Soapmaking Abbreviations

In the soap making arena many abbreviations and acronyms are used, especially on email lists. Here is a list of the most commonly used acronyms and abbreviations for different methods of making soaps. As more terms come my way, I will be updating this page with the most newly coined ones.

CP -- Cold Process soap is soap that is made by blending oils(fatty acids) and sodium hydroxide together until they reach trace (become homogenized)which results in the heating of the mixture which begins the chemical process called saponification. The yielded result is cold process soap. This is soap made without heating. The process of saponification takes 2-4 weeks to be complete -at the end of which the finished soap is lye free and ready to be used.

CPHP -- Crock Pot Hot Soap is soap that is cooked in a crock pot so that all the lye cooks out and the soap is ready to be used after the cook. The soap is harder to manage because the soap is already setting and thickening by the time the cook is over, making it difficult to manage. Soapers say that the soap has to be “glopped” (plopped) into the mold, rather than poured. The great thing about any cooked soap is that after the cook it is ready to use.

CPOP -- Cold Process Oven Process is soap that starts out as cold process soap then put into heavy duty molds and baked in the oven at a very low temperature. At the end of the bake, the soap is ready to be used. Using this method, one has to be careful that the mold can withstand the heat of the oven and does not become a fire hazard.

CS, CSDBHP -- Closed System Double Boiler Hot Process is exactly what it means, the soap is cooked in a pot that is placed within a pot with water (AKA double boiler, bain marie) after trace and the soap is cooked to speed up the saponification process. The pot is kept tightly sealed and cooked. The benefits of this method is that the soap can be left alone and does not need to stirred as often as a cooked method where the pot is kept open. The resulting cooked soap although ready to use will need to be cured for a week or so so that the excess liquid can evaporate and the soap can dry into a usable product.

DB -- Double Boiler soap is soap that after trace is put into a double boiler and cooked. It may be cooked with the lid on the pot or the lid off. Regardless of wether or not the lid is on or off the pot, at the end of the cook the soap is free of lye.

DH -- The direct Heat method calls for the soap to be directly on the heat in a pot. This method means that the mixture needs to be closely monitored so that the soap does not burn or boil over in the pot.

DWCP, DW -- Discounted Water Cold Process. The rationale for taking a perfectly normal cold process soap recipe and deducting some of the water is so that there will be less water to evaporate from the soap, thereby resulting in soap that dries into harder bars sooner than undiscounted soap.

HP -- Hot Process soap is soap that is cooked or baked after coming to trace. This method yields soap that is ready to be used since all the lye has been cooked out of the soap. With this method one can cook the soap on top of the stove in a closed or open pot or in the oven in a pot or in a mold.

MP or M&P -- Melt and Pour soap is soap that most people are familiar with. This is the type of soap one usually sees in local craft stores. This soap is usually called "soap base". Melt and pour soap allows you to be creative since the only thing that is needed is to melt down the soap, color and fragrance it and pour into the mold and let it set. Melt and pour soap is also called "glycerin soap" because during the manufacturing process the glycerin is left in the soap rather than siphoned off and sold as a byproduct. Removing the glycerin and selling it as a byproduct of soap making is typically the end of most commercial soap making processes. The great news is that melt and pour soap base is some of the most gentle soap for the skin and can be used as is right off the shelf.

OHP -- Oven Hot process is cooked soap. The soap is cooked in the oven after reaching trace rather than on top of the stove. The finished product should not have any lye in it and is ready to use after it has cooled for a of couple hours.

Rebatch -- Rebatching is melting soap (non melt & pour soap) that is usually shredded into fine pieces, adding a small amount of liquid to the shredded soap and melting it over low heat or a double boiler (AKA bain marie). The whole point of rebatching soap is to salvage soap that is imperfect, separated, unattractive, or more importantly, to add ingredients (herbs, decoctions, essential oils, curative ingredients, medicinal ingredients) to the soap that would have otherwise been destroyed by the heat of saponification.


Source: Permission to reprint by Winsome Tapper, Soapmaking Editor, www.bellaonline.com/site/soapmaking.

More Glossary of Terms

Here are some more terms you may want to add to list -

Additives: Ingredients added to soaps that impart special characteristics to the finished bar or bath product.

Aromatic: Having a fragrant taste and/or smell.

Astringent: In cosmetic terms, a substance that contracts the pores and tissues, making the surface smoother.

Base Notes (aka lower or back notes): Are most prominent when the middle notes begin to fade. These notes are responsible for the duration of the fragrance on the skin. Traces of the base notes can last on the skin for hours or sometimes for days.

Detergent: A cleaner made with petroleum distillateds rather than natural fasts.

Enflerage: An age-old method of extracting essential oils using odorless fats and oils to absorb the essential oils from a plant.

Fillers: In cosmetic and fragrance crafting, fillers add bulk or extend a product.

Fixative: A fixative stabilizes volatile oils and prevents them from exporting too quickly. A common vegetable fixative is orris root. In soaps and bath products, the fixative can be the soap base, base oil, salts, or dried botanicals.

Herb: The American Herb Society's official definition is "any plant that can be used for pleasure, fragrance, or physic."

Hydrating: Maintaining or restoring normal fluid balance in the body or skin. Hydrating agents are used in cosmetics to keep the skin moist, frm, and young looking.

Middle Notes (aka heart or medium notes): Consitutes the dominate trait of the perfume. These notes will start to appear on the skin about 10 minutes after the fragrance has been applied and can last up to several hours. The middle notes will determine the characteristics or signature of a fragrance and will help classify the perfume into a fragrance family.

Refrigerant: A substance that cools inflammation and eases muscle pains.

Soap base: Soap made from fats and lye with no additives. Also refers to melt and pour soap before it is melted and additives are introduced.

Stimulant: A substance that temporarily quickesn the fuctional activity of the tissues.

Synthetic: An artifically produced substance designed to imitate that which occurs naturally.

Top Notes (aka head notes): Are responsible for a perfume's first impression. Top notes surface right after the perfume has been applied to the skin. These notes tend to be striking and impactful, but are the most volatile and only last a few minutes. Once they have faded, the middle notes will take center stage.

Volatile: Easily evaporated, such as an essential oil that has been extracted from the plant and no longer has the plant's cell structure to hold the scent. Adding a fixative stablizes oils, reducing their volatility and helpng them to last longer.

Glossary of Terms

These are some of the common terms that I use for my classes.

Anti-oxidant - A synthetic chemical or natural material that prevents or slows oxidation and rancidity in oils and soaps.

Absolute - A fragrance extract made by extracting a concrete with alcohol.

Base Oils - A nonfragranced oil that is used to make up the bulk or body of the soap.

Carrier oils - Fresh vegetable, nut or seed oils acts as "carriers" when essential oils are added up to 5% solution, allowing the oils to be easily applied to large areas of the ski where they will be absorbed.

Cold Pressed Oils - Natural oils that have been pressed from the plant material without heat, solvents or chemicals, retaining their original vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids.

Cold Process - A process where fats and oils are converted to soap without cooking. Once the oils are heated to a desired temperature, a lye/water solution is added with stirring, and the oils are converted to soap and glycerin.

Colorant - Natural or synthetic material, such as dyes, pigments, and herbs which are used to color soap.

Digital Scale - A scale that shows the weight in numbers rather than a moving needle. This type of scale is more accurate.

Emollient - A material that has a soothing, softening effect on skin.

Emulsion - A stable, non-separating suspension of oil in water or water in oil.

Emulsifiers - A cosmetic ingredient which assists in combining oils with other ingredients in order to make a stable homogeneous emulsion.

Essential Oil - A fragrant oil derived from plants, stem, petals or leaves.

Extracts - Solutions obtained by immersing fresh or dried herbs, woods, gums or resin in alcohol/water mixture to extract the beneficial properties from the plant material.

Fixative - A viscous (thick) oil with a very low evaporation rated; used in perfumery.

Fragrance Oil - A synthetic or manufactured oil that mimics the more expensive oil. Fragrance oils come in a wider range of fragrances and last longer than essential oils.

Glycerin - A natural liquid produced during saponification.

GSE - Grapefruit seed extract; thought to be an antioxidant.

Hot Process - A soapmaking method involving a heat source. This process includes using lye and oils to create your soap. Saponification takes place while the mixture cooks.

Humectants - Substances that conserve the moisture content of lotions and creams, often attracting moisture from the air.

Lye - The common name for sodium hydroxide.

Melt and Pour - A type of soap, usually transparent, which when heated will melt and then solidify again upon cooling. Often shorten to M&P.

Oxidation - A chemical reaction with oxygen ie oils will become rancid.

Preservatives - Bacteria am micro-organisms quickly multiply in fresh food grade materials and spoil them. Preservatives inhibit the growth of bacteria and extend the useful life of cosmetics.

Rancid - Degraded by oxidation. In the extreme case, oils become cloudy and smelly due to air oxidation.

Rebatching - Preparation of soap by dissolving freshly made soap in water or milk allowing it to crystallize again.

Saponification - The chemical reaction between lye and fats or oils, yielding soap and glycerin as the product of the reaction.

SAP - Short for sapnoification. The amount of lye required to completely saponify a specific amount of fat or oil.

Shelf Life - The amount of time a cosmetic can be kept at normal room temperature before being adversely affected by bacteria, peroxidation and chemical changes.

Soap - The sodium or potassium salt of a fatty acid. Soap is prepared by either by the direct reaction of fatty acids with lye or by the reaction of lye and fats and oils.

Trace - To stir or stick blend oils, water and lye until it begins to thicken.

Wax - An organic neutral molecule that consists of a fatty acid reacted with or attach to a fatty alcohol.