Week 31 - How to make a soap

 

There are several different processes to make all-natural soap: regular or cold process, hot process, and melt and pour. Old process soap-making is also called cold processing and entails mixing the soap mixture with the oil mixture, then pouring the combined mixture into insulated molds. The difference in hot processing is that it adds another step of adding heat; heating up the mixture makes the saponification process go faster.  However, both of these processes require the ingredient lye, a caustic alkali chemical called Sodium Hydroxide, which is often a concern for many all-natural, non-toxic soap-makers.

Then, there's the melt and pour method, which is the only soap-making process with the ability to forgo the ingredient of lye. Because lye is exceptionally caustic, on its own and its pure form, it can cause very serious burns and irritation.  

To make a basic soap using hot processing, you will need lye, distilled water, refined coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, and sunflower oil. Start by weighing your ingredients to the right amount and ratio, then combine your liquid oils and set aside. Melt the coconut oil and shea butter on the stove and also set aside. Now, prepare the lye by adding lye to room temperature water or cool water in a glass container; never add the water to the lye. Lye gets added to the water. The mixture will release some steam; stir with a stainless-steel spoon until the lye has dissolved. When both the oil mixture and lye mixture make reach 40 degrees (you can achieve this using a digital thermometer), mix them together. Now, combine the liquid oils into the melted shea and coconut butters, stirring. The temperature should reach 40°C and be below 43°C. Now, pour the lye mixture into the oils, slowly; this is the starting of the cooling process, called bringing the soap to trace. Use an immersion blender to blend mixture until it is creamy and pudding-like. Add preferred essential oils. Pour your soap into molds and make sure to tap on them to release any air bubbles that have gotten trapped.

Any essential oil can be added to any all-natural soap recipe. About 30 drops of your preferred essential oil should be fine per pound of soap base.

Lovely Lemon Balm Soap (Cold Process Recipe)

Lemon balm infused oil is best made with the fresh herb rather than dried. The oil needs to be used up quickly, as it is a higher chance of spoiling then oils infused with dried herbs.

Pick fresh lemon balm leaves before flowering and allow them to wilt for 24 hours in a cool and dry place. Then choose the method that you want to infuse the oil:

• Cold infusion method
• Three ways to infuse herbs and oil with heat

Once infused, the oil should be used in a week or two.

This soap is decorated with a colorful swirl of green mica on a background of yellow-green made with a mix of 2 parts turmeric and 1 part green mica. It’s always fun to do swirls in cold process soap because you never know what kind of pattern you’ll get. Cutting the soap is like opening a present!

Materials

• Kitchen scale
• Infrared thermometer
• Double boiler made of stainless steel (not aluminum) soap making pitcher and a pot of water
• Pyrex or heatproof glass measuring cup (4-cup)
• Immersion blender
• Safety gear (rubber gloves, face mask, apron, eye protection, etc.)
• Loaf-style soap mold

Ingredients

• 500 ml (17 oz) lemon balm infused organic virgin olive oil
• 200 ml (7 oz) organic virgin coconut oil
• 250 ml (8.4 oz) water
• 106 (3.6 oz) sodium hydroxide
• 60 ml (2 oz) calendula infused grapeseed oil
• 15 ml (0.5 oz) shea butter
• 10 ml (.34 oz) lemon essential oil
• 5 ml (.17 oz) peppermint essential oil
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1.5 tsp green mica powder 

 

1. Protect your skin, eyes, and clothes with safety gear.
2. Weigh all of the ingredients.
3. Gently heat oils in a double boiler until they reach 46°C.
4. In a well-ventilated area, add water to a heat-resistant 4-cup measuring cup. Very slowly add lye to the water while stirring. Keep stirring until dissolved and be mindful to not breathe in the fumes.
5. Once lye is dissolved, place the glass container with the lye/water mixture in an ice bath and cool to 46°C. Reheat oils to 46°Cif necessary.
6. When both the lye/water mixture and the oils are at 46°C, slowly pour the lye/water into the oils while blending with an immersion blender.
7. Keep blending the mixture rapidly until it thickens to a light trace.
8. Add in the essential oils and turmeric and ½ tsp of the green mica and blend well.
9. To make the marbled color, remove a few tablespoons of soap batter and mix it with the remaining teaspoon of green mica powder. Add the batter back to the bowl and use a spatula to pull it though the mixture three times in different directions.
10. Pour mixture into a loaf-style soap mould.
11. Set the mould in a cardboard box and wrap with towels and set somewhere warm (like the top of the fridge) for 48 hours.
12. After 48 hours, unmold the soap and slice into bars. Place each bar on a wire rack in a cool, dark place to cure for four to six week

 Resorce:https://gardentherapy.ca/lemon-balm/