaturated fatty acids, with less than 2n+1 hydrogens for every n carbons. Oleic acid, for example, has formula C17H33COOH and linoleic acid has formula C17H31COOH.
Saturated fats contain saturated fatty acids and are solids at room temperature. Lard, and butter are examples of saturated fats. Soap made from these fats tends also to be solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats contain unsaturated fatty acids and are liquids at room temperature. Generally called oils, examples include corn oil and safflower oil. These oils produce liquid soap. While unsaturated fats are generally more healthy than saturated fats, many times a liquid fat is not convenient. For example, margerine is made from unsaturated plant oils (e.g. corn oil) which has been hydrogenated to produce a saturated (solid) fat.
To make soap, we must break the fat into its fatty acid and glycerol constituents. The fatty acid has a long hydrocarbon tail which is soluble in fats, and a polar oxygen end which is soluble in water. Thus a fatty acid in solution acts as a soap by dissolving fats in one end of the molecule and water in the other. When we use a strong base, such as lye to break apart or hydrolyse the fat, the fatty acid is present as a large cation which is polar at one end and non-polar at the other. Just as we can have sodium chloride and sodium carbonate which are soluble in water, we can have sodium octanoate, the sodium salt of octanoic acid, which is also soluble in water.
Let's take a fat derived from palm oil (containing palmitic acid) and hydrolyse it using sodium hydroxide. Saponification is the term applied to the hydrolysis of fats using a strong alkali like lye. The reaction is
[C15H31CO]3[C3H5O3](s) + 3 NaOH(aq) -----> 3 C15H31COONa(aq) + C3H5(OH)3(aq)
fat(s) + 3 lye(aq) -----> 3 sodium palmitate(aq) + glycerol(aq)
While this reaction may appear intimidating because of the long formulas, it is, in fact, quite simple. It could be written generally as
[RCO]3[C3H5O3](s) + 3 NaOH(aq) -----> 3 RCOONa(aq) + C3H5(OH)3(aq)
Where "R" is some long carbon hydrogen chain. If you look on a list of ingredients on a soap, you will find things like "sodium stearate," "sodium palmitate," or, generally, "sodium somebiglongnameate." This is simply specifying the particular fatty acids present in the soap.
When fat is introduced to a soap solution, the non-polar tail of the fatty acids dissolves in the non-polar fat, leaving the water-soluble oxygen end at the surface of the fat globule. Now, with enough soap, these fat globules become covered with a water-soluble coating and disperse throughout the solution. They are not truly dissolved since individual fat molecules are not dispersed in the solution. Rather, we say the fat is emulsified. Notice the glycerol molecule in the upper right hand corner of the figure.
Instructions
You could make your own lye from soda ash and lime, but the reaction is so simple that we will dispense with it here and use commerical lye from the grocery store. You will need two containers, one in which fat can be melted, the other in which lye can be safely dissolved. Pottery would be ideal for both purposes. But none of the chemistry (with one exception) relies on the properties of the container. That exception is that lye must not be placed in an aluminum container as it reacts violently with aluminum.
That said, you are free to use any pottery, metal, or glass pot for melting your fat and any water-tight container for dissolving the lye. We will assume you are melting fat in a metal saucepan or glass beaker and dissilving your lye in our old friend, the 2 L soft drink bottle.
Since most students are not set up for general housekeeping, glass beakers and hotplates will be available in one hood of the general chemistry lab for you to use. You will need to bring one cup of fat and a container to put your finished soap in (e.g., the 2 L soft drink bottle). You may use any animal or vegetable fat, margerine, lard, or butter. You can even use bacon grease if you have a place to cook!
You may use the lab space only during th V period. You must let Dr. Dunn know you are working so he can assist you in case of problems.
Rubber gloves and safety glasses are available and must be worn while in the lab. Caustic soda is extremely caustic!
A typical soap recipe:
12 ounces of lye (a full can)
5 cups of water
2.75 kg of fat
This is way too much material to fit in our 2 L bottle! Use Unit Factor Analysis to determine how many grams of lye and fat to use with 250 mL of water. It may help you to know that there are 16 cups in a gallon.
Get one of the lab assistants to check your arithmetic: too much lye will produce soap that eats your skin. Too much fat will make soap that is greasy and ineffective.
Weigh your lye into a beaker and add enough water to make 250 mL of solution. The water will get hot as the lye dissolves. Stir the solution with a glass rod until the lye is completely dissolved.
Weight out your fat into a separate beaker (or saucepan) and melt it using a hotplate.
Let both the fat and the lye solution cool to lukewarm. You can test by feeling the outside of the beakers. They should be warm to the touch but not hot.
Pour the lye solution into the 2 L bottle. Then pour the cool but still melted fat into the 2 L bottle. The lye solution and fat will separate into two layers like oil and water.
Put the cap on the 2 L bottle and gently shake to mix these two layers, much as you would shake salad dressing. Stop shaking and look to see if the layers separate. If they do, shake again. Gradually, the fat will thicken and it will take longer and longer for the two layers to separate.
When the layers no longer separate, you can stop shaking. Let your mixture sit for a day or two until saponification is complete.
Clean up after yourself. Wash all the utensiles you have used. Make sure the lid is on the lye container. Leave the space cleaner than when you found it.
The whole process takes about an hour, depending on the properties of the fat you used. If the mixture seems to curdle and looks like cottage cheese, don't worry. Just let the mixture sit for a few days and every time you pass it, give it a hearty shake. The most frustrating thing is to work on a soap, assume it didn't work, and throw it away when all it needed was a little time.
Save your soap for a later project. You can use it to wash your yarn prior to dyeing it.
Criteria for Success
I will evaluate your soap by dissoving it in water and shaking it up to see if it makes suds. If it does, you pass; if it doesn't, you fail. Of course, you can try again (once per day) until you pass.
Ostrich Soap
One of the reasons for making your own soap is that it truly is better than store bought, especially when ostrich and emu oil are used. When commercial manufacturers make soap, they take out most of the glycerine because it is more expensive and they can make more money by selling it separately. Many of you buy glycerine soap for its moisturising effects. All soap making formulas make a percentage of glycerine (I think about 17 percent). The main difference between home made and manufactured, besides the fact that we can use our own oils, is that we leave in the glycerine.
We have all heard of the benefits of using emu oil for pain relief, moisturising skin, etc. so why not make soap out of emu oil? I believe in the benefits of using emu oil but have had almost the exact benefits by using ostrich oil. I developed a formula for making emu oil soap except I also went farther and included ostrich oil since I have ostriches and no emus. I have tried several different formulas and have settled on one that works well and is less costly to make. It is composed of approximately 1/4 ostrich oil, 1/4 emu oil, 1/4 beef tallow, and 1/4 vegetable oil. This can be changed around many different ways but this seems to work well and is a cost that is reasonable. The use of coconut oil will give more bubbles but won't clean any better. Using lesser amounts of ostrich oil and emu oil would probably be as good because the oils that are completely converted into soap are probably the same end product. The amounts of lye will change with different formulas so don't change anything without knowing the effects.
I will be giving the amounts in grams but this doesn't have to be perfectly accurate to get soap. I try to be exact so the soap is not too oil heavy or lye heavy. Be sure to be extremely careful when working with lye because it is as bad as acid. Actually lye is a strong base and is the exact opposite of acid but just as potent. All you have to do is be careless one time and you will never make that mistake again. Hopefully the first careless mistake will be a tiny drop on your hand and not a big drop in your eye. If you do as I did and get several types of moulds (hardware stores sell them) and order lots of fragrance oils and then buy several stainless steel pans, you will have to make a lot of soap to break even. You need nothing special to mould the soap and anything will work for mixing except aluminium.
I am giving exact instructions and I will try to leave nothing out but please think this through before you start and ask questions if
You aren't sure about the directions. The process of developing a formula for good soap isn't easy. The saponification number is the number of units of lye to exactly transform the amount of fat or oil into soap and has exact measurements for each different fat or oil.
It has to be figured into the formula. I would like the soap to be 1 percent fat heavy so it isn't harsh to your skin. I use the Red Devil Lye. Be sure to use only sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide will work but the amounts will be different. Red Devil lye is found in the grocery store. The amount of scent that I give may or may not be enough depending on the strength you are using.
I measure all the ingredients, as I need to use them so I will list them in that order. Be sure you use clean and not rancid oils.
Measure
300 grams ........ ostrich oil
250 grams ........ emu oil
300 grams ........ canola oil
300 grams ........ beef tallow
50 grams ........ olive oil
Mix these into a pan and warm them over the stove. A double boiler works well but any way to heat them works OK - just be safe! The temperature needs to be about 120 degrees. I use the olive oil to make tiny bubbles.
Measure 494 grams of cold water (distilled water is best but not necessary). Put the "cold" water into a pan (not aluminium) that is big enough to hold all the ingredients at one time.
Measure 192.8 grams of lye and pour into the water slowly while stirring constantly. The lye will dissolve completely in about 1-2 minutes and the water will turn almost clear.
You won't need to heat this because it will get hot enough to burn your hands through the pan if you are holding it. Be careful with this mixture because it will burn like acid.
Place this pan aside to cool while you get the rest of the ingredients ready to mix.
Measure 50 grams of emu oil and 50 grams of your scenting oil together in a cup and heat this near 120 degrees. Set this cup aside while waiting for the rest to be mixed and get to the trace stage.
This is somewhat like the softball stage for candy making.
When the lye mixture and the oils mixture get to the approximate temperature of 120 degrees, pour the oil mixture into the pan containing the lye mixture.
Stir for 5-10 minutes (Many instructions say to stir constantly but I stir 5-10 minutes, wait 5 minutes, stir 5 minutes, etc.).
This may take up to 1.5-2 hours to get to the trace stage.
The idea is to keep the lye and oil in suspension together. You want the mixture to be so thick that there is no way for any part to settle out.
Trace stage is the point, which the mixture starts getting really thick. If you take a spoonful and string it across the mixture in the bowl, it will somewhat stay on top of the rest of the bowl.
At trace stage, 85-90 percent of the fat and lye has become soap and glycerine. This mixture will still be caustic because there has been more than enough lye added.
The reason for this is that we are making 1 percent fat heavy soap.
We kept out 50 grams of emu oil and 50 grams of scenting oil to "superfat" the soap. The reason for superfatting is that, if any oil isn't converted to soap, we want the emu oil left.
This soap should show some of the emu oils benefits.
I have had several people tell me that it helps their wrists when they are sore.
At trace stage, mix in the extra emu oil and scent from the cup we set aside. Mix well and add colouring if you want, then pour into moulds. The colouring could be just food colouring but it doesn't remain true to colour. You can buy soap colouring. The moulds could be just glass cake pans etc. Do not use aluminium!
Let the bars set for 24-48 hours and take them out and cut them into shape or, if there are in the shape you want, let them sit for 3-5 weeks.
You can wrap them in plastic (saran wrap) if you want. They will get a white, chalky, covering if exposed to the air but this will wash off quickly.
If you have any questions, please contact me before attempting to use my formula. There is nothing secret here but I want to be sure no one gets hurt
There is no magic in making soap but it does take time and you have to be extremely careful. Your first attempt will yield perfect bars if you measure carefully and follow the instructions.
This will yield about 15-20 bars depending on the size of each. You can double this recipe and it will work as well but the first time, you may want to go by the formula.
You could add a little corn meal for grit if you want better grease cutting hand soap. If you want to change any oil in this formula, contact me with your proposed changes and I will give you the change in the amount of lye.
I believe that we need to develop and use as many products as we can from our birds if we want to help our industry. Thank You,
Our thanks to Bill Spainhoward for allowing us to reproduce this recipe
Bill can be contacted at:
Ridgewood Ratites
9282 Ridgewood Rd.
Henderson,
KY 42420
U.S.A.
Email: oe1@oe1.com
http://www.oe1.com
http://www.bigbirds.com/ridgewood
Tel: + 1 (270) 826 6239
One of the reasons for making your own soap is that it truly is better than store bought, especially when ostrich and emu oil are used. When commercial manufacturers make soap, they take out most of the glycerine because it is more expensive and they can make more money by selling it separately. Many of you buy glycerine soap for its moisturising effects. All soap making formulas make a percentage of glycerine (I think about 17 percent). The main difference between home made and manufactured, besides the fact that we can use our own oils, is that we leave in the glycerine.
We have all heard of the benefits of using emu oil for pain relief, moisturising skin, etc. so why not make soap out of emu oil? I believe in the benefits of using emu oil but have had almost the exact benefits by using ostrich oil. I developed a formula for making emu oil soap except I also went farther and included ostrich oil since I have ostriches and no emus. I have tried several different formulas and have settled on one that works well and is less costly to make. It is composed of approximately 1/4 ostrich oil, 1/4 emu oil, 1/4 beef tallow, and 1/4 vegetable oil. This can be changed around many different ways but this seems to work well and is a cost that is reasonable. The use of coconut oil will give more bubbles but won't clean any better. Using lesser amounts of ostrich oil and emu oil would probably be as good because the oils that are completely converted into soap are probably the same end product. The amounts of lye will change with different formulas so don't change anything without knowing the effects.
I will be giving the amounts in grams but this doesn't have to be perfectly accurate to get soap. I try to be exact so the soap is not too oil heavy or lye heavy. Be sure to be extremely careful when working with lye because it is as bad as acid. Actually lye is a strong base and is the exact opposite of acid but just as potent. All you have to do is be careless one time and you will never make that mistake again. Hopefully the first careless mistake will be a tiny drop on your hand and not a big drop in your eye. If you do as I did and get several types of moulds (hardware stores sell them) and order lots of fragrance oils and then buy several stainless steel pans, you will have to make a lot of soap to break even. You need nothing special to mould the soap and anything will work for mixing except aluminium.
I am giving exact instructions and I will try to leave nothing out but please think this through before you start and ask questions if
You aren't sure about the directions. The process of developing a formula for good soap isn't easy. The saponification number is the number of units of lye to exactly transform the amount of fat or oil into soap and has exact measurements for each different fat or oil.
It has to be figured into the formula. I would like the soap to be 1 percent fat heavy so it isn't harsh to your skin. I use the Red Devil Lye. Be sure to use only sodium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide will work but the amounts will be different. Red Devil lye is found in the grocery store. The amount of scent that I give may or may not be enough depending on the strength you are using.
I measure all the ingredients, as I need to use them so I will list them in that order. Be sure you use clean and not rancid oils.
Measure
300 grams ........ ostrich oil
250 grams ........ emu oil
300 grams ........ canola oil
300 grams ........ beef tallow
50 grams ........ olive oil
Mix these into a pan and warm them over the stove. A double boiler works well but any way to heat them works OK - just be safe! The temperature needs to be about 120 degrees. I use the olive oil to make tiny bubbles.
Measure 494 grams of cold water (distilled water is best but not necessary). Put the "cold" water into a pan (not aluminium) that is big enough to hold all the ingredients at one time.
Measure 192.8 grams of lye and pour into the water slowly while stirring constantly. The lye will dissolve completely in about 1-2 minutes and the water will turn almost clear.
You won't need to heat this because it will get hot enough to burn your hands through the pan if you are holding it. Be careful with this mixture because it will burn like acid.
Place this pan aside to cool while you get the rest of the ingredients ready to mix.
Measure 50 grams of emu oil and 50 grams of your scenting oil together in a cup and heat this near 120 degrees. Set this cup aside while waiting for the rest to be mixed and get to the trace stage.
This is somewhat like the softball stage for candy making.
When the lye mixture and the oils mixture get to the approximate temperature of 120 degrees, pour the oil mixture into the pan containing the lye mixture.
Stir for 5-10 minutes (Many instructions say to stir constantly but I stir 5-10 minutes, wait 5 minutes, stir 5 minutes, etc.).
This may take up to 1.5-2 hours to get to the trace stage.
The idea is to keep the lye and oil in suspension together. You want the mixture to be so thick that there is no way for any part to settle out.
Trace stage is the point, which the mixture starts getting really thick. If you take a spoonful and string it across the mixture in the bowl, it will somewhat stay on top of the rest of the bowl.
At trace stage, 85-90 percent of the fat and lye has become soap and glycerine. This mixture will still be caustic because there has been more than enough lye added.
The reason for this is that we are making 1 percent fat heavy soap.
We kept out 50 grams of emu oil and 50 grams of scenting oil to "superfat" the soap. The reason for superfatting is that, if any oil isn't converted to soap, we want the emu oil left.
This soap should show some of the emu oils benefits.
I have had several people tell me that it helps their wrists when they are sore.
At trace stage, mix in the extra emu oil and scent from the cup we set aside. Mix well and add colouring if you want, then pour into moulds. The colouring could be just food colouring but it doesn't remain true to colour. You can buy soap colouring. The moulds could be just glass cake pans etc. Do not use aluminium!
Let the bars set for 24-48 hours and take them out and cut them into shape or, if there are in the shape you want, let them sit for 3-5 weeks.
You can wrap them in plastic (saran wrap) if you want. They will get a white, chalky, covering if exposed to the air but this will wash off quickly.
If you have any questions, please contact me before attempting to use my formula. There is nothing secret here but I want to be sure no one gets hurt
There is no magic in making soap but it does take time and you have to be extremely careful. Your first attempt will yield perfect bars if you measure carefully and follow the instructions.
This will yield about 15-20 bars depending on the size of each. You can double this recipe and it will work as well but the first time, you may want to go by the formula.
You could add a little corn meal for grit if you want better grease cutting hand soap. If you want to change any oil in this formula, contact me with your proposed changes and I will give you the change in the amount of lye.
I believe that we need to develop and use as many products as we can from our birds if we want to help our industry. Thank You,
Our thanks to Bill Spainhoward for allowing us to reproduce this recipe
Bill can be contacted at:
Ridgewood Ratites
9282 Ridgewood Rd.
Henderson,
KY 42420
U.S.A.
Email: oe1@oe1.com
http://www.oe1.com
http://www.bigbirds.com/ridgewood
Tel: + 1 (270) 826 6239
Saturday 14 September 2002
Getting the Gear - soapmaking equipment.
Author: Tammie Thomson Published on: May 13, 2000
Equipment
Most of the gear you need to make soap will be found in your kitchen already. If not, it can usually be easily found at a supermarket or convenience store, or better still, a secondhand shop!
Non-corrodible container in which to mix the oils and the lye.
Caustic soda is extremely corrosive, so if you go mixing it in your best iron or aluminium pots, you’ll end up with a) a very clean pot b) possibly a very thin pot and c) dissolved metal in your soap. Last time I checked, people weren’t all that fussed on metal-contaminated soap, so…
Instead, use heat-resistant plastic, glass or stainless steel containers. If you are unsure whether your container is stainless steel, check on the bottom. If you can’t find anything declaring it stainless steel, use a different container. I’ve heard people saying that they’ve tested their pot and it must be stainless steel because a magnet sticks to it. WRONG!
Stainless steel, despite its name, has little or no iron in it. It is an alloy, and magnets won’t stick to real stainless steel. Some stainless steel pots may have heavy bases with an iron core, in which case the magnet will stick to the base, but not the sides.
Plastic or wooden spoon
You’ll need this to mix the soap. Plastic is my preferred option as the lye does eat away the wooden spoons over a period of time. Your spoon may become discoloured, but it will still be okay.
Optional: Stick blender
These can be used instead of, or as well as, a wooden spoon. Using a stick blender speeds up the process of combining the oils and lye to the point of ‘trace’, which is when the mixture is thick enough to cover the spoon or blender without sliding off. For info on the true value of a stick blender go to http://www.inspirit.com.au/soapweb/newbi...
Moulds
This is the fun bit! Moulds frequently disguise themselves as other objects, such as lunchboxes, yoghurt/butter containers and dixie cups. Anything that is not corrodible and reasonably heat resistant will do. Purpose-made moulds are available from North Country Mercantile ( http://www.northcountrymecantile.com ) or from Milky Way Molds ( http://www.milkywaymolds.com ).
My favourite is a lunch box that is just the right size for a slab that can be cut into 4 bars (or eight if I do a double batch and make it deeper).
Thermometers
You can get by with one, but two makes it easier…one for the oils, one for the lye mixture. Candy thermometers are good for this, as they have the necessary range of temperatures.
SAFETY GEAR
Eye goggles or safety glasses
Caustic (lye) in the eye does not make for good vision. Even a tiny speck can affect your eyesight permanently. Better safe than sorry - put the safety goggles on!
Long clothing
Cover your arms and legs to minimise splash burns. Even without spilling the mixture, tiny splashes get everywhere. You know what it’s like after you’ve been mixing chocolate cake and you’re still finding brown splashes all over the place three days later? Well, soapmaking is the same, only the splashes burn.
Shoes
There’s nothing quite like burning, slippery soap mix on the feet to complicate life. Wear covered shoes.
Author: Tammie Thomson Published on: May 13, 2000
Equipment
Most of the gear you need to make soap will be found in your kitchen already. If not, it can usually be easily found at a supermarket or convenience store, or better still, a secondhand shop!
Non-corrodible container in which to mix the oils and the lye.
Caustic soda is extremely corrosive, so if you go mixing it in your best iron or aluminium pots, you’ll end up with a) a very clean pot b) possibly a very thin pot and c) dissolved metal in your soap. Last time I checked, people weren’t all that fussed on metal-contaminated soap, so…
Instead, use heat-resistant plastic, glass or stainless steel containers. If you are unsure whether your container is stainless steel, check on the bottom. If you can’t find anything declaring it stainless steel, use a different container. I’ve heard people saying that they’ve tested their pot and it must be stainless steel because a magnet sticks to it. WRONG!
Stainless steel, despite its name, has little or no iron in it. It is an alloy, and magnets won’t stick to real stainless steel. Some stainless steel pots may have heavy bases with an iron core, in which case the magnet will stick to the base, but not the sides.
Plastic or wooden spoon
You’ll need this to mix the soap. Plastic is my preferred option as the lye does eat away the wooden spoons over a period of time. Your spoon may become discoloured, but it will still be okay.
Optional: Stick blender
These can be used instead of, or as well as, a wooden spoon. Using a stick blender speeds up the process of combining the oils and lye to the point of ‘trace’, which is when the mixture is thick enough to cover the spoon or blender without sliding off. For info on the true value of a stick blender go to http://www.inspirit.com.au/soapweb/newbi...
Moulds
This is the fun bit! Moulds frequently disguise themselves as other objects, such as lunchboxes, yoghurt/butter containers and dixie cups. Anything that is not corrodible and reasonably heat resistant will do. Purpose-made moulds are available from North Country Mercantile ( http://www.northcountrymecantile.com ) or from Milky Way Molds ( http://www.milkywaymolds.com ).
My favourite is a lunch box that is just the right size for a slab that can be cut into 4 bars (or eight if I do a double batch and make it deeper).
Thermometers
You can get by with one, but two makes it easier…one for the oils, one for the lye mixture. Candy thermometers are good for this, as they have the necessary range of temperatures.
SAFETY GEAR
Eye goggles or safety glasses
Caustic (lye) in the eye does not make for good vision. Even a tiny speck can affect your eyesight permanently. Better safe than sorry - put the safety goggles on!
Long clothing
Cover your arms and legs to minimise splash burns. Even without spilling the mixture, tiny splashes get everywhere. You know what it’s like after you’ve been mixing chocolate cake and you’re still finding brown splashes all over the place three days later? Well, soapmaking is the same, only the splashes burn.
Shoes
There’s nothing quite like burning, slippery soap mix on the feet to complicate life. Wear covered shoes.
Hot Process Soaping - Instant Soap!
Author: Tammie Thomson Published on: July 15, 2000
Hot Process Soapmaking
Making soap is all fine and dandy, but then you have to wait for the stuff to cure before you can use it, and seeing and smelling the blocks of soap curing on your shelves while you wait is torture! Your hands just itch to take that lovely creation and rub it all over your body…you pick it up, run your hands over it, put your nose to it and breath in the smell…aahhhh…bliss. Then you have to put it back on the shelf until the days are crossed off your calendar.
There is another way…
Hot process soapmaking is the practice of using external heat to cook the oil/caustic mix. This increases the speed of the chemical process of saponification, and results in soap that is useable within hours rather than weeks.
Most commercially-made soaps are hot processed.
Methods
There are many methods of hot processing soap. Some involve the use of direct heat and some don't.
The first method I tried was direct heat. See http://members.tripod.com/allcrafts/inde... for an explanation of this process. Also see http://www.lis.ab.ca/walton/old/soap/soa... .
After dressing up to resemble a Chernobyl clean-up crewmember I put the oil/caustic mix into a stainless steel pot and put it on the stove. I stirred constantly so as to prevent the 'volcano thing' happening. 'The volcano thing' is where if you aren't stirring quickly or thoroughly enough the mixture rises up and suddenly spurts and splats all over the place. This is the reason for the Chernobyl suit. Boiling fat mixed with caustic is not a good thing to get on your body.
Because I was using a tallow-based mixture it all came together very quickly, and went from the 'apple-sauce' stage straight into the 'dried mashed potatoes that have been sitting in the pot outside for a day or so waiting for the dog to polish it off' stage. Hmm.
I gave up and left it in the pot overnight, chiseled it out the next day and grated it up for laundry soap. (Incidentally, tallow-based soaps are reputed to be the best for laundry purposes because of enzymes in the tallow.)
The next method I tried was the 'oven bag' method. Having read on lists of the technique of putting the mixture into and oven bag and boiling it in water, with the added bonus of simply cutting off the corner and squeezing it ala icing technique into the moulds, I went and bought some oven bags and tried it.
Nobody had thought to mention that the oven bags in the US are totally different to the ones here in Australia. Apparently the US ones are heavy, thick plastic. The Aussie ones aren't. In fact the Aussie ones are quite flimsy, thin, crackly and as I found out, they melt if you put them in boiling water for too long. Hmm.
I have to admit I was originally a bit dubious considering the build of the Aussie oven bag, but I figured an oven-bag was an oven-bag was an oven-bag.
I read of the crockpot technique of hot process soaping (see http://hometown.aol.com/pjdxxxwa/page1.h... ) but didn't have a crockpot, so gave that a miss. Since then I've heard that some people have found the glaze on their insert is affected by the caustic, so I don't think I'd use a crockpot that was used for food.
I'd also heard of the double boiler system, and had decided to try this out when my work commitments became much heavier and I was unable to make soap for some time.
Then by serendipity, Diane, a member of the Aussie Soapers mailing list ( http://www.egroups.com/group/AussieSoape... ) came up with the double boiler enclosed hot process (DBEHP) system ( http://www.ziggurat.org/soap/infobase/CS... ), which is a variation on the double boiler method.
This would have to be the easiest hot process method ever of making soap! No stirring, just get it to the boil and leave it for an hour or two, come back, test it. If it's done you add your scent and colour, mould it then come back the next day and unmould it, and if desired, use it.
No more waiting for endless weeks to use your creation!
Author: Tammie Thomson Published on: July 15, 2000
Hot Process Soapmaking
Making soap is all fine and dandy, but then you have to wait for the stuff to cure before you can use it, and seeing and smelling the blocks of soap curing on your shelves while you wait is torture! Your hands just itch to take that lovely creation and rub it all over your body…you pick it up, run your hands over it, put your nose to it and breath in the smell…aahhhh…bliss. Then you have to put it back on the shelf until the days are crossed off your calendar.
There is another way…
Hot process soapmaking is the practice of using external heat to cook the oil/caustic mix. This increases the speed of the chemical process of saponification, and results in soap that is useable within hours rather than weeks.
Most commercially-made soaps are hot processed.
Methods
There are many methods of hot processing soap. Some involve the use of direct heat and some don't.
The first method I tried was direct heat. See http://members.tripod.com/allcrafts/inde... for an explanation of this process. Also see http://www.lis.ab.ca/walton/old/soap/soa... .
After dressing up to resemble a Chernobyl clean-up crewmember I put the oil/caustic mix into a stainless steel pot and put it on the stove. I stirred constantly so as to prevent the 'volcano thing' happening. 'The volcano thing' is where if you aren't stirring quickly or thoroughly enough the mixture rises up and suddenly spurts and splats all over the place. This is the reason for the Chernobyl suit. Boiling fat mixed with caustic is not a good thing to get on your body.
Because I was using a tallow-based mixture it all came together very quickly, and went from the 'apple-sauce' stage straight into the 'dried mashed potatoes that have been sitting in the pot outside for a day or so waiting for the dog to polish it off' stage. Hmm.
I gave up and left it in the pot overnight, chiseled it out the next day and grated it up for laundry soap. (Incidentally, tallow-based soaps are reputed to be the best for laundry purposes because of enzymes in the tallow.)
The next method I tried was the 'oven bag' method. Having read on lists of the technique of putting the mixture into and oven bag and boiling it in water, with the added bonus of simply cutting off the corner and squeezing it ala icing technique into the moulds, I went and bought some oven bags and tried it.
Nobody had thought to mention that the oven bags in the US are totally different to the ones here in Australia. Apparently the US ones are heavy, thick plastic. The Aussie ones aren't. In fact the Aussie ones are quite flimsy, thin, crackly and as I found out, they melt if you put them in boiling water for too long. Hmm.
I have to admit I was originally a bit dubious considering the build of the Aussie oven bag, but I figured an oven-bag was an oven-bag was an oven-bag.
I read of the crockpot technique of hot process soaping (see http://hometown.aol.com/pjdxxxwa/page1.h... ) but didn't have a crockpot, so gave that a miss. Since then I've heard that some people have found the glaze on their insert is affected by the caustic, so I don't think I'd use a crockpot that was used for food.
I'd also heard of the double boiler system, and had decided to try this out when my work commitments became much heavier and I was unable to make soap for some time.
Then by serendipity, Diane, a member of the Aussie Soapers mailing list ( http://www.egroups.com/group/AussieSoape... ) came up with the double boiler enclosed hot process (DBEHP) system ( http://www.ziggurat.org/soap/infobase/CS... ), which is a variation on the double boiler method.
This would have to be the easiest hot process method ever of making soap! No stirring, just get it to the boil and leave it for an hour or two, come back, test it. If it's done you add your scent and colour, mould it then come back the next day and unmould it, and if desired, use it.
No more waiting for endless weeks to use your creation!
Fixed Oils
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: November 13, 2001
Almond Oil
See sweet almond oil.
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil makes a soft bar with stable lather. It has a high percentage of unsaponifiables, so it is a great superfatting oil. When it is a large percentage of the total oils in a soap, it makes a bar appropriate for sensitive skin.
Beeswax
Beeswax adds hardness to bars although too much leaves the soap sticky and can inhibit lather.
Canola Oil
Canola oil, also known as rapeseed oil, creates a conditioning soap with stable lather.
Castor Oil
Castor oil, from the seed of the castor plant, by itself, would make a very soft, sticky bar with sparse lather. In combination with other oils, it makes an emollient, rich, conditioning bar. It is quick to trace. Limit castor oil to less than 12% of total oils. It is great when making a shampoo bar because it moisturizes and makes a creamy, frothy, stable lather. Castor oil is great for superfatting.
Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter comes from the seed of the cocoa tree. It makes a creamy, hard, conditioning bar with stable lather. It is quick to trace. It smells like chocolate. It should not be more than 15% of total oils.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is extracted from dried coconut meat. The oil is resistant to rancidity. It makes a creamy, fluffy, bubbly lather. It should not be more than 25% of the total oils or the resulting soap will be too drying. It makes a hard, cleansing bar. It is quick to trace.
Emu Oil
Emu oil, made from the fat of the emu bird, has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps thicken thin, aging skin. Used in soap at 10-20%, emu oil will make a hard bar with stable moisturizing lather.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax, not an oil. It is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant. It resists rancidity. It makes a conditioning bar with stable lather. It will accelerate trace. Use it at a rate of approximately 2 ounces per pound of soap. It a great superfatting ingredient which adds a touch of luxury to soaps.
Kokum Butter
Kokum butter is from the root of the Garcinia indica tree grown in India. Its recommended use level is 3-6% of total oils. It is similar to shea butter and is great for superfatting.
Lard
Lard is rendered pork fat. It cleans well. It produces a softer soap than either palm or tallow with lasting lather.
Mango Butter
Mango butter is made from the fruit seed of the mango tree grown in the sub-tropics. It is slightly more solid than shea butter but gives the same characteristics to soap. Its recommended use is 3-6% of total oils. It is great for superfatting.
Olive Oil
Olive oil makes a very hard bar of mild, gentle, conditioning soap with little bubbles and stable lather. It is slow to trace and is good for sensitive or baby's skin.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the palm tree. It makes a hard bar with stable lather. It hastens trace. It saponifies easily and pulls other oils into saponification more quickly. It should be limited to 20% of the total oils as it may be drying to the skin. If used alone, the resulting soap is brittle with sparse lather.
Palm Kernel Flakes or Oil
Palm kernel flakes or oil, not to be confused with palm oil, makes a hard, cleansing, white bar with fluffy lather. It substitutes well for coconut oil. It makes a smooth textured soap. It traces quickly. If it is less than 25% of your total oils, it will make a moisturizing soap; anything more will make a soap that is too drying.
Peanut Oil
It is a good idea to avoid using peanut oil when making soap because some people are very allergic to peanuts.
Pomace Olive Oil
Pomace olive oil is extracted from the residues (from previous pressings), skins and pits (pomace) of olives. It has a high percentage of unsaponifiables and, unlike regular olive oil, tends to put the oils into a quick saponification. The final bar of 100% pomace tends to be somewhat softer than those made from virgin or midgrade olive oil.
Shea Butter
Shea butter, also known as African karite butter is expressed from the pits of the fruit of the African butter tree. It is high in unsaponifiables, so it is great for superfatting. It makes a hard, conditioning bar with stable lather. It traces quickly. Use it in 2-5% of your total fats and oils.
Soybean Oil
Makes a nice, hard bar of soap especially when mixed with olive oil and coconut oil.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil comes from the edible almond. It makes a wonderful moisturizing bar of soap when mixed with other oils. It saponifies easily and yields a mild soap with good lather. It will turn rancid quickly if not refrigerated. Make sure you list it in your ingredients for some people are allergic to almonds.
Tallow
Tallow is rendered beef fat. Suet is the hard fat from around the beef kidneys. Suet is the highest quality tallow. It makes a mild soap that cleans well. It adds hardness to soap. If used alone, it makes a brittle soap with sparse lather.
Turkey Red Oil
Turkey red oil is sulfonated castor oil. It has been processed so it mixes with water more easily. It is not recommended for soapmaking.
Vegetable Shortening
See soybean oil.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: November 13, 2001
Almond Oil
See sweet almond oil.
Avocado Oil
Avocado oil makes a soft bar with stable lather. It has a high percentage of unsaponifiables, so it is a great superfatting oil. When it is a large percentage of the total oils in a soap, it makes a bar appropriate for sensitive skin.
Beeswax
Beeswax adds hardness to bars although too much leaves the soap sticky and can inhibit lather.
Canola Oil
Canola oil, also known as rapeseed oil, creates a conditioning soap with stable lather.
Castor Oil
Castor oil, from the seed of the castor plant, by itself, would make a very soft, sticky bar with sparse lather. In combination with other oils, it makes an emollient, rich, conditioning bar. It is quick to trace. Limit castor oil to less than 12% of total oils. It is great when making a shampoo bar because it moisturizes and makes a creamy, frothy, stable lather. Castor oil is great for superfatting.
Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter comes from the seed of the cocoa tree. It makes a creamy, hard, conditioning bar with stable lather. It is quick to trace. It smells like chocolate. It should not be more than 15% of total oils.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is extracted from dried coconut meat. The oil is resistant to rancidity. It makes a creamy, fluffy, bubbly lather. It should not be more than 25% of the total oils or the resulting soap will be too drying. It makes a hard, cleansing bar. It is quick to trace.
Emu Oil
Emu oil, made from the fat of the emu bird, has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps thicken thin, aging skin. Used in soap at 10-20%, emu oil will make a hard bar with stable moisturizing lather.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax, not an oil. It is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant. It resists rancidity. It makes a conditioning bar with stable lather. It will accelerate trace. Use it at a rate of approximately 2 ounces per pound of soap. It a great superfatting ingredient which adds a touch of luxury to soaps.
Kokum Butter
Kokum butter is from the root of the Garcinia indica tree grown in India. Its recommended use level is 3-6% of total oils. It is similar to shea butter and is great for superfatting.
Lard
Lard is rendered pork fat. It cleans well. It produces a softer soap than either palm or tallow with lasting lather.
Mango Butter
Mango butter is made from the fruit seed of the mango tree grown in the sub-tropics. It is slightly more solid than shea butter but gives the same characteristics to soap. Its recommended use is 3-6% of total oils. It is great for superfatting.
Olive Oil
Olive oil makes a very hard bar of mild, gentle, conditioning soap with little bubbles and stable lather. It is slow to trace and is good for sensitive or baby's skin.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the palm tree. It makes a hard bar with stable lather. It hastens trace. It saponifies easily and pulls other oils into saponification more quickly. It should be limited to 20% of the total oils as it may be drying to the skin. If used alone, the resulting soap is brittle with sparse lather.
Palm Kernel Flakes or Oil
Palm kernel flakes or oil, not to be confused with palm oil, makes a hard, cleansing, white bar with fluffy lather. It substitutes well for coconut oil. It makes a smooth textured soap. It traces quickly. If it is less than 25% of your total oils, it will make a moisturizing soap; anything more will make a soap that is too drying.
Peanut Oil
It is a good idea to avoid using peanut oil when making soap because some people are very allergic to peanuts.
Pomace Olive Oil
Pomace olive oil is extracted from the residues (from previous pressings), skins and pits (pomace) of olives. It has a high percentage of unsaponifiables and, unlike regular olive oil, tends to put the oils into a quick saponification. The final bar of 100% pomace tends to be somewhat softer than those made from virgin or midgrade olive oil.
Shea Butter
Shea butter, also known as African karite butter is expressed from the pits of the fruit of the African butter tree. It is high in unsaponifiables, so it is great for superfatting. It makes a hard, conditioning bar with stable lather. It traces quickly. Use it in 2-5% of your total fats and oils.
Soybean Oil
Makes a nice, hard bar of soap especially when mixed with olive oil and coconut oil.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil comes from the edible almond. It makes a wonderful moisturizing bar of soap when mixed with other oils. It saponifies easily and yields a mild soap with good lather. It will turn rancid quickly if not refrigerated. Make sure you list it in your ingredients for some people are allergic to almonds.
Tallow
Tallow is rendered beef fat. Suet is the hard fat from around the beef kidneys. Suet is the highest quality tallow. It makes a mild soap that cleans well. It adds hardness to soap. If used alone, it makes a brittle soap with sparse lather.
Turkey Red Oil
Turkey red oil is sulfonated castor oil. It has been processed so it mixes with water more easily. It is not recommended for soapmaking.
Vegetable Shortening
See soybean oil.
Making Soap with Goat's Milk
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: October 8, 2001
Goat's milk makes soap gentle and moisturizing. Goat's milk adds natural proteins, vitamins, and minerals to soap. Goat's milk lowers the Ph of the soap to make it more compatible with skin. Goat's milk soap is especially kind to sensitive skin.
There are several different ways to make soap with goat's milk.
Powdered Goat's Milk
One of the easiest ways to add goat's milk to soap is to use powdered goat's milk. You can buy it from health food stores or order it on the web from a website like www.from-nature-with-love.com.
Whether you melt and pour, rebatch, make cold process, or make hot process soap, mix in one or two tablespoons of powdered goat's milk per pound of soap right before you put the soap into molds.
If you color your soap, sometimes powdered goat's milk affects the final color.
Liquid Goat's Milk
Melt and Pour
You can mix about a tablespoon of liquid goat's milk into melt and pour soap right before you pour the soap into molds.
Rebatch
You can use goat's milk, instead of cow's milk, when you rebatch soap.
Hot or Cold Process
When you make hot or cold process soap with liquid goat's milk, you mix the goat's milk with the lye at the beginning. You can either use half goat's milk and half water or all goat's milk.
If you use half goat's milk and half water, dissolve the lye in the water first then add the goat's milk straight from the fridge. Then add this mixture to your oils.
If you use all goat's milk, measure it and put it into the freezer beforehand until it is slushy. Then sit it in a large container of ice and add the lye slowly. Stir it for a long time. When I tried this, an orange lump formed in my mixture. I assume it was mostly lye. Try to add the lye slowly so no orange lumps form. If you do get orange lumps, keep stirring until they dissolve. When all the lye is mixed in, add this mixture to your oils. Make sure your oils are not too hot, somewhere around 90 degrees.
If you make hot process soap, liquid goat's milk will color your soaps brown or tan, the mixture will smell bad during the cook, and it will be less solid than usual. Just cook it the usual amount of time and pour it into the molds. It will eventually harden and give you lovely, luxurious soap. Then you can do the happy soap dance!
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: October 8, 2001
Goat's milk makes soap gentle and moisturizing. Goat's milk adds natural proteins, vitamins, and minerals to soap. Goat's milk lowers the Ph of the soap to make it more compatible with skin. Goat's milk soap is especially kind to sensitive skin.
There are several different ways to make soap with goat's milk.
Powdered Goat's Milk
One of the easiest ways to add goat's milk to soap is to use powdered goat's milk. You can buy it from health food stores or order it on the web from a website like www.from-nature-with-love.com.
Whether you melt and pour, rebatch, make cold process, or make hot process soap, mix in one or two tablespoons of powdered goat's milk per pound of soap right before you put the soap into molds.
If you color your soap, sometimes powdered goat's milk affects the final color.
Liquid Goat's Milk
Melt and Pour
You can mix about a tablespoon of liquid goat's milk into melt and pour soap right before you pour the soap into molds.
Rebatch
You can use goat's milk, instead of cow's milk, when you rebatch soap.
Hot or Cold Process
When you make hot or cold process soap with liquid goat's milk, you mix the goat's milk with the lye at the beginning. You can either use half goat's milk and half water or all goat's milk.
If you use half goat's milk and half water, dissolve the lye in the water first then add the goat's milk straight from the fridge. Then add this mixture to your oils.
If you use all goat's milk, measure it and put it into the freezer beforehand until it is slushy. Then sit it in a large container of ice and add the lye slowly. Stir it for a long time. When I tried this, an orange lump formed in my mixture. I assume it was mostly lye. Try to add the lye slowly so no orange lumps form. If you do get orange lumps, keep stirring until they dissolve. When all the lye is mixed in, add this mixture to your oils. Make sure your oils are not too hot, somewhere around 90 degrees.
If you make hot process soap, liquid goat's milk will color your soaps brown or tan, the mixture will smell bad during the cook, and it will be less solid than usual. Just cook it the usual amount of time and pour it into the molds. It will eventually harden and give you lovely, luxurious soap. Then you can do the happy soap dance!
How to Swirl Colors in Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: October 18, 2001
Melt and Pour
Use water-based colorants with melt and pour soap. There are two different methods to swirl melt and pour soap colors. The first method is to melt two separate containers of soap, color each one separately, and then carefully pour them into the mold. The second method is, if you have liquid colorant, to fill the mold with uncolored soap and then drop a different color into the soap at opposite ends of the mold. Then, no matter which method you used, gently swirl the colored soap with something like a toothpick or a craft stick. If the mold is deep, remember to swirl the soap at the bottom, too.
Cold Process, Hot process, or Rebatching
There is a certain time in the soapmaking process when you add the additives like scent. In cold process, this time is right after you reach trace. In hot process or rebatching, this time is after the cook. When you reach this point, mix in all the additives except the colorants. Divide the soap into stainless steel containers, one for each color. The original pot can be one of your containers. Mix each oil-based colorant with a little oil and then add it to the soap in one container. When it is mixed in, put that soap into the mold.
If you are using one large mold, put all of one colored soap into the mold then add the other colored soap. When all of the colors are in the mold, gently slice a spatula or spoon through the soap until you get the swirl you want. Try to pull some soap off the very bottom of the mold and replace it with a different color. Slice up and down as well as from side to side.
If you are using several small molds, pour a bit of each color into each mold until each mold is full. Try to put about the same amount of each color in each mold. Then stir the soap gently until the colors swirl.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: October 18, 2001
Melt and Pour
Use water-based colorants with melt and pour soap. There are two different methods to swirl melt and pour soap colors. The first method is to melt two separate containers of soap, color each one separately, and then carefully pour them into the mold. The second method is, if you have liquid colorant, to fill the mold with uncolored soap and then drop a different color into the soap at opposite ends of the mold. Then, no matter which method you used, gently swirl the colored soap with something like a toothpick or a craft stick. If the mold is deep, remember to swirl the soap at the bottom, too.
Cold Process, Hot process, or Rebatching
There is a certain time in the soapmaking process when you add the additives like scent. In cold process, this time is right after you reach trace. In hot process or rebatching, this time is after the cook. When you reach this point, mix in all the additives except the colorants. Divide the soap into stainless steel containers, one for each color. The original pot can be one of your containers. Mix each oil-based colorant with a little oil and then add it to the soap in one container. When it is mixed in, put that soap into the mold.
If you are using one large mold, put all of one colored soap into the mold then add the other colored soap. When all of the colors are in the mold, gently slice a spatula or spoon through the soap until you get the swirl you want. Try to pull some soap off the very bottom of the mold and replace it with a different color. Slice up and down as well as from side to side.
If you are using several small molds, pour a bit of each color into each mold until each mold is full. Try to put about the same amount of each color in each mold. Then stir the soap gently until the colors swirl.
Deodorant Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: December 23, 2001
This soap absorbs odors. If you have been handling something smelly like fish, garlic, or onions, wash with this deodorant soap. It will make the odor disappear. The secret ingredient is coffee!
Ingredients
Oils
2 oz castor oil
6 oz coconut oil
11 oz olive oil
4 oz palm oil
1 oz beeswax
Lye Mixture
9 fl oz strongly brewed coffee
3.3 oz lye
Directions
If you use the hot process method, remove all but the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat it to 200 degrees.
Weigh all the oils. Put them into a big stainless steel pot. Set the heat to medium and stir the oils on the stove until they all turn to liquid. Turn off the stove.
Measure the coffee into a strong plastic container. Go outside and measure the lye into another strong plastic container. Mix the lye into the coffee. Keep stirring until the lye has completely dissolved. Then stir it some more. Take the lye mixture inside and pour it into the pot of oils. Stir it with a stick blender until it reaches trace. If it doesn't reach trace in five minutes, turn off the stick blender and stir by hand for a few minutes. Then turn the stick blender back on for about five minutes. Alternate stirring with the stick blender on for a while and then off for a while until you reach trace. If you run the stick blender continuously for too long, it might burn out.
The soap has reached trace when you see wrinkles in the surface and a trace of a drop after the drop has disappeared.
When the mixture reaches trace, if you prefer the cold process method, pour the soap into greased molds. Cover with saran wrap. Remove from molds 24 hours later. Let the soap sit in a well-ventilated area for about six weeks before using.
If you prefer the hot process method, put the top on the pot and put the pot into the oven. Cook it for an hour stirring every fifteen minutes.
When the soap is cooked, pour it into greased molds. Do not add fragrance: this soap will absorb the scent. That is the point.
Hot process soap is ready to use as soon as it cools. If it feels soft, don't worry. It might take a few days to harden.
Feel free to do the happy soap dance!
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: December 23, 2001
This soap absorbs odors. If you have been handling something smelly like fish, garlic, or onions, wash with this deodorant soap. It will make the odor disappear. The secret ingredient is coffee!
Ingredients
Oils
2 oz castor oil
6 oz coconut oil
11 oz olive oil
4 oz palm oil
1 oz beeswax
Lye Mixture
9 fl oz strongly brewed coffee
3.3 oz lye
Directions
If you use the hot process method, remove all but the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat it to 200 degrees.
Weigh all the oils. Put them into a big stainless steel pot. Set the heat to medium and stir the oils on the stove until they all turn to liquid. Turn off the stove.
Measure the coffee into a strong plastic container. Go outside and measure the lye into another strong plastic container. Mix the lye into the coffee. Keep stirring until the lye has completely dissolved. Then stir it some more. Take the lye mixture inside and pour it into the pot of oils. Stir it with a stick blender until it reaches trace. If it doesn't reach trace in five minutes, turn off the stick blender and stir by hand for a few minutes. Then turn the stick blender back on for about five minutes. Alternate stirring with the stick blender on for a while and then off for a while until you reach trace. If you run the stick blender continuously for too long, it might burn out.
The soap has reached trace when you see wrinkles in the surface and a trace of a drop after the drop has disappeared.
When the mixture reaches trace, if you prefer the cold process method, pour the soap into greased molds. Cover with saran wrap. Remove from molds 24 hours later. Let the soap sit in a well-ventilated area for about six weeks before using.
If you prefer the hot process method, put the top on the pot and put the pot into the oven. Cook it for an hour stirring every fifteen minutes.
When the soap is cooked, pour it into greased molds. Do not add fragrance: this soap will absorb the scent. That is the point.
Hot process soap is ready to use as soon as it cools. If it feels soft, don't worry. It might take a few days to harden.
Feel free to do the happy soap dance!
How to Make Melt and Pour Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: July 6, 2001
Of the four different ways to make soap (melt and pour, cold process, hot process, and rebatch), melt and pour is the easiest. In fact, I learned how to make melt and pour soap as a craft I could do with my children.
Melt and pour soap is much easier and safer than making soap from lye, especially when you have children underfoot. My children are four and six years old; they love making soap with me. This might be too hard to do with a two-year-old.
What to buy
All of these things are located together at most craft stores. However, you can find very good quality products at internet websites such as Soap Crafters, Sweetcakes, Soap Wizards, and From Nature With Love.
Required
Soap: clear, opaque or both - they come in big blocks with indents that make one-inch squares.
Colors: one package of blue, red, and yellow.
Molds: the shapes you're going to pour your soap into.
Optional
Scents: each scent is sold separately. You can use either fragrance oils or essential oils. Essential oils can be powerful; make sure you know what you're doing if you use them. Do not use perfumes or scents containing alcohol.
Solid objects that will look like they are suspended inside the soap.
Sparkles (they will get all over your kids and your kitchen, but they're fun).
Solid soap shavings that will look like they're floating inside your soap.
If you get a loaf mold, you might want to buy a tube-shaped soap you can put in the loaf. These tube soaps come in different colors and shapes like butterflies and hearts. When the soap is done and sliced, it will look like you have a butterfly or heart suspended in your bar of soap.
I also bought (at my supermarket) a cheap, clear one-cup measuring cup in which to melt the soap in the microwave. I wanted to use the one I already had for food and get a separate one for soap.
What to do once you get your supplies
Choose which soap (clear or opaque), which color, which scent, which mold, and which solid objects you will use first.
Break or cut the soap into one inch squares.
Put the squares into a clear microwave-proof container like a measuring cup.
Microwave for about 40 seconds.
Stir the soap, check for lumps.
If it's lumpy, microwave for 10 more seconds, stir, repeat until the lumps are gone.
Keep the children's fingers out of the hot soap.
Add scent (children can do this part), about four drops per half cup of liquid soap.
Add sparkles if you have them.
Add color, one drop at a time (children can do this, too). Note: red and blue make purple; yellow and blue make green; red and yellow make orange; and red, yellow, and blue make brown.
Stir.
Add more color if desired.
Pour into molds.
If you have solid objects, pour soap half-way up, add solid objects (children can do this), then fill with soap.
Wait for at least 20 minutes (loaves take longer).
They're done! Wrestle them out of the molds and slice the loaf if you used a loaf pan. If they won't come out of the molds, put the molds in the freezer for at least 20 minutes and then try.
You can make a tie-dye effect with the colors if you add them later, after you have poured the soap into the mold. Add a drop of color and then swirl with a toothpick.
You can make stripes by filling a mold just a little, waiting about five minutes, and then filling it with a different color.
The best part about making soap with children is that later, you will find them washing their hands more often so they can use the new soap. Another good thing about making soap is the clean-up. If you make a mess, it's OK because it's SOAP!
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: July 6, 2001
Of the four different ways to make soap (melt and pour, cold process, hot process, and rebatch), melt and pour is the easiest. In fact, I learned how to make melt and pour soap as a craft I could do with my children.
Melt and pour soap is much easier and safer than making soap from lye, especially when you have children underfoot. My children are four and six years old; they love making soap with me. This might be too hard to do with a two-year-old.
What to buy
All of these things are located together at most craft stores. However, you can find very good quality products at internet websites such as Soap Crafters, Sweetcakes, Soap Wizards, and From Nature With Love.
Required
Soap: clear, opaque or both - they come in big blocks with indents that make one-inch squares.
Colors: one package of blue, red, and yellow.
Molds: the shapes you're going to pour your soap into.
Optional
Scents: each scent is sold separately. You can use either fragrance oils or essential oils. Essential oils can be powerful; make sure you know what you're doing if you use them. Do not use perfumes or scents containing alcohol.
Solid objects that will look like they are suspended inside the soap.
Sparkles (they will get all over your kids and your kitchen, but they're fun).
Solid soap shavings that will look like they're floating inside your soap.
If you get a loaf mold, you might want to buy a tube-shaped soap you can put in the loaf. These tube soaps come in different colors and shapes like butterflies and hearts. When the soap is done and sliced, it will look like you have a butterfly or heart suspended in your bar of soap.
I also bought (at my supermarket) a cheap, clear one-cup measuring cup in which to melt the soap in the microwave. I wanted to use the one I already had for food and get a separate one for soap.
What to do once you get your supplies
Choose which soap (clear or opaque), which color, which scent, which mold, and which solid objects you will use first.
Break or cut the soap into one inch squares.
Put the squares into a clear microwave-proof container like a measuring cup.
Microwave for about 40 seconds.
Stir the soap, check for lumps.
If it's lumpy, microwave for 10 more seconds, stir, repeat until the lumps are gone.
Keep the children's fingers out of the hot soap.
Add scent (children can do this part), about four drops per half cup of liquid soap.
Add sparkles if you have them.
Add color, one drop at a time (children can do this, too). Note: red and blue make purple; yellow and blue make green; red and yellow make orange; and red, yellow, and blue make brown.
Stir.
Add more color if desired.
Pour into molds.
If you have solid objects, pour soap half-way up, add solid objects (children can do this), then fill with soap.
Wait for at least 20 minutes (loaves take longer).
They're done! Wrestle them out of the molds and slice the loaf if you used a loaf pan. If they won't come out of the molds, put the molds in the freezer for at least 20 minutes and then try.
You can make a tie-dye effect with the colors if you add them later, after you have poured the soap into the mold. Add a drop of color and then swirl with a toothpick.
You can make stripes by filling a mold just a little, waiting about five minutes, and then filling it with a different color.
The best part about making soap with children is that later, you will find them washing their hands more often so they can use the new soap. Another good thing about making soap is the clean-up. If you make a mess, it's OK because it's SOAP!
Four Ways to Make Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: July 20, 2001
There are four different ways to make soap. You choose the method that is right for you.
Melt and Pour
Melt and pour (m&p) is the easiest way to make soap. First, melt blocks of glycerin soap. Then stir in the scent, color, and other goodies such as ground oatmeal or herbs. Then pour the mixture into molds and let it cool. You can use it right away. If you don't want to use it yet, wrap it in something air-tight, like plastic.
Melt and Pour soap is fun to make because
you can make soap without the danger of lye,
the soap looks good when using detailed, intricate molds, and
the soap is ready to use right away.
Rebatching
To make rebatched soap, also called crafted or hand-milled soap, start with cold process (cp) soap that has been shredded or chopped into little pieces. Heat it and mix it with milk or water (whole milk is best). When it turns to liquid, add scent, color, and other goodies, and pour it into molds. When it solidifies, remove it from the molds. Then let it sit for several weeks until all the water has evaporated out of it and it is ready to use.
You would want to rebatch soap if you
do not want to work with lye or
made a batch of cold process soap that did not turn out right.
Cold Process
To make cold process (cp) soap, first, mix lye into water or another liquid such as goats milk or coffee until it has dissolved. Let the lye mixture cool to room temperature. Heat oils, butters, or fats. Mix the lye mixture into the oils. When it reaches a pudding-like consistency called "trace," add scent, color, and other goodies, and pour it into molds. Cover it with plastic and let it sit for at least 24 hours while it saponifies. After 24 hours, remove the soap from the molds and let it sit for four to six weeks so the water can evaporate out.
Cold process soapmaking is for people who
want to choose all ingredients for their soap,
know how to work with lye, a very dangerous substance,
like to use intricate detailed molds, or
do not need their soap in a hurry.
Hot Process
To make hot process (hp) soap, follow the instructions to make cold process soap except you don't have to cool your lye mixture to room temperature, and don't add color, scent, or anything else at trace.
With the hot process method, after you reach trace, cook the soap. The cooking completes the saponification process and evaporates the water out of the soap. After the soap is cooked, add scent, color, and other goodies. Pour it into molds. When it cools, it is ready to use!
You will want to make hot process soap if you
want to control all your soap's ingredients,
want to use your soap right away,
know how to work with lye, and
don't use detailed molds.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: July 20, 2001
There are four different ways to make soap. You choose the method that is right for you.
Melt and Pour
Melt and pour (m&p) is the easiest way to make soap. First, melt blocks of glycerin soap. Then stir in the scent, color, and other goodies such as ground oatmeal or herbs. Then pour the mixture into molds and let it cool. You can use it right away. If you don't want to use it yet, wrap it in something air-tight, like plastic.
Melt and Pour soap is fun to make because
you can make soap without the danger of lye,
the soap looks good when using detailed, intricate molds, and
the soap is ready to use right away.
Rebatching
To make rebatched soap, also called crafted or hand-milled soap, start with cold process (cp) soap that has been shredded or chopped into little pieces. Heat it and mix it with milk or water (whole milk is best). When it turns to liquid, add scent, color, and other goodies, and pour it into molds. When it solidifies, remove it from the molds. Then let it sit for several weeks until all the water has evaporated out of it and it is ready to use.
You would want to rebatch soap if you
do not want to work with lye or
made a batch of cold process soap that did not turn out right.
Cold Process
To make cold process (cp) soap, first, mix lye into water or another liquid such as goats milk or coffee until it has dissolved. Let the lye mixture cool to room temperature. Heat oils, butters, or fats. Mix the lye mixture into the oils. When it reaches a pudding-like consistency called "trace," add scent, color, and other goodies, and pour it into molds. Cover it with plastic and let it sit for at least 24 hours while it saponifies. After 24 hours, remove the soap from the molds and let it sit for four to six weeks so the water can evaporate out.
Cold process soapmaking is for people who
want to choose all ingredients for their soap,
know how to work with lye, a very dangerous substance,
like to use intricate detailed molds, or
do not need their soap in a hurry.
Hot Process
To make hot process (hp) soap, follow the instructions to make cold process soap except you don't have to cool your lye mixture to room temperature, and don't add color, scent, or anything else at trace.
With the hot process method, after you reach trace, cook the soap. The cooking completes the saponification process and evaporates the water out of the soap. After the soap is cooked, add scent, color, and other goodies. Pour it into molds. When it cools, it is ready to use!
You will want to make hot process soap if you
want to control all your soap's ingredients,
want to use your soap right away,
know how to work with lye, and
don't use detailed molds.
How to Make Cold Process Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 3, 2001
Recommended Reading
First of all, I recommend that you buy the book Essentially Soap by Robert S. McDaniel and read the Soapmaking Recipes and Instructions at http://www.soapcrafters.com.
Supplies
A large stainless steel pot
A scale that weighs 1/10th of an ounce (you can buy this at an office supply store)
Oils, butters, and/or fats
A candy thermometer
Two thick plastic pitchers - write "LYE" and "POISON" on them
Distilled water
Rubber, preferably neoprene, gloves
Goggles
A heavy apron
Lye
A heavy plastic spatula
Vinegar
A stick blender
Fragrance oil certified for cold process soap or essential oil
Oil-based colorant, if desired
Molds
My Recipe
4 oz coconut oil
7 oz olive oil
5 oz palm oil
6 fl oz distilled water
2.3 oz lye
2/10 oz kiwi-lime fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com
about .07cc (1/2 scoop) Rolling Meadows (green) oil-based colorant from http://www.soapcrafters.com
Before making a recipe, I always run it through a lye calculator like the one at http://www.thesage.com/cgi-local/lyecalc... I suggest you do the same.
Instructions
First, measure the oils and butters in a measuring cup and put them in the pot on the stove. Remove about a tablespoon of the oil mixture and save it nearby. You will use it to mix in your scent and colorant. Heat the oils in the pot at a low temperature, stirring occasionally, until all of the solid parts have turned to liquid. Remove the pot from the heat.
Measure your distilled water in a plastic pitcher. Take it, and your scale, outside.
Get your molds ready. Set them in a convenient spot nearby. If you want, grease them with a little olive or canola oil. Use a pastry brush to a paper towel to get rid of puddles or droplets. If you don't have soap molds, you can always use a small cardboard box lined with a plastic garbage bag.
Put the vinegar on the counter.
Don your goggles, gloves, and apron. Read the fine print on the lye container. Take your lye, the empty pitcher, and the spatula outside. Measure the lye into the empty pitcher. Replace the top on the lye container. Pour the measured lye into the distilled water. Never pour the water into the lye. Do not ever let the lye crystals or the lye-water mixture touch your skin. If it does, it will hurt !! Rinse it immediately with a vinegar/water mixture and keep flushing with water for several minutes. If the lye gets on an inanimate object like the kitchen counter, you can neutralize it with straight vinegar.
So, you have put your lye into the distilled water. Stir it until all the lye is dissolved and the liquid is no longer cloudy. At this point, most soapmaking instructions tell you to let this dangerous mixture sit until it reaches room temperature. However, Dr. McDaniel, the author of Essentially Soap, says you can pour it into your pot of oils right away. That is what I do. I do not want a pitcher of dangerous poison sitting around my house looking like water where my husband, kids, and pets can get at it.
Once you have poured the lye/water mixture into the pot of oils, start stirring. If you have a stick blender, use it. After a minute or two, you will notice the mixture getting thicker. Soon, it will become the consistency of pudding and leave a mark, or a trace, after you drip a drop onto the surface. When you stir it, the surface may look wrinkled. This is the point called trace. When it reaches trace, your soap is ready to pour into molds. If you do not reach trace within five minutes, give your stick blender a break so it doesn't overheat. Hand stir for about five minutes. Then go back to the stick blender for five minutes. Keep alternating until you reach trace.
After your soap has reached trace, you may add scent, colorant, herbs, or anything else. Remember the few tablespoons of oil I asked you to set aside at the beginning? This is when you mix your scent (I used a sample size of kiwi-lime fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com) and your colorant (I used about 1/2 a scoop of Rolling Meadows from http://www.soapcrafters.com) into the oil you set aside. When that is all mixed, pour it into the pot and stir with the stick blender until everything looks blended. Then pour your soap into molds. Cover with plastic saran wrap. After 24 hours, the saponification process is complete! Remove the soap from the molds. If they don't come out easily, put them in the freezer for several hours and try again. Set them aside for about six weeks to cure, for all the water to evaporate out of them, then you can use them and do the happy soap dance! Actually, you don't have to wait to do the happy soap dance; you can do it as soon as you remove the soap from the molds !!!
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 3, 2001
Recommended Reading
First of all, I recommend that you buy the book Essentially Soap by Robert S. McDaniel and read the Soapmaking Recipes and Instructions at http://www.soapcrafters.com.
Supplies
A large stainless steel pot
A scale that weighs 1/10th of an ounce (you can buy this at an office supply store)
Oils, butters, and/or fats
A candy thermometer
Two thick plastic pitchers - write "LYE" and "POISON" on them
Distilled water
Rubber, preferably neoprene, gloves
Goggles
A heavy apron
Lye
A heavy plastic spatula
Vinegar
A stick blender
Fragrance oil certified for cold process soap or essential oil
Oil-based colorant, if desired
Molds
My Recipe
4 oz coconut oil
7 oz olive oil
5 oz palm oil
6 fl oz distilled water
2.3 oz lye
2/10 oz kiwi-lime fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com
about .07cc (1/2 scoop) Rolling Meadows (green) oil-based colorant from http://www.soapcrafters.com
Before making a recipe, I always run it through a lye calculator like the one at http://www.thesage.com/cgi-local/lyecalc... I suggest you do the same.
Instructions
First, measure the oils and butters in a measuring cup and put them in the pot on the stove. Remove about a tablespoon of the oil mixture and save it nearby. You will use it to mix in your scent and colorant. Heat the oils in the pot at a low temperature, stirring occasionally, until all of the solid parts have turned to liquid. Remove the pot from the heat.
Measure your distilled water in a plastic pitcher. Take it, and your scale, outside.
Get your molds ready. Set them in a convenient spot nearby. If you want, grease them with a little olive or canola oil. Use a pastry brush to a paper towel to get rid of puddles or droplets. If you don't have soap molds, you can always use a small cardboard box lined with a plastic garbage bag.
Put the vinegar on the counter.
Don your goggles, gloves, and apron. Read the fine print on the lye container. Take your lye, the empty pitcher, and the spatula outside. Measure the lye into the empty pitcher. Replace the top on the lye container. Pour the measured lye into the distilled water. Never pour the water into the lye. Do not ever let the lye crystals or the lye-water mixture touch your skin. If it does, it will hurt !! Rinse it immediately with a vinegar/water mixture and keep flushing with water for several minutes. If the lye gets on an inanimate object like the kitchen counter, you can neutralize it with straight vinegar.
So, you have put your lye into the distilled water. Stir it until all the lye is dissolved and the liquid is no longer cloudy. At this point, most soapmaking instructions tell you to let this dangerous mixture sit until it reaches room temperature. However, Dr. McDaniel, the author of Essentially Soap, says you can pour it into your pot of oils right away. That is what I do. I do not want a pitcher of dangerous poison sitting around my house looking like water where my husband, kids, and pets can get at it.
Once you have poured the lye/water mixture into the pot of oils, start stirring. If you have a stick blender, use it. After a minute or two, you will notice the mixture getting thicker. Soon, it will become the consistency of pudding and leave a mark, or a trace, after you drip a drop onto the surface. When you stir it, the surface may look wrinkled. This is the point called trace. When it reaches trace, your soap is ready to pour into molds. If you do not reach trace within five minutes, give your stick blender a break so it doesn't overheat. Hand stir for about five minutes. Then go back to the stick blender for five minutes. Keep alternating until you reach trace.
After your soap has reached trace, you may add scent, colorant, herbs, or anything else. Remember the few tablespoons of oil I asked you to set aside at the beginning? This is when you mix your scent (I used a sample size of kiwi-lime fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com) and your colorant (I used about 1/2 a scoop of Rolling Meadows from http://www.soapcrafters.com) into the oil you set aside. When that is all mixed, pour it into the pot and stir with the stick blender until everything looks blended. Then pour your soap into molds. Cover with plastic saran wrap. After 24 hours, the saponification process is complete! Remove the soap from the molds. If they don't come out easily, put them in the freezer for several hours and try again. Set them aside for about six weeks to cure, for all the water to evaporate out of them, then you can use them and do the happy soap dance! Actually, you don't have to wait to do the happy soap dance; you can do it as soon as you remove the soap from the molds !!!
How to Rebatch Soap
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 10, 2001
I wrote about the four different ways to make soap (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... One of four ways to make soap is melt and pour (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... Another way is cold process (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... Today's article is how to rebatch soap. Rebatching is also called hand crafting or hand milling.
Ingredients
soap that has recently been made using the cold process method or stored wrapped in plastic since it was made. If you make your own cold process soap in order to rebatch it, don't add any additives like color or scent after you reach trace. Just pour it into a simple mold.
one cup of whole milk (you can use goats milk) per pound of soap, less if the soap contains olive oil
scent, color, and other optional additives
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Chop the soap into little pieces. Put the pieces into a pot. Add the milk. Stir. Put the top on the pot. Put the pot into the oven. Stir every fifteen minutes or so.
When everything has turned to liquid, after about an hour or two, Remove the pot from the oven. Add scent, color, and whatever other additives you want. It's better to stir your additives together in a little bit of oil in a separate container and then stir them into the pot of soap. When the additives are all mixed in to the soap, put the soap into molds. Let the soap cool and harden in the molds.
When it is ready, remove it from the molds. Set it aside for about four weeks to cure so all the water evaporates out and you get a nice, hard bar. Now you can do the happy soap dance!
Why Rebatch?
You can rebatch if you don't want to work with lye. You can buy soap noodles from http://www.soapcrafters.com that is cold process soap ready to be rebatched.
You can rebatch if you want to add milk or goats milk to cold process soap to make it richer and creamier.
You can rebatch if you don't like how your cold process soap came out. Rebatching is a way to salvage soap that you would otherwise throw away.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 10, 2001
I wrote about the four different ways to make soap (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... One of four ways to make soap is melt and pour (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... Another way is cold process (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... Today's article is how to rebatch soap. Rebatching is also called hand crafting or hand milling.
Ingredients
soap that has recently been made using the cold process method or stored wrapped in plastic since it was made. If you make your own cold process soap in order to rebatch it, don't add any additives like color or scent after you reach trace. Just pour it into a simple mold.
one cup of whole milk (you can use goats milk) per pound of soap, less if the soap contains olive oil
scent, color, and other optional additives
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Chop the soap into little pieces. Put the pieces into a pot. Add the milk. Stir. Put the top on the pot. Put the pot into the oven. Stir every fifteen minutes or so.
When everything has turned to liquid, after about an hour or two, Remove the pot from the oven. Add scent, color, and whatever other additives you want. It's better to stir your additives together in a little bit of oil in a separate container and then stir them into the pot of soap. When the additives are all mixed in to the soap, put the soap into molds. Let the soap cool and harden in the molds.
When it is ready, remove it from the molds. Set it aside for about four weeks to cure so all the water evaporates out and you get a nice, hard bar. Now you can do the happy soap dance!
Why Rebatch?
You can rebatch if you don't want to work with lye. You can buy soap noodles from http://www.soapcrafters.com that is cold process soap ready to be rebatched.
You can rebatch if you want to add milk or goats milk to cold process soap to make it richer and creamier.
You can rebatch if you don't like how your cold process soap came out. Rebatching is a way to salvage soap that you would otherwise throw away.
How to Make Laundry Soap from Rendered Tallow
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: September 5, 2001
In my last article, I described how to render tallow so you can use it to make soap. This recipe calls for four pounds, 64 ounces, of rendered tallow. If you want to use more or less tallow, go to http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc.html and enter the correct amount into the lye calculator.
I have two different recipes. One recipe uses nothing but tallow for the oil. The other recipe adds palm oil. The palm oil makes the soap harder and hastens trace. I usually add half as much palm oil as tallow. If you have a different amount of tallow, or want to use a different amount of palm oil, please run it through the lye calculator.
Here are my two recipes.
Pure Tallow Soap
64 oz tallow
24 fluid oz distilled water
8.5 oz lye
Tallow and Palm Oil Soap
32 oz palm oil
64 oz tallow
36 fluid oz distilled water
12.8 oz lye
Equipment for both recipes
large stainless steel pot
two heavy plastic pitchers
safety goggles
neoprene gloves
heavy apron
stick blender
soap molds
saran wrap
For both recipes, heat the tallow (and palm oil) in the stainless steel pot on the stove until liquid. Remove from heat. Measure the water into one pitcher. Don your goggles, neoprene gloves, and apron. Measure the lye into another pitcher. Pour the lye into the water and stir until the liquid is clear. Pour this mixture into the melted oil and mix it with the stick blender until it reaches trace. If you are not sure what reaching trace looks like, review my article on how to make cold process soap at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... When your soap reaches trace, pour it into molds, cover it with saran wrap, and leave it. After 24 hours, remove it from the molds and let the bars sit in a well-ventilated area. Now you can do the happy soap dance !!!
Since this is going to be laundry soap, we have made it using the cold process method instead of the hot process method. Each bar of soap contains water, but it's going to be mixed with more water to make laundry soap. You can always let these bars cure for 6-8 weeks until the water evaporates out. Then you can use them as soap if you want instead of turning them into laundry soap.
Now you have made bars of soap, here's how to make laundry soap from them.
Equipment
4 oz soap, preferably made from tallow
2 gallons water
a large pot
1/2 cup Borax (20 mule team)
1 or 2 tsp fragrance oil
a large storage container with a wide mouth
First, chop the soap into small pieces. Put the pieces into the water in the pot on the stove. Boil and stir the mixture until the soap has dissolved, about 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the Borax. Add the fragrance oil if you like. I use a minty scent like Candy Cane from http://www.soapcrafters.com/. Pour the mixture into the storage container. When the mixture cools, it will solidify into a gel. Use about 1/2 cup of this gel with every load of wash.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: September 5, 2001
In my last article, I described how to render tallow so you can use it to make soap. This recipe calls for four pounds, 64 ounces, of rendered tallow. If you want to use more or less tallow, go to http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc.html and enter the correct amount into the lye calculator.
I have two different recipes. One recipe uses nothing but tallow for the oil. The other recipe adds palm oil. The palm oil makes the soap harder and hastens trace. I usually add half as much palm oil as tallow. If you have a different amount of tallow, or want to use a different amount of palm oil, please run it through the lye calculator.
Here are my two recipes.
Pure Tallow Soap
64 oz tallow
24 fluid oz distilled water
8.5 oz lye
Tallow and Palm Oil Soap
32 oz palm oil
64 oz tallow
36 fluid oz distilled water
12.8 oz lye
Equipment for both recipes
large stainless steel pot
two heavy plastic pitchers
safety goggles
neoprene gloves
heavy apron
stick blender
soap molds
saran wrap
For both recipes, heat the tallow (and palm oil) in the stainless steel pot on the stove until liquid. Remove from heat. Measure the water into one pitcher. Don your goggles, neoprene gloves, and apron. Measure the lye into another pitcher. Pour the lye into the water and stir until the liquid is clear. Pour this mixture into the melted oil and mix it with the stick blender until it reaches trace. If you are not sure what reaching trace looks like, review my article on how to make cold process soap at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683... When your soap reaches trace, pour it into molds, cover it with saran wrap, and leave it. After 24 hours, remove it from the molds and let the bars sit in a well-ventilated area. Now you can do the happy soap dance !!!
Since this is going to be laundry soap, we have made it using the cold process method instead of the hot process method. Each bar of soap contains water, but it's going to be mixed with more water to make laundry soap. You can always let these bars cure for 6-8 weeks until the water evaporates out. Then you can use them as soap if you want instead of turning them into laundry soap.
Now you have made bars of soap, here's how to make laundry soap from them.
Equipment
4 oz soap, preferably made from tallow
2 gallons water
a large pot
1/2 cup Borax (20 mule team)
1 or 2 tsp fragrance oil
a large storage container with a wide mouth
First, chop the soap into small pieces. Put the pieces into the water in the pot on the stove. Boil and stir the mixture until the soap has dissolved, about 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the Borax. Add the fragrance oil if you like. I use a minty scent like Candy Cane from http://www.soapcrafters.com/. Pour the mixture into the storage container. When the mixture cools, it will solidify into a gel. Use about 1/2 cup of this gel with every load of wash.
Troubleshooting
The cooking soap has oil on top
Most likely the soap was cooked on too high of a power setting. Stir the oil back in and continue cooking
The soap looks grainy
This is perfectly normal, keep cooking
The soap tingles when I taste it
The soap hasn't cooked enough, keep cooking
The soap has been cooking for a few minutes and is starting to look dry
If the soap needs to be cooked some more, add water a tablespoon at a time
The soap has cooked for 15 minutes and looks like mashed potatoes, but there is no lye tingle.
The soap has cooked for too long. Quickly add your other ingredients and glop it into the mold
I keep stirring, but the soap keeps climbing.
You have reached the champagne bubbles stage. Continue to stir until the soap stops climbing. Test for pH. Cook the soap longer if the pH isn't right.
My soap didn't go through the champagne bubbles stage
That's ok, not all soaps do. Continue cooking until the soap looks like heated Vasaline
The cooking soap has oil on top
Most likely the soap was cooked on too high of a power setting. Stir the oil back in and continue cooking
The soap looks grainy
This is perfectly normal, keep cooking
The soap tingles when I taste it
The soap hasn't cooked enough, keep cooking
The soap has been cooking for a few minutes and is starting to look dry
If the soap needs to be cooked some more, add water a tablespoon at a time
The soap has cooked for 15 minutes and looks like mashed potatoes, but there is no lye tingle.
The soap has cooked for too long. Quickly add your other ingredients and glop it into the mold
I keep stirring, but the soap keeps climbing.
You have reached the champagne bubbles stage. Continue to stir until the soap stops climbing. Test for pH. Cook the soap longer if the pH isn't right.
My soap didn't go through the champagne bubbles stage
That's ok, not all soaps do. Continue cooking until the soap looks like heated Vasaline
30-Minute Microwave Hot Process Soap
Hi, my name is Karen Stark and I am the discoverer of Microwave Hot Process Soap Making. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soap making in general there are two different ways to make soap. The first method is called cold process. Lye is added to a mixture of fats, stirred until it is thick, and poured into a mold to cure for several weeks. Hot process involves mixing the lye with the fats, and stirring as well. The soap is then heated to speed the reaction of the lye with the fats to make soap. There are several different ways of "cooking" soap. You can bake it in the oven, cook it on top of the stove, cook it in a double boiler, or use a crock pot. Typically a batch of hot processed soap takes an hour or two to complete, and the soap is ready to use as soon as it is cooled. Using a microwave is conciderably faster. A five pound batch is done in about 15 minutes. A smaller batch can cook in as little as 5 minutes. There is little difference in the finished product between hot and cold process soap.
There are several advantages to making hot processed soap and they are:
1. No curing time (or very little) what ever you make is ready to use, or sell the next day. For those soapmakers who have very little curing space this method is very handy.
2. There is no lye present in the finished soap, so there is little worry about colors and scents mutating. You can also use just about anything as a mold, even aluminum!!!
3. Because the scents go in at the end of the cook, and are not effected by the lye you can use less scent and still get the same effect. You also don't have to worry about the scent seizing a batch like with cold process
There is only one disadvantage of hot process soap, and that is that the soap is very gloppy when it is done cooking. This makes it somewhat difficult, although not impossible, to use very intricate molds. It is also difficult to get the top perfectly smooth, and the bars usually require some trimming which is easily done with a cheese plainer, or a potato peeler.
Safety (important please read)
Instructions
Pictures
Scent and Color
Trouble-shooting
Hi, my name is Karen Stark and I am the discoverer of Microwave Hot Process Soap Making. For those of you who are unfamiliar with soap making in general there are two different ways to make soap. The first method is called cold process. Lye is added to a mixture of fats, stirred until it is thick, and poured into a mold to cure for several weeks. Hot process involves mixing the lye with the fats, and stirring as well. The soap is then heated to speed the reaction of the lye with the fats to make soap. There are several different ways of "cooking" soap. You can bake it in the oven, cook it on top of the stove, cook it in a double boiler, or use a crock pot. Typically a batch of hot processed soap takes an hour or two to complete, and the soap is ready to use as soon as it is cooled. Using a microwave is conciderably faster. A five pound batch is done in about 15 minutes. A smaller batch can cook in as little as 5 minutes. There is little difference in the finished product between hot and cold process soap.
There are several advantages to making hot processed soap and they are:
1. No curing time (or very little) what ever you make is ready to use, or sell the next day. For those soapmakers who have very little curing space this method is very handy.
2. There is no lye present in the finished soap, so there is little worry about colors and scents mutating. You can also use just about anything as a mold, even aluminum!!!
3. Because the scents go in at the end of the cook, and are not effected by the lye you can use less scent and still get the same effect. You also don't have to worry about the scent seizing a batch like with cold process
There is only one disadvantage of hot process soap, and that is that the soap is very gloppy when it is done cooking. This makes it somewhat difficult, although not impossible, to use very intricate molds. It is also difficult to get the top perfectly smooth, and the bars usually require some trimming which is easily done with a cheese plainer, or a potato peeler.
Safety (important please read)
Instructions
Pictures
Scent and Color
Trouble-shooting
There are four ways to make hot process soap
in the oven
in a crock pot
in a double boiler
in the microwave
To make hot process soap in the oven, first preheat the oven to 200 degrees and remove all but the lowest rack. Start making soap using the cold process method. After you reach trace, do not add anything like scent or color. Instead, put a lid on the pot and put it into the oven. Stir every fifteen minutes or so. After it has cooked for about an hour, it is done. Add the scent, color, and other goodies (mix them together in a little bit of oil before adding them to the pot), stir, and pour into molds.
To make hot process soap in the crockpot, after reaching trace, instead of cooking your soap in the oven, cook your soap in a crockpot set on low. Cook it for about an hour stirring every fifteen minutes or so. Then, just as in the previous paragraph, add your scent, color and other goodies and pour it into molds.
Make hot process in the double boiler the same way. Put your pot of soap inside a larger pot of boiling water. Cook it for about an hour stirring every fifteen minutes or so. When it is done, add your additives and pour it into molds.
Making hot process soap in the microwave is a little different. First of all, don't use a metal pot. Use something that is microwave- and lye-safe. Cook it on low for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. When it is done, add your goodies and pour it into molds.
When the soap is cool, it is ready to remove from the molds and use. Both the saponification process (the chemical reaction where the oils and lye turn into soap) and the curing process (where the water evaporates out of the soap) are complete. You can use hot process soap right away. It's time to do the happy soap dance !!!
A disadvantage of the hot process method is that it makes the soap thick, like applesauce, so it doesn't flow into molds as smoothly as cold process soap. Hot process is not the method to use if you have intricate, detailed molds. The advantage to making hot process soap is that you can use it right away; you don't have to wait for it to cure.
in the oven
in a crock pot
in a double boiler
in the microwave
To make hot process soap in the oven, first preheat the oven to 200 degrees and remove all but the lowest rack. Start making soap using the cold process method. After you reach trace, do not add anything like scent or color. Instead, put a lid on the pot and put it into the oven. Stir every fifteen minutes or so. After it has cooked for about an hour, it is done. Add the scent, color, and other goodies (mix them together in a little bit of oil before adding them to the pot), stir, and pour into molds.
To make hot process soap in the crockpot, after reaching trace, instead of cooking your soap in the oven, cook your soap in a crockpot set on low. Cook it for about an hour stirring every fifteen minutes or so. Then, just as in the previous paragraph, add your scent, color and other goodies and pour it into molds.
Make hot process in the double boiler the same way. Put your pot of soap inside a larger pot of boiling water. Cook it for about an hour stirring every fifteen minutes or so. When it is done, add your additives and pour it into molds.
Making hot process soap in the microwave is a little different. First of all, don't use a metal pot. Use something that is microwave- and lye-safe. Cook it on low for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. When it is done, add your goodies and pour it into molds.
When the soap is cool, it is ready to remove from the molds and use. Both the saponification process (the chemical reaction where the oils and lye turn into soap) and the curing process (where the water evaporates out of the soap) are complete. You can use hot process soap right away. It's time to do the happy soap dance !!!
A disadvantage of the hot process method is that it makes the soap thick, like applesauce, so it doesn't flow into molds as smoothly as cold process soap. Hot process is not the method to use if you have intricate, detailed molds. The advantage to making hot process soap is that you can use it right away; you don't have to wait for it to cure.
How to Make a Shampoo Bar
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 31, 2001
This soap can be used as a shampoo. The castor oil and coconut oil make a nice lather. The jojoba oil and shea butter provide rich conditioning. The olive oil makes it mild. The palm oil hardens the bar and quickens trace. The cocoa butter and beeswax both help to harden the bar, too. The silk and goats milk make it luxurious.
Ingredients
Oils
1 oz castor oil
1 oz cocoa butter
4 oz coconut oil
1 oz jojoba oil
6 oz olive oil
5 oz palm oil
1 oz shea butter
1 oz beeswax
Lye Mixture
at least 8 fl oz distilled water
2.6 oz lye
one square inch silk fabric (any color) or 1 T hydrolyzed silk amino acids (available from http://www.from-nature-with-love.com )
Additives
3 T powdered goats milk
your preferred fragrance oil or essential oil (I use 1.5 tsp. Blue Lilac fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com)
Run the recipe through a lye calculator like the one at http://www.the-sage.com/services/calcula... before proceeding.
These directions are for hot process soap. You can make this recipe using the cold process method by following the directions at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683...
Remove all but the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat it to 200 degrees. Weigh all the oils. Put them in a big stainless steel pot on the stove. Remove a few tablespoons of the oils from the pot. Save them in a measuring cup for later. Heat and stir the oils in the pot until they turn to liquid. Turn off the stove.
Measure the water for the lye mixture. Go outside, don gloves, goggles, and apron. Measure the lye. Mix the lye and silk into the water. Stir until the lye and silk are completely dissolved. Pour the lye mixture into the oil pot. Stir with a stick blender. When it reaches trace, put the top on the pot. Put the pot into the oven. Cook it for an hour stirring every 15 minutes. During this time, grease the molds with a little oil.
When the soap is cooked, remove the pot from the oven. Mix the additives into the few tablespoons of oil saved earlier. Make a slurry of it. Pour the slurry into the big pot of soap. Mix it well. Pour it into molds. Since this is Hot Process, the soap is ready to use when it cools and hardens. It takes a few days to truly harden. If you have trouble getting the soap out of the molds, put your molds into the freezer for a few hours. After you remove the soap from the molds, you can do the happy soap dance!
When you use this shampoo bar, I suggest you rinse your hair with a combination of 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water after shampooing.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: August 31, 2001
This soap can be used as a shampoo. The castor oil and coconut oil make a nice lather. The jojoba oil and shea butter provide rich conditioning. The olive oil makes it mild. The palm oil hardens the bar and quickens trace. The cocoa butter and beeswax both help to harden the bar, too. The silk and goats milk make it luxurious.
Ingredients
Oils
1 oz castor oil
1 oz cocoa butter
4 oz coconut oil
1 oz jojoba oil
6 oz olive oil
5 oz palm oil
1 oz shea butter
1 oz beeswax
Lye Mixture
at least 8 fl oz distilled water
2.6 oz lye
one square inch silk fabric (any color) or 1 T hydrolyzed silk amino acids (available from http://www.from-nature-with-love.com )
Additives
3 T powdered goats milk
your preferred fragrance oil or essential oil (I use 1.5 tsp. Blue Lilac fragrance oil from http://www.soapcrafters.com)
Run the recipe through a lye calculator like the one at http://www.the-sage.com/services/calcula... before proceeding.
These directions are for hot process soap. You can make this recipe using the cold process method by following the directions at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/7683...
Remove all but the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat it to 200 degrees. Weigh all the oils. Put them in a big stainless steel pot on the stove. Remove a few tablespoons of the oils from the pot. Save them in a measuring cup for later. Heat and stir the oils in the pot until they turn to liquid. Turn off the stove.
Measure the water for the lye mixture. Go outside, don gloves, goggles, and apron. Measure the lye. Mix the lye and silk into the water. Stir until the lye and silk are completely dissolved. Pour the lye mixture into the oil pot. Stir with a stick blender. When it reaches trace, put the top on the pot. Put the pot into the oven. Cook it for an hour stirring every 15 minutes. During this time, grease the molds with a little oil.
When the soap is cooked, remove the pot from the oven. Mix the additives into the few tablespoons of oil saved earlier. Make a slurry of it. Pour the slurry into the big pot of soap. Mix it well. Pour it into molds. Since this is Hot Process, the soap is ready to use when it cools and hardens. It takes a few days to truly harden. If you have trouble getting the soap out of the molds, put your molds into the freezer for a few hours. After you remove the soap from the molds, you can do the happy soap dance!
When you use this shampoo bar, I suggest you rinse your hair with a combination of 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water after shampooing.
How to Render Tallow
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: September 4, 2001
I make laundry soap from soap made from tallow. Tallow is beef fat. Before making tallow soap, you need to render, or purify the tallow.
Equipment
beef fat, preferably suet
a big pot
about one gallon of water per pound of fat
3 T salt
a fine mesh strainer, like an old pair of pantyhose
3 T baking soda
To render tallow, first take beef fat and cut off anything that does not look like fat. If you can, get suet. Suet is beef fat from around the kidneys. It makes a harder bar than regular beef fat. Chop the fat into little pieces or grind it. Put the fat into a pot and cover it with water. Add a few tablespoons of salt. Boil it for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Strain it (an old pair of pantyhose makes a great strainer). Cover it and refrigerate it until the top layer hardens, probably overnight. This solid top layer is the tallow. Take it, discard the rest, and render it again.
The second time you render your tallow, take the solid layer, put it into the pot, add enough water to cover it, and add a few tablespoons of baking soda, not salt this time. Boil it for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove it from the heat. let cool. Strain. Put it into the fridge. When the top layer solidifies, discard everything else. Now you're ready to use this rendered tallow to make soap. Store the tallow in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to use it.
If you don't feel like doing all this work, you can buy tallow, already rendered and ready to use in soap, from http://starrvillesoapworks.com/.
Author: Sinclair A. Sheers Published on: September 4, 2001
I make laundry soap from soap made from tallow. Tallow is beef fat. Before making tallow soap, you need to render, or purify the tallow.
Equipment
beef fat, preferably suet
a big pot
about one gallon of water per pound of fat
3 T salt
a fine mesh strainer, like an old pair of pantyhose
3 T baking soda
To render tallow, first take beef fat and cut off anything that does not look like fat. If you can, get suet. Suet is beef fat from around the kidneys. It makes a harder bar than regular beef fat. Chop the fat into little pieces or grind it. Put the fat into a pot and cover it with water. Add a few tablespoons of salt. Boil it for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Strain it (an old pair of pantyhose makes a great strainer). Cover it and refrigerate it until the top layer hardens, probably overnight. This solid top layer is the tallow. Take it, discard the rest, and render it again.
The second time you render your tallow, take the solid layer, put it into the pot, add enough water to cover it, and add a few tablespoons of baking soda, not salt this time. Boil it for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove it from the heat. let cool. Strain. Put it into the fridge. When the top layer solidifies, discard everything else. Now you're ready to use this rendered tallow to make soap. Store the tallow in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to use it.
If you don't feel like doing all this work, you can buy tallow, already rendered and ready to use in soap, from http://starrvillesoapworks.com/.
Crock Pot Hot Process Soapmaking
Here is an easy process for CPHP (Crock Pot Hot Process). Any recipe for CP can be used for CPHP. I think both of my crock pots are 6-7 quarts.
Take out your crock pot & turn on to "HIGH". Mix up your soap as you normally do ... same proportions, and get it to a MEDIUM trace in your soap pot. (I use a stick blender)
Empty the soap pot into your crock pot. Put the crock on "LOW" and cover with the glass lid.
You can peek through the lid and this is what you will observe. The edges will start turning into the "Vaseline stage".
When all the edges look this way and the middle is still thicker than the rest, it is ok to stir.
In the final stage, all the soap turns into the "Vaseline" stage. Depending on the batch, it finally comes to the consistency of mashed potatoes or thick applesauce. Use soap approved colors, gels, powders or herbs. Check for the "lye" sting!
Leave the lid on. Turn off crock pot. Let it cool down a bit. Add essential oil(s) or fragrance oils & color . Stir well with a stainless steel wire whisk. The ones with a long handle are easier so you don't burn your fingers. Ask me how I know LOL!
Put it in the appropriate molds (NOT Life of the Party molds). If you want smoother soap, insulate with towels or blankets. I use an old quilt. This makes it go back tot he gel stage and the top of the soap will be smoother like CP.
Let it insulate overnight. Uncover & let cool till just warm. Then slice. It's pretty much ready to use as soon as it is firm. If you want your soap to last longer, "cure" for one week. The whole "cooking" process takes about an hour. Most of my batches are not made with majority of olive oil, so my batches have never cooked longer than an hour. Milks and honey elevate the temperature of your soap.
Courtesy Irena Marchu
Here is an easy process for CPHP (Crock Pot Hot Process). Any recipe for CP can be used for CPHP. I think both of my crock pots are 6-7 quarts.
Take out your crock pot & turn on to "HIGH". Mix up your soap as you normally do ... same proportions, and get it to a MEDIUM trace in your soap pot. (I use a stick blender)
Empty the soap pot into your crock pot. Put the crock on "LOW" and cover with the glass lid.
You can peek through the lid and this is what you will observe. The edges will start turning into the "Vaseline stage".
When all the edges look this way and the middle is still thicker than the rest, it is ok to stir.
In the final stage, all the soap turns into the "Vaseline" stage. Depending on the batch, it finally comes to the consistency of mashed potatoes or thick applesauce. Use soap approved colors, gels, powders or herbs. Check for the "lye" sting!
Leave the lid on. Turn off crock pot. Let it cool down a bit. Add essential oil(s) or fragrance oils & color . Stir well with a stainless steel wire whisk. The ones with a long handle are easier so you don't burn your fingers. Ask me how I know LOL!
Put it in the appropriate molds (NOT Life of the Party molds). If you want smoother soap, insulate with towels or blankets. I use an old quilt. This makes it go back tot he gel stage and the top of the soap will be smoother like CP.
Let it insulate overnight. Uncover & let cool till just warm. Then slice. It's pretty much ready to use as soon as it is firm. If you want your soap to last longer, "cure" for one week. The whole "cooking" process takes about an hour. Most of my batches are not made with majority of olive oil, so my batches have never cooked longer than an hour. Milks and honey elevate the temperature of your soap.
Courtesy Irena Marchu
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