Friday, December 10, 2010

The Advantages of French Milled Soap

Have you heard of French Milled Soap? Or have you tried French Milled Soap and are wondering what the advantages of using this type of soap? Here is an article, titled The Advantages of French Milled Soap by Tricia Ballad, eHow Contributor explains what the advantages of using this type of soap and why it is beneficial to make soap by this technique. I have never made soap by this technique before but I am sure there are some benefits in making soap this way and would like to some day give it a try.

Since I have not received a soap made by this technique before I cannot say if I like it or not. But according to the author, a bar of soap made by this process last longer than a regular glycerin melt and pour soap. I am sure that would be true. If I ever find a bar of soap made by this process in the store, I would like to purchase one just to give it a try.

Has anyone tried to make a bar of French Milled Soap or have purchased one? Let me know what you think.

15 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

I've used French Milled soap and yes, it is harder but I also notice that it's less moisturizing. Rebatch soap would be a close cousin but not exactly the same process as the traditional French Mill. I love a good rebatch soap ...

kathyinozarks said...

I have purchased the french milled soaps and at huge discounts from a chain store called tuesday morning. the soap does last a very long time, I love it, very creamy too, my favorite is a big bar of lavender french milled soap from France

Anonymous said...

I've used the French Milled method in order to produce small controlled batches instead of having to do an entire batch of 21 cold-pour bars that I usually do. Milled are longer lasting than melt and pour but not as long as the true cold-pour bars..

Truly give new meaning to the use of KitchenAid mixers for milling.

Soap Crafter said...

Thanks for letting me know about the link. IT is now fixed. I really appreciate all of your feedback.

JULIE said...

I have made 4 batches of french milled soap and was finally able to try it for the first time. I love it. French milling gets a bad rap. Just make sure to grind the soap in a coffee or spice grinder, use a crock pot, and the right amount of soap. I plan to put up some recipes soon on my blog http://theurbanhomestaed.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Ok, so others can understand the difference.. can you describe Rebatch vs. French Milling

Best I understood, you grate up colorless, scentless pre-made cold pour soap..

Then you add color, scent, super-fatting oils and a small amount of water.. Melt it all down and pour in molds.. End result is a base color with light speckles in it and best of all you can do this with precious essential oils that would normally be destroyed during the ultra high heat from the cold-pour chemical reaction.

Is this called French Milling or is it called Rebatching.. If I remember correctly the Soapanifier monthly magazine referred to this as FM many years back and I want to know if I understood this incorrectly.

It was my understanding that this process allowed the designer to use more delicate ingredients while still providing a great product.

Soap Crafter said...

Too be honest I really do not see the difference between the 2. To me the terms are interchangeable. If someone knows otherwise, please correct me.

Soap Crafter said...

I think the French Milled version maybe also referred as tripled milled.

Soap Crafter said...

Here is a video tutorial that should you have to make handmilled soap.

http://www.ehow.com/video_4437807_hand-homemade-lye-soap-making.html

Soap Crafter said...

Here are instructions on how to make handmilled or triple milled soap.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5533974_make-milled-hand-milled-soap.html

Anonymous said...

Ok Soap Crafter, tell us, after watching the video what's your take on it all?

Anonymous said...

One of the things I like about the milling concept is the ability to make very small batches of soap bars and you can even experiment in different kinds of molding methods too.. I used to dump the goop into a PVC Pipe to set. then put it in my freezer, bomk it a couple times on the patio and the tubular log comes out.. then slice with a wire and you have some really cool round bars.

Soap Crafter said...

Well, I would like to try it some day. Although, my first concern is acquiring soap to shave down. I would hate go through CP and then have to process it again. So I would probably get some opaque castille soap from Trader Joe's and go from there.

Anonymous said...

Rick Wagner's NO FAIL SOAP Recipe
(from the www.MysticWays.com online Wiki Database)

Ok, real simple I’ll pass it on to you.. This is the class I used to give at my old brick & mortar store... I’ll also put a copy of it up on here since it’s time overdue.. I used to love giving these classes on weekends.. The most fun was when I started talking about soaps, and surfactants and breaking the surface tension of water to remove dirt. I used to fill a bowl of water then sprinkle pepper on it.. Then I has someone in the class add one drop of dish detergent and listened to the crowd ohhhh and ahhhhh as the pepper suddenly fell to the bottom of the bowl. The class was amazed to learn how soap really works...

http://mysticways.wiki.zoho.com/Rick-Wagners-NO-FAIL-SOAP-Recipe.html

Soap Crafter said...

Thanks Rick. I appreciate the info. I will have to take a look at the link u provided.