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Cold Process Soap
The type of soap Grandma made is called “Cold Process” soap (commonly referred to as “CP” soap). It is made by combining fatty acids and sodium hydroxide (lye) together. Fatty acids can be almost any oil – from beef tallow to olive oil to hemp oil. The combinations for making your own personal recipe are endless.
Cold process soapmaking is a combinations of an art and science. The condensed version of this type of soapmaking is that there is a certain proportion of lye (sodium hydroxide) and water to fatty acids that forms a chemical reaction called “saponifaction.” During saponification, the oils and lye mix and become soap – the process takes approximately six weeks to fully complete.
Cold process soapmaking requires the use of lye and the use of safety equipment, such as goggles and gloves. Please do not attempt to make cold process soap without researching the method thoroughly. Cold process soap is known for its hard, long lasting quality. Depending on the oils used, the bar can have great lather (coconut oil has excellent lathering properties), be incredibly mild (olive oil is renowned for its gentle qualities) or be very moisturizing (with the addition of oils, such as shea and cocoa butter or hemp oil).
General Instructions:
1. Suit up in safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves.
1. Suit up in safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves.
2. Add the lye to the water. Stir well taking precautions to not breathe in the fumes. Set the mixture to the side and allow it to cool to approximately 110F. You can put the lye water mixture outside if you are not in a well ventilated area.
3. Add all your oils together and melt. Allow them to cool to approximately 110F, or within 5 degrees of the lye water.
4. Add the lye water mixture to the melted oils, carefully. Stir vigorously until trace occurs. Trace looks like a thin pudding. A stick blender will help speed trace along. If you are stirring by hand, these recipes may take up to an hour to trace.
5. Pour your traced soap mixture into your molds. Pop out after 3 to 5 days and allow to sit for a full 4 to 6 weeks to cure and finish the saponification process.
Beginner 4.5 pound Soap Recipe - makes just under 4.5 lbs of soap
16oz Canola Oil
16oz Coconut Oil
16oz Palm Oil
6.9oz Lye (5% superfatted)
15.8oz Water
Beginner 6.5 pound Soap Recipe - makes just over 6.5 lbs of soap
5oz Canola Oil
5oz Castor Oil
32oz Coconut Oil
32oz Palm Oil
11 oz Lye (5% superfatted)
24.4 oz Water
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Melt and Pour Soap
Technically, all hand made soap is “Glycerin Soap.” In many commercial soaps, all the extra glycerin (formed naturally by the cold process soapmaking method) is harvested out. Thus, all handmade soap is glycerin rich (since hand made soapmakers don’t harvest out glycerin in their soap).
In today’s market, the term “Glycerin Soap” is commonly used to refer to clear soap. Generally, the clear soap has extra glycerin added to it to produce a very nourishing, moisturizing bar. Glycerin is a “humectant.” It draws moisture to itself; the theory is that if you wash with glycerin soap, a thin layer of glycerin will remain, drawing moisture to your skin.
Clear soap base
You can also make clear soap from scratch. This method involves all the aspects of cold process soapmaking, but takes it a few steps further by adding alcohol for clarity and a glycerin and sugar mix to suspend and enhance the clarity. It is a dangerous process because of the alcohol vapors. If you wish to make clear soap (which will not melt down like melt and pour – it’s one pour only soap), please read “Transparent Soapmaking” by Catherine Failor. This is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to make clear soap from scratch.
Basic Melt and Pour Soap Tutorial
You can melt the base in a double boiler or the microwave. If you choose the microwave, make sure you cover the bowl you are melting the melt and pour (MP) with Saran Wrap to keep the excess moisture from evaporating out. Simply melt the base on high for one minute and stir the remaining, unmelted pieces in.
You can melt the base in a double boiler or the microwave. If you choose the microwave, make sure you cover the bowl you are melting the melt and pour (MP) with Saran Wrap to keep the excess moisture from evaporating out. Simply melt the base on high for one minute and stir the remaining, unmelted pieces in.
If you use a double-boiler, simply bring the water to boil, add your melt and pour, cover, turn the heat on low and walk away. Check on the base periodically to see it it's melted.
If you add fragrance oil, add it after the base is fully melted. Stir until the fragrance is fully incorporated and the base doesn't look "cloudy." Start with .25 ounce per pound of base and work up or down from there. You can also use essential oils.
If you wish to add colorant, add the color when the base is melting. Just throw in 1/8 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon mica with the melting base and stir it in really well. Spray any "mica bubbles" that form on the top with rubbing alcohol. To use food coloring, simply put in 1 drop at a time to your melted base and color to preference. Too much can stain hands and towels, so be careful!
Pour into your molds - and spray the top with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any excess bubbles.
Use and enjoy once the soap is hard - which takes a few hours
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Fun and Simple Soap Making Recipes
Honey Bee CP Soap
Olive Oil 32 oz
Olive Oil 32 oz
Palm Oil 16 oz.
Tallow 24 oz.
Totals 72 oz.
5% Superfatted Lye Amount 9.477 oz.
Ounces of water recommended 23.760 oz.
At trace, add fragrance and 1 Tablespoon of Honey. Do not insulate your soap as the Honey may cause your soap to superheat.
Easy Shea Butter CP Soap
Coconut Oil 16 oz.
Easy Shea Butter CP Soap
Coconut Oil 16 oz.
Olive Oil 18 oz.
Palm Oil 16 oz.
Shea Butter 4 oz.
Tallow 16 oz.
Totals 70 oz.
5% Superfatted Lye Amount 9.815 oz.
Ounces of water recommended 23.100 oz.
Butterfly Soaps
One bar glycerin or lye-based soap (bar#1)
One bar glycerin or lye-based soap (bar#1)
A second bar or scrap of glycerin or lye-based soap in a different color than bar#1 - big enough to use a cookie cutter with. Depth should be between 1/4 and 1/2 inch.
3 - 4 drops clear glycerin melt and pour soap
Small, metal butterfly cookie cutter
Soap paint
1. Decide which bar is to be the main bar (bar #1) and which is to be used to cut out the butterfly.
2. Cut out a small soap butterfly using a metal cookie cutter.
3. Melt a small amount of clear glycerin melt-and-pour soap. Using a plastic dropper, drop 3-4 drops of glycerin onto bar#1 and carefully press the butterfly against the melted glycerin. Wait approx. 10 minutes for it to cool.
4. Take out your soap paints and start playing. You can paint a sun, little antennae on thebutterfly, spots, grass - anything you desire. In addition, you don't have to limit yourself to just butterflies! Cut out stars, moons, flowers, etc. using the same procedure outlined in steps 2 and 3 and then paint to your heart's content.
5. Let paint dry for 24 hours before wrapping.
craps or bars of soap
small metal cookie cutters
small see-thru bags, netting, or tulle for wrapping
1. Slice a bar of soap into thin (1/8 to 1/4 inch) layers.
2. Position small metal cookie cutters and punch out designs.
3. Carefully push soap out and arrange on a pretty dish in the bathroom. You can take different colored soaps and make a pretty bag of them tied with a ribbon on top.
(Note: May want to wear kitchen gloves while punching out soaps - the metal cookie cutters are sharp.)
Shaving Soap
Package this in a wide mouth jar and a shaving brush!
Package this in a wide mouth jar and a shaving brush!
2 pounds Bramble Berry Goats Milk liquid soap base
2 tbs. Calendula, ground
8 oz. melt and pour base
1 oz. of your favorite fragrance
Add melted melt and pour to the goatsmilk base; stir in fragrance oil and ground calendula. Pour into wide mouth jars; wait 24 hours to harden. Soap will get slightly hard but not hard enough to pour into individual molds.
Oatmeal Melt and Pour Soap Recipe
(1) Melt 8 oz. of white/opaque base
(1) Melt 8 oz. of white/opaque base
(2) Melt 8 oz. of clear base
(3) Optional: Grind up 1/2 oz. of Oatmeal in coffee grinder for a smoother,lighter exfoliation. Also, the smaller the particle, the easier to suspend in the soap.
(4) Combine the two bases
(5) Add your fragrance oil - approximately 1/2 oz. (Oatmeal, Milk and Honey is a good one!) and stir in well
(6) Optional: Add colorant
(7) Add the oatmeal and stir. Wait 20 or 30 seconds - is the oatmeal sinking to the bottom of your bowl/Pyrex or is it staying suspended. If it is staying suspended, skip to step 8
(8) If the oatmeal is sinking, this simply means that your base is not thick enough to support the oatmeal. Either cover the bowl/Pyrex with saran wrap and wait for the base to cool, or stir the melted base until it is becomes thick enough to suspend the oatmeal.
(9) Pour your oatmeal soap into molds
(10) Spritz with alcohol to finish the soap and break up any bubbles on the top of the soap
(11) Wait 2 to 3 hours (or even better, overnight!) to pop the soap out of the molds. Wrap with saran wrap and you're done!
Gardener's Recipe
8 oz. Melt & Pour base
8 oz. Melt & Pour base
2 T. white cornmeal
1-1/2 T. fine pumice
1 T. bentonite clay
2 tsp. of a citrus essential oil (orange, lemon, etc.) or fragrance
Melt base and scent. Stir in cornmeal, pumice and clay continually until it gets to a point where it will stay suspended in the soap. By this time, the soap will be quite thick and cool. Pour into molds.
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