The ABC's of Soapmaking (cold process): Gathering the Equipment You Need (Cold/Hot Process Method)

Mary Welty, author of "The ABC's of Soapmaking (cold process): Gathering the Equipment You Need", explains what equipment you will need to make to make your batches of cold process soap.  If you are making hot process soap, you will need alot of the same equipment but you will need a heat source.  Most will will use a slow cooker, but some will make their soap in the oven.  According to Mary, here is what you need:

"Ready to try making your own soap? Then the first place to start is gathering the supplies you will need. Nothing could be worse than starting a project dealing with caustic lye and suddenly find out you're missing a key piece of the puzzle. So, before you begin make sure you have these materials and supplies close at hand.

A Kitchen Scale: You'll find out very quickly that unless you have an accurate kitchen scale, you're going to have problems with your soap. Some of the features you'll want to look for include: A scale that can be readjusted to zero each time you use it. This will permit you to set your pot on the scale, set the scale to zero, and still achieve the accurate weight of the ingredients. You will want a scale that can measure accurately up to 5lb's.

Soap Pot: You will need a large kettle for mixing your soap. This should be made of unchipped enamel or stainless steel. Lye will corrode most other materials. Smaller pots may hold your batch of soap but they won?t leave enough room for stirring. When choosing a pot, select one that is tall and narrow, rather than short and wide. Soap made in a taller pot will mix more efficiently.

Plastic Pitchers: You're going to need two plastic pitchers for missing and pouring the lye solution. The pitchers should have pouring spouts, removable lids that either snap or screw on tightly, and secure handles. Select pitchers that are "dishwasher safe". These types of pitchers will be able to accommodate the lye solution that can heat up to 200 degrees. Do not use glass or metals. Metals can react with the lye and glass may crack when subjected to the high temperatures of the lye.

Long Handled Spoons: The spoons are used for stirring the caustic lye solution so be sure it has a good long handle. Spoons can be of plastic or wood, though the lye will eventually chew up a wooden spoon. Plan on reserving these spoons for soapmaking only.

Kitchen Thermometer: You will need 2 kitchen thermometers. Each must be capable of registering temperatures as low as 100 degrees F. The probe end should be made of glass or stainless steel. Lye can ruin most aluminum probes. Purchase thermometers with hooks so you can attach them to the side of your pitcher or pot. Make sure you know how to read your thermometer, as inaccurate readings can ruin a batch of soap!

Safety Glasses: Always wear safety goggles/glasses when mixing soap to protect your eyes from the caustic lye.

Rubber Gloves: You will also want rubber gloves to protect your hands and lower arms from the possibility of a chemical burn. Protective Covering: You will also need an adequate supply of newspaper or plastic to cover all counter surfaces and protect them from the caustic lye. Lye will absolutely destroy Formica and other laminated surfaces. Make certain you have all work surfaces protected before your begin.

Ladle: A ladle comes in very hand for transferring the soap from the pot into the mold. Use either wood or stainless steel.

Knife: You will also want a sharp knife for cutting up suet or beef fat for rendering and also for cutting your soap into bars.

Large Plastic Container with a Lid: This will used as a primary mold and will hold your basic liquid soap. It must, of course be large enough to accommodate your soap batch. Clear plastic works well because it allows you to spot any problems with your soap before you attempt to remove it.

Blankets or Towels: These will be used to wrap up your primary mold to keep the soap from cooling too quickly. A Screen, Freezer or Butcher's Paper. After you cut your block soap into bars, you will need a place to let them cure. Do not cure bars on color impregnated material like cardboard as the color may transfer to your soaps. Kitchen Grater: If you plan to turn your basic bars into hand-milled soap, you will need a grater to grate the soap into small pieces.

Soap Molds: This can be the most creative part of the soapmaking process. Use your imagination when selecting a soap mold such as old-fashioned gelatin molds, microwave containers, candy molds, or my personal favorite ? the hexagonal container for the Folgers specialty coffee. These make great bath-sized bars with wonderful cropped corners. Some considerations you need to give your molds are:

Flexible Molds are preferable to ones that are completely ridged, as the bars will be easier to remove. Mold material must be able to withstand the high temperature of hot soap. The open end must be larger than the closed end or you will not be able to remove the soap.

Plastic and stainless steel are generally the best mold material. Glass and china molds might be acceptable, but the soap won't be easy to remove.

Additives: What you add to your soaps is limited solely by your imagination and the desired result. The best way to determine what to add to your soaps is to think about what you hope to achieve with the end product. Are you attempting to treat a specific skin condition like dry skin or acne? Or are you hoping for a more generic soap that can be milled into a variety uses like shampoo or laundry soap? Some soap additives are: Herbs: Herbs make a wonderful soap additive and can treat a variety of skin conditions. For ideas or properties of specific herbs try http://usingherbs.com for detailed information on herbs, their properties and uses.

Essential Oils: Essential Oils are perfect for scenting your soaps. Unlike many other types of oils they are extracted from the plant source and are very potent, their scent often lasts longer than synthetic scents.

Fragrance Oils: These oils are commonly used in potpourri and are made synthetically. While generally not as long lasting as essential oils, they do offer unique scent combinations. So, at least we've made a start. Once you've gathered all of your supplies, check back and we'll discuss basic soap making techniques.

MK Welty hosts an informational site for soapmakers at: http://youcanmakesoap.com/. From beginning to end, you will find everything you need including soap recipes, soap making instructions, and suppliers."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Welty and http://EzineArticles.com/?The-ABCs-Of-SoapMaking—Gathering-The-Equipment-You-Will-Need&id=288159

Flower Cupcake Soap (Hot Process Method)

Julie Longyear has always loved playing with anything messy. Fortunately over the years, her mediums have matured from mud and play dough to ceramics and candles. The biggest challenge that she has faced is picking one medium on which to focus. It seems in her case, father really does know best, because it was when she followed her dad's advice that she found her favorite medium–making soaps. She'll deomonstrate her specialty, unique and decorative cupcake soaps.

Materials and Tools:

crock-pot
hand-held (stick) blender
ice cream scoop
measuring spoons
glass jar or other glass bowl
long-handled spoons
rubber or silicone spatulas
regular size muffin pan
cupcake papers
digital scale*
32-oz.olive oil
30 mL essential oil
1 tsp. turmeric
18 oz. Red Devil Lye
graduated cylinder (small mL measuring capability)
1 quart glass-measuring cup
1 quart plastic or glass-measuring cup
distilled water
vinegar
spray bottle
plastic spoons
paintbrush
scissors
dried rosebuds
dried lavender buds
dried mint leaf
dried yarrow flowers
dried jasmine flowers
mask, goggles, and rubber gloves (preferably chemical resistant)

*A postal scale with a 5-pound maximum works fine–must measure to tenths of an ounce.

Steps:

1. Turn on crock-pot to begin heating.

2. Measure 27 ounces of olive oil by weight into a plastic quart-measuring cup using the digital scale.

3. Measure nine ounces of distilled water by weight into the glass quart-measuring cup using the digital scale.

4. Put on mask, gloves and goggles.

5. Weigh out 3-1/2 ounces of lye by weight into a separate glass container.

6. Add the lye to the distilled water slowly, stirring the entire time. Caution: Work in a well-ventilated area and do not breath the fumes that come up off the lye-water as it dissolves. Stir until completely dissolved.

7. Add the olive oil to the crock-pot, scraping the measuring cup to get all the oil out.

8. Add the lye-water to the crock-pot.

9. Neutralize the measuring cup and spoon used to mix the lye-water using vinegar and soapy water.

10. Add one teaspoon of turmeric to the crock-pot.

11. Blend the oil and lye-water mixture in the crock-pot. Be careful not to splash, keeping the end of the blender under the surface of the oil at all times. It will become creamy and start to thicken after a few minutes.

12. Once it has reached a pudding-like consistency called trace (called "trace" because a line that you trace in the soap will remain there), put the lid on the pot and allow it to sit and cook at a medium temperature.

13. The soap will begin to bubble on the sides, and then the middle will begin to sink into the bubbles coming up from the sides. This may take 30 to 45 minutes until the center portion of the soap has totally been consumed under the bubbles depending on the crock-pot's temperature. It is better to cook slowly than to cook too hot and burn the soap. Continue to cook for another 20 minutes until the entire mixture resembles translucent, warm petroleum jelly (with some liquid floating on top).

14. Once the soap has finished cooking, turn the crock-pot off and allow to sit and cool with the lid on until it reaches a temperature of approximately 80 degrees centigrade.

15. While the soap is cooling prepare the muffin pan. Put a cupcake paper in each muffin slot on the pan. Double up on the cupcake papers to make sure they hold up.

16. Once the soap is cooler, set the crock-pot on a low setting to retain heat. Take the lid off and add 30 mL of desired essential oils scent. Mix thoroughly.

17. If the soap seems to be a little stiff or is forming a skin on the surface, add a little extra water to keep it moist. Water evaporates as the soap is sitting open and hot, so you may wish to keep a spray bottle handy to mist it to keep it moist.

18. Scoop the gooey, warm soap into the prepared muffin pan using an ice cream scoop. Work quickly so that the soap remains warm while you scoop it. Mist the soap mixture remaining in the crock-pot if it becomes too dry.

19. Once you have the cupcake papers filled, tap the pan against the table or floor a few times to help the soap settle fully into the shape of the cupcake papers. If it has cooled too much while you are scooping it won't fill the papers well, so if you are having trouble moving quickly enough, you can do a few at a time and then tamp.

20. If the surface of the cupcakes is not the ideal shape, reshape the surface with the back of a clean plastic spoon.

21. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

22. Once they are completely cool, remove cupcakes from the pan.

23. For rosebud soaps–use 5 or 6 rosebuds per soap. The stems of these are usually strong enough to poke directly into the soap. Place one in the middle and the rest surrounding the center.

24. For lavender and mint "sprinkled" soaps–put some lavender buds in a dish. Moisten the top of the soap using a paintbrush and a little water. Then press the top of the soap into the lavender, being careful not to crush the top edges of the cupcake paper.

25. For yarrow and jasmine soaps–cut the yarrow bloom into small sections. Using a needle or other pointed object make a pilot hole in the soap for each bloom section, and then insert them.

26. The soap is useable right away, but will lather best if given a week or so to cure.

Source: http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/flower-cupcake-soap/index.html

How To Make Soap

The intention here is to provide the basic data on how to make soap from the most basic materials. There are many fancier soap recipes which make better soaps, as long as you have all the ingredients.

The first write-up assumes you can just go to a store and buy the ingredients. The second only assumes you have some animals you will be butchering and that you have been burning wood fires and cleverly saved the ashes.

Basic Method
[A. This first write-up is taken from Hulda Clarkís book, “The Cure for All Diseases,” pages 529-530.]

A small plastic dishpan, about 10″ x 12″
A glass or enamel 2-quart saucepan
1 can of lye (sodium hydroxide), 12 ounces
3 pounds of lard
Plastic gloves [really; use eye-protection too]
Water

Directions:
1. Pour 3 cups of very cold water (refrigerate water overnight first) into the 2-quart saucepan.

2. Slowly and carefully add the lye, a little bit at a time, stirring it with the a wooden or plastic utensil. (Use plastic gloves for this; test them for holes first.) Do not breathe the vapor or lean over the container or have children nearby. Above all _use no metal_. The mixture will get very hot. In olden days, a sassafras branch was used to stir, imparting a fragrance and insect deterrent for mosquitoes, lice, fleas and ticks.

3. Let cool at least one hour in a safe place. Meanwhile, the unwrapped lard should be warming up to room temperature in the plastic dishpan.

4. Slowly and carefully, pour the lye solution into the dishpan with the lard. The lard will melt. Mix thoroughly, at least 15 minutes, until it looks like thick pudding.

5. Let it set until the next morning, then cut it into bars. It will get harder after a few days. Then package.

If you wish to make soap based on olive oil, use about 48 ounces. It may need to harden for a week.

Liquid soap
Make chips from your home-made soap cake. Add enough hot water to dissolve. Add citric acid to balance the pH (7 to . If you do not, this soap may be too harsh for your skin.

Basic Method When There Are No Stores!

[This write-up was taken from one done by Marietta Ellis concerning the soap-making practices of colonial America, with the tense mainly changed from the past into the present.] Saponification is a very big chemical word for the rather complex but easy to create soap making reaction. Saponification is what happens when a fatty acid meets an alkali. When fats or oils, which contain fatty acids are mixed with a strong alkali, the alkali first splits the fats or oils into their two major parts fatty acids and glycerin. After this splitting of the fats or oils, the sodium or potassium part of the alkali joins with the fatty acid part of the fat or oils. This combination is then the potassium or sodium salt of the fatty acid. As we said at the start, this is soap.

Soap Making Takes Three Basic Steps

1.Making of the wood ash lye.
2.Rendering or cleaning the fats.
3.Mixing the fats and lye solution together and boiling the mixture to make the soap.

First Let’s Make The Lye
In making soap the first ingredient required is a liquid solution of potash commonly called lye. The lye solution was obtained by placing wood ashes in a bottomless barrel set on a stone slab with a groove and a lip carved in it. The stone in turn rested on a pile of rocks. To prevent the ashes from getting in the solution a layer of straw and small sticks was placed in the barrel then the ashes were put on top. The lye was produced by slowly pouring water over the ashes until a brownish liquid oozed out the bottom of the barrel. This solution of potash lye was collected by allowing it to flow into the groove around the stone slab and drip down into a clay vessel at the lip of the groove.

Some colonists used an ash hopper for the making of lye instead of the barrel method. The ash hopper, was kept in a shed to protect the ashes from being leached unintentionally by a rain fall. Ashes were added periodically and water was poured over at intervals to insure a continuous supply of lye. The lye dripped into a collecting vessel located beneath the hopper.

[Use whatever you have available or can make.]

Now The Fats Are Prepared
The preparation of the fats or grease to be used in forming the soap is the next step. This consists of cleaning the fats and grease of all other impurities contained in them. The cleaning of fats is called rendering and is the smelliest part of the soap making operation. Animal fat, when removed from the animals during butchering, must be rendered before soap of any satisfactory quality can be made from it. This rendering removes all meat tissues that still remain in the fat sections. Fat obtained from cattle is called tallow while fat obtained from pigs is called lard.

If soap is being made from grease saved from cooking fires, it is also rendered to remove all impurities that have collected in it. The waste cooking grease being saved over a period of time without the benefits of refrigeration usually become rancid, so this cleaning step is very important to make the grease sweeter. It will result in a better smelling soap. The soap made from rancid fats or grease will work just as well as soap made from sweet and clean fats but not be as pleasant to have around and use.

To render, fats and waste cooking grease are placed in a large kettle and an equal amount of water is added. Then the kettle is placed over the open fire outdoors. Soap making is an outside activity. The smell from rendering the fats is too strong to wish in anyone’s house. The mixture of fats and water are boiled until all the fats have melted. After a longer period of boiling to insure completion of melting the fats, the fire is stopped and into the kettle is placed another amount of water about equal to the first amount of water. The solution is allowed to cool down and left over night. By the next day the fats have solidified and floated to the top forming a layer of clean fat. All the impurities being not as light as the fat remain in water underneath the fat.

You may have observed this in your own kitchen. When a stew or casserole containing meat has been put in the refrigerator, you could see the next day the same fat layer.

Finally The Soap Making Can Begin
In another large kettle or pot the fat is placed with the amount of lye solution determined to be the correct amount. This is easier said than done. We will discuss it more later. Then this pot is placed over a fire again outdoors and boiled. This mixture is boiled until the soap is formed. This is determined when the mixture boils up into a thick frothy mass, and a small amount placed on the tongue causes no noticeable “bite”. This boiling process could take up to six to eight hours depending on the amount of the mixture and the strength of the lye.

Soft Soap and Hard Soap
Soap made with wood ash lye does not make a hard soap but only a soft soap. When the fire is put out and the soap mixture allowed to cool, the next day reveals a brown jelly like substance that feels slippery to the touch, makes foam when mixed with water, and cleans. This is the soft soap the colonists had done all their hard work to produce. The soft soap is then poured into a wooden barrel and ladled out with a wooden dipper when needed. To make hard soap, common salt is thrown in at the end of the boiling. If this is done a hard cake of soap forms in a layer at the top of the pot. As common salt may be expensive and hard to get, it is not usually wasted to make hard soap. Common salt is more valuable to give to the livestock and the preserving of foods. Soft soap works just as well as hard and for these reasons the colonists, making their own soap, did not make hard soap bars.

In towns and cities where there were soap makers making soap for sale, the soap could be converted to the hard soap by the addition of salt. As hard bars it will be easier to store and transport. Hard bars produced by the soap maker were often scented with oils such as lavender, wintergreen, or caraway and were sold as toilet soap to persons living in the cities or towns.

Hard soap is not cut into small bars and wrapped as has been familiar. Soap made by the soap makers is poured into large wooden frames and removed when cooled and hard.

The amount of soap a customer wants can be cut from the large bar. Soap is sold usually by the pound. Small wrapped bars were not available until the middle of the 19th century [nor maybe shortly after the end of the 20th].

Difficulties in Making Soap
The hardest part is in determining if the lye is of the correct strength, as we have said. In order to learn this, the soap maker floats either a potato or an egg in the lye. If the object floats with a specified amount of its surface above the lye solution, the lye is declared fit for soap making. Most of the colonists felt that lye of the correct strength would float a potato or an egg with an area the size of a modern quarter above the surface. To make a weak lye stronger, the solution can either be boiled down more or the lye solution can be poured through a new batch of ashes. To make a solution weaker, water is added [more data to be added here on how to determine the correct strength of lye]. A Pennsylvania Dutch recipe once carefully warned that a sassafras stick was the only kind of implement suitable for stirring the mixture [see Hulda Clark comment above re sassafras] and the stirring must be done always in the same direction [?].

Not Always Done Down On The Farm
Soap making as a trade had grown in direct proportion with the growth of the colonies. Even in the very early days there were tradesmen making and selling soap, who were called soapboilers. Since tallow was the main ingredient for both soap and candles, many tradesmen were producers of both. These tradesmen were called chandlers.

Potash and Pearlash Trade

Soap making and the manufacture of potash and pearlashes were closely related trades of colonial America. Pearlash, purified potash, because of its many industrial uses, was an important item of export for the colonies. Pearlash, in addition to soap making, was used for making glass both in the colonies and in Europe….

Potash is the residue remaining after all the water has been driven off from the lye solution obtained from the leaching of wood ashes. Pearlash is then made from the potash by baking it in a kiln until all the carbon impurities were burned off. The fine, white powder remaining was the Pearlash….

Source: http:///

My Experience with Cold Process Soapmaking

It is has been almost six years since I learned how to make by the Melt & Pour Method, aka Soap Crafting, that I took Lori Nova's Cold Process Soapmaking 101 class on November 10th.

I guess why I waited so long was the fear of working with lye, but I really liked creating soaps by the Melt and Pour Method. But as time passed by teaching the M&P Method, I wanted to be more informed on both Cold Process and Hot Process of soapmaking. I was ready for the challenge.

I had a the basic concepts down by talking to people who have created soap by the CP method and going as far as purchasing two books. The books I had purchased were "Handcrafted Soaps" by Delores Boone which covers the Hot Process Method and "Essentially Soaps" by Dr. Robert McDaniel. Handcrafted Soaps is a great book with colored step by step instructions on how to create soap by the Hot Process Method. And Essentially Soaps has some good info on Cold Process and herbs, etc. but I really did not care for the recipes. Although both books had good qualities, I really needed to have that one on one experience in order to ask any questions.

When I was at The Nova Studio's anniversary in September, I met Alica Grosso, who wrote "The Everything Soapmaking Book." I really liked the layout and the easy to read format. In no way was the information dummied down. And comparing Grosso's book to the "Candlemaking and Soapmaking for Dummies" it is far superior. So, I had purchased the book and read it before the class which was coming up in six weeks. Of course, it did not take me that long.

After reading the book, I felt the comfortable taking the class. And I would say that taking Lori's class reinforced the information in the book and provided additional information. So, I was glad that I read the book prior to the class. And now I do not have the fear of lye. It is basically having the respect of the ingredient and taking the appropriate cautions.

I was planning to take the Hot Process class later that day, but due to another commitment, I could not stay. I do plan to take that class in addition to her advanced CP class.

I guess what my fear now is working with SAP values. And what I mean by that is that if you change or do not have enough of one oil is find out what oil is similar in order not to screw up a recipe. So that is my next fear to conquer.

If you do not live in the San Francisco Bay Area to take Lori's class and you want to learn the Cold Process Method, I would recommend doing a research on classes in your area. Always a good place to look is on Craigslist. Other places there maybe listings would be on Upcoming.org or Zvents.com. Second, check your local adult schools, community education or parks & recreation venues. But, I found that classes on the subject are taught by people you have their studios. Since there are alot of things that need to be brought to the class (ingredients, pots, stove top, etc.) that it is have everything in one location.

I would say that my experience with Cold Process has been a pleasant one. And once I have the opportunity to make a bar of soap in this method, I am planning to attempt my first batch. I will let you know how it goes. But if you want to learn the Hot Process Method, it is best to take a Cold Process Method class prior to the Hot Process Class.