Methods in Soapmaking

Hello Kitty Milk and Honey soap.

These soaps are part of the first batch I made using a Cold Process Method.

Have you ever wondered how organic and hand crafted soaps are made? Well, there are different methods used in producing hand crafted soaps, it depends on what method you feel is the right one for your capacity. For Dew of Nature soaps, we used the Cold Process method because it makes a high quality soap, the tracing is more smooth and even.

Soapmaking is a combination of art and science, having correctly applied proper techniques and correctly measured all the ingredients, there's no reason why you cannot create and produce your own batches of soap either for personal use, gift to friends or business purposes.

Here, we will teach you how to make your own soap. So if you are interested to try producing small batches, read the following methods of making soap and determine which one you would like to try.

Soap making is pretty exciting and fulfilling, once you will know the convenience of balancing all the techniques and applications, you become hooked with this hobby. Producing your own soap is so addicting because aside from creating chemical-free batches of soap, you can also make it a very profitable business.

A very important reminder: ALWAYS RUN YOUR INGREDIENTS, ESPECIALLY OILS, THROUGH A LYE CALCULATOR BEFORE YOU START.

So here we go, below are the different methods in soap making:

COLD PROCESS

This is the most common soapmaking method applied by almost all organic soapmakers because it is so much easier, less expensive and produces high quality soaps. This process allows you to make soap from scratch and requires the use of lye, safe equipment and accurate techniques. There's no melting and hot processing involved. 

Procedure:

• Prepare materials needed.
• Separately weigh the ingredients using an accurate digital scale.
• Heat the oils.
• Prepare a lye solution.
• Let the mixture cool up to 65 degrees centigrade
• Combine lye and oils and stir using a stick blender until it traces.
• Pour into the moulder and allow to harden.
• Remove from the moulds and allow it to cure for three to four weeks.

Advantages:

• You can control your ingredients
• You can create different styles and sizes
• You can customized your ingredients based on the needs of your skin and your customers.
• Curing period (three to four weeks) allows lye to evaporate so what is left is purely organic ingredients.

Disadvantages:

• It will take three to four weeks before you can use or sell your soap.
• The danger of handling caustic soda commonly known as lye.
• Inaccurate techniques and weighing of ingredients will result to poor quality of soaps.

MELT AND POUR SOAP

This soap making method is very simple because you just simply buy a glycerine soap and melt until it became liquid. If you are just a beginner soap maker and unsure how to handle the complicated lye solution preparation then melt and pour method is the most appropriate process for you.

Procedure:

• Buy bars of glycerine soap.
• Melt it using a double boiler method.
• Wait until all the soap bars became liquid.
• Add fragrance and colours.
• Pour it into the moulders.
• Let it harden.

Advantages:

• You will not handle the complicated lye solution.
• It is quicker and easier.
• You can use your soap after it hardens.

Disadvantages:

• You have no control with the ingredients.
• It is not organic anymore as commercial soap makers have been taken the extra glycerine.
• There are chemical ingredients mixed in the soap.

HOT PROCESS METHOD


This process is another variation of a cold process method only that the ingredients are mix together and pour on a pot and heat for hours. You will still prepare your lye solution.


Procedure:

• Same procedure with the cold process method.
• Heat oils first.
• Slowly pour your lye solution.
• Mix until everything melted.
• Continue stirring until it traces.
• Let it cool.
• Pour into the moulds.

Advantages:

• Long shelf life than the cold process
• The gel stage occurs faster.
• Harder bar soaps.
• Evaporates water faster.

Disadvantages:

• It lessens the qualities of your natural ingredients.
• Possible losses of some of the important components of the organic nature of the ingredients.

REBATCHING OR FRENCH MILLING OR HANDMILLING METHOD

Rebatching method is applied when the soap from the cold process method goes wrong. This process involves the chopping/grating of the soap. When you found out that something went wrong with your cold process soap or you forgot the oils or other ingredients, it's time to use this method.

Procedure:

• Chop or grate the soap.
• Put it in a double boiler pot.
• Add water to the pot.
• Pour the soap and allow to melt until it reaches a thicker mixture.
• Stir occasionally but not frequent as it produce bubbles.
• Scrape the bubbles using a spatula.
• Let it cool.
• Pour into moulders.

Advantages:

• Easy process.
• No lye solution involves.
• You can add other ingredients like essential oil or coloring.

Disadvantages:

• Rebatching often results to poor quality texture of the soap.
• Loss of a refine texture of the soap.

So that's it. Now if you want to know the details of each method and want to try making your own soap, please send us a message through our contact us page.