~♥~ Adventures in Soapmaking ~♥~

Hot Process vs Cold Process

I started making soap with hot process.  I felt more comfortable with the fact that I cooked out all the lye and the soap could be used immediately.  I still make hot process soaps along with my cold process.  Which is better?  I don't think one is better than the other honestly.  For a new soaper I would recommend hot process simply because I think it's easier.  I found with cold process I have to move faster and I need to have more patients with being able to use and cut the soap.  There are problems that can arise with added ingredients in cold process, ricing, accelerating, volcano that you don't have to worry about with hot process.  Because most additives are added after the saponification process is complete. Like when you use fragrances,essential oils, aloe vera gel, milk, oatmeal and honey.  (That being said you still need to check on your soap so that it doesn't overflow. )  I like the rustic look of hot process sometimes also I love the lather.  for some reason the bubbles seem bigger even when it's the exact same recipe.  I found another youtuber that also makes hot process and she does a wonderful job with creating beautiful looking hot process soaps.  (Kim from Essential Soap)  If you want to make prettier soap rather than the rustic variety, Cold process is the way to go.  I  personally like both. As for cold process I like the refined look of the soap.  I like being able to use so much of my creativity that comes with making a cold process soap recipe. I don't like having to be patient.  I'm still learning with both and I think I will be for years to come. 

The way I do hot process

When I make a hot process soap I use my crock pot now.  I used to do the oven process but found it was just easier to use the crock pot.  I melt the butters on high.  Then turn off the crock pot.  I mix my lye/water and wait for the temperatures of both lye/water and oils to be within 5 degrees of each other. If I don't then I will have my oils and lye/water separate on me.  No big deal I just stick blend into submission.  I turn the crock pot on low.  I stick blend till a thick trace (just in case).  Then I set it aside and let it cook for 3-4 hours.   I do check on it a few times to make sure it is going threw the saponification process.  First it gels and will look like vaseline.  Then it will change again to look like mashed potatoes.   I used to, at this point, do the zap test or use my phenolphthalein to see if there was still lye in the soap.  To use phenolphthalein take a small  sample of soap out of the pot into a bowl to test it, if it turns pink when a few drops are added let it cook, if not then the soaps done. Then Throw out the sample!   To do the zap test take out a small amount of soap and touch it to the tip of your tougne and if it zaps you let it cook, if not then the soaps done.  If it's not done after 5/6 hours throw it out because there was probably some mistake made during formulating or measuring your ingredients.  When it's done add your additives be they fragrances, essential oils, color, honey etc.  then plop it in the mold.  When the soap is cooled completely you can take it out and cut it.  It may still be soft.  Note:  A hot process bar will never be as hard or last as long as a cold process bar  You can use this soap right away although I find it does last longer if you wait a couple of weeks for it to harden up a bit.  

Here is a video of me recently making a hot process soap.

Making Mon Amour Soap

The Making of a Soap Recipe

Triple Butter Recipe

This is my favorite current recipe.  I love the creaminess of it.  Although it is my most expensive recipe to make to date.  I choose coconut oil because I like the bubbles and the cleansing that it adds to the bar.  I only use it up to 20% because too much seems to dry out my skin.  Also it has a long shelf life.  I use Castor Oil again because it lends a lot of lather to the recipe.  Also it adds moisturizing and conditioning properties to the soap.  But too much can make the soap bar too soft.  I add no more than 10% for this recipe it's 8%. Palm Oil is my next ingredient and once I am all out I'll make a new recipe without it.  The raping of the land is why I want to stop using this ingredient.  I originally added it without knowing.  I use it for the creaminess it adds to the lather and hardness to the bar.  Although it is less drying than coconut oil it still has some drying qualities so I only add smaller amounts 10-,15% for this recipe it's 10%.  The butters I use in this recipe are Cocoa butter, for creaminess and hardening, Shea butter, for conditioning, healing and some hardness,  and Mango butter, as well for the conditioning and hardness.  All three add some emoillent properties to the bar and add a creaminess to the lather.  I use them at equal amounts 10% each.  Next ingredient is of course Olive oil.  I like using this oil because of it emollient properties and also because it's moisturizing.  Some people may not like using it too much in a recipe because it can sometimes lend a greenish color to the soap depending on the kind you get.  I use it at 32% in this recipe because I use it to whatever amount is left over from 100% after I've added all my other ingreidents.   I have eczema and my research tells me that these oils and butters are some of the best for that condition.   I also add Vitamin E at 1tsp per pound of oils because of it's healing properties.  Although it adds a high cost to the soap which I'm not sure is worth it at the amounts I can afford to add it. I should probably just save the Vitamin E for my lotions and conditioners instead.


Here is my most recent video of me using this recipe.  Unless I've mentioned otherwise this is the recipe I use most often.


Making Cherry Bomb Soap

Triple Butter Soap Recipe

Coconut oil 20%

Castor Oil 8%

Olive Oil 32%

Palm Oil 10%

Cocoa Butter 10%

Shea Butter 10%

Mango Butter 10%

Additives

Vitamin E 1tsp/lb of oils

Sodium lactate 2%

oxides for color

fragrance 1oz/lb of oils

~♥~Adventures in Soapmaking~♥~

My Journey with Soap Colorants

When I first started soaping I wanted to go as natural as possible.  I started out with just plain soap.  I made it using my oatmeal starch and using really ground up oatmeal.  I made my first infused oil soap. Which to this day these are still my favorite soaps.  The work really well.  I don't have to worry about them making my body break out in a rash.  I absolutely love the feel of the bar and the way they smell on there own without any fragrance or essential oil to bring more scent into the mix.  Honestly I was a bit scared of both Essential Oils and Fragrance oils.  As well as all the different kinds of colorants out there.  How can I tell which is best for me.  I was a little bored of just a plain bar so I went looking for the best most natural soap colorants. 

Enter Herbs

I first discovered herbs and though they grow in the ground what could be more natural and safe than that.  I found a website that was very informative as to what plant material would make what color in your soap.  This was my first mistake.  There are a few websites out there that don't have the correct information and they set up the soaper for failure.  This was one of them.  It told me that hibiscus would make a nice pink color in your soap and that beet root powder would make a nice beautiful red color.  Both herbs are pretty much harmless so I thought I'd try it out.  I didn't end up with pink or red soap.  One was brown, one was a squash color.  I did eventually finds some accurate information on using herbs to color soap.   I now know that Annato seed infused in oil makes a lovely yellow or orange color.  And that Alkanet root will make a robin's egg blue or a purple in your soap depending on the pH of it.   Chlorophyll depending on the kind you get will make a lovely green color.  (I've never tried this one).  I tried some of them out but ultimately decided it wasn't for me.  The mixed results and the added information that sometimes what an herb has in it might be dangerous, I'm talking mostly about Madder root here.  But also cinnamon is an irritant to the skin of sensitive people and may lend a scent in the final soap bar that you don't want. This plus my experience with Hibiscus and beet root kind of turned me off the herb train.  I may go back someday or try it out a bit at a time.  But for now I'm moving on to try other colorants that may be easier to use.   If you want a full list of herbs used for coloring soap and what qualities they lend to the bar.  Get a copy of the Soap Makers Companion.  Actually get a copy if you make soap and don't have one. It is the best book out there for new soapers.

Enter food coloring (Yup)  lol

Yes I tried food coloring.  I though well if I could eat it then surly it would be fine in my soap.  And actually it didn't work so bad.  There was a couple of colors that morphed into the wrong color like blue turned purple and my lime green turned yellow then back to a softer green color.  Apparently they fade over time but I've yet to see that happen before I'm finished using up the soap.  I like using food coloring.  The only reason I moved on to try a new colorant because someone said that it may stain peoples bodies and washcloths.  Although, I think you would have to use way more than I did in order for that to happen.  I will still use food coloring in my soap. But without a full color chart to tell me what color it may be in soap a thural testing is in order for all my dyes.  

Enter Iron Oxides, Ultramarine and Mica

When I got up the courage to use these.  I was at first put off by the fact that although they look natural most of these are synthetically made.  The natural for of these would have actually contained harmful lead and other minerals that would have hurt people.  So they found a way to make them synthetically.  I braved using them and found I really like them.  They are easy to use and lend some really spectacular hues to the soap.  I so far haven't had any incidents in my skin breaking out because of the use of them.  And the companies selling them (I'm talking about Voyageur Soap and Candle Company here) generally have a little picture showing what color your final soap bar will be, in cold process and melt and pour. That was the selling factor for me.  No guessing games.  Plus the mica's added a bit of sparkle to the soap when used and what girl can resist something shinny....well not me anyway.

Enter Lab Colorants

I honestly have not had too much experience with these yet.  Unless you count my jaunt through food coloring land.  They are pretty much the same thing.  I have three colors of these and I will use them.  I like how some companies do put up a handy picture when buying to show what color they will be in the final soap bars cold process and melt and pour. (again Voyageur Soap and Candle Co). Some of them morph as you can see in the pictures when used in cold process.  Brambleberry has a handy chart that you can use as well for mixing the best colors for you and one day I'm going to buy it.

Conclusion

Well I think that the iron oxides, ultramarine's and mica's are my favorites so far.  They are easy to use.  I haven't had any morphing, so far, or fading.  I love the fact that I don't have to add a preservative to them so they last a really long time on there own.  I will still use my Lab colorants that I have but as for buying more I think I'll stick with the oxides.  The only time I will think about trying out Lab Colorant's again is if they come out with a really beautiful ruby red color.  So far that color has eluded me.  I have heard whisperings though that some colors can be achieved by mixing both Lab colorants with the Oxides.  Like a nice red.  I have yet to experience that and when I do I will post my results so the world can benefit from my happiness.  

So this is my experience and journey in finding the colorants for me. I didn't really mention clays here because they are clay colored with either Lab Colorants or Oxides to give them the hues you see.  So they fit in both categories from what I've read anyway. Plus I haven't used them as a colorant yet.  I hope you enjoyed my journey.  I don't know if the information will help anyone.  Dont' take my word for it.  There are some soapers that are perfectly happy with using the herbal colorants or swear by Lab Colorants.  Test it out find out what's best for you.  This is just my experience.  

Happy Soaping! ♥

~♥~Adventures in Soapmaking~♥~

Well you really can never tell what's going to happen sometimes with a soap recipe.  I made this creme brulee soap the other day using my triple butter soap recipe.  It looked amazing in the mold.  I absolutely loved it.  I knew from the natures garden website that the fragrance was going to turn the soap, but it said it would turn to a milky brown color and that is what I was expecting.  Well mine turned greenish.  I don't know if it was the added titanium dioxide or if it was because the soap overheated a bit.(It cracked down the middle when it was insulated) The small flower shapes using the exact same recipe look brownish so I'm leaning more towards the overheating.  So ....what am I to do.  I'm not selling this soap.  It looks horrible.  I'm going to try it one more time not using the titanium doixide and going with a more natural soap look and I'm not going to insulate it and see what happens.  If it turns green on me again that's it for creme brulee.  Perhaps it would make a better bubble bath.  :) oh and maybe a good massage candle...yeah a message candle for sure.

Making Creme Brulee Soap

The second soap I made the same day turned out wonderful. It was Love Spell fragrance from Natures Garden.  It hasn't discolored at all.  I did cut it a little small for my liking but I can work with that.  I used the gold oil technique that I learned from Soaping 101 (http://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101) and I love the look.  I'm going to try it with my other mica's and see how that works.  I bet my Merlot mica would look cool and now I'm dying to get some silver mica.  I could so see that going with some kind of unicorn related soap.  Since everyone knows that unicorns blood is silver lol.  I really like this scent and I actually have an essential oil blend that I made that smells similar.  It's a Bergamont, Rosewood, and Tangerine blend of equal parts.  Still aging on the shelf awaiting for the day that I soap it.  Perhaps tomorrow. :)

Making Love Spell Soap

So I guess I'll put the cutting and unmolding video on here too just to keep them all  in the same post.  I was using the new cutter my hubby made for me. (Picture on right)  It's just a prototype a new and improved one is on it's way.  And I have inside information from my little spies that it's gonna be pink. :)  I hope it's pink one of my favorite colors.  I like this one it only has a few things that I wanted changed.  It works really well.  It's is really suited to a left handed person the way he had it made.  No I'm not left handed lol I may turn it around and see how it works from the other side next time.  It uses a steel hanging wire for the wire instead of a guitar string like the ones I've seen on Youtube so far.  And the top piece is all one piece of wood which I like.  

Cutting and Unmolding of Creme Brulee and Love Spell

The Making of a Soap Recipe

A Note to New Soapers

When I first started making soap I found it really difficult to find a recipe.  I started where I imagine a lot of people have with the standard 30% Coconut oil, 30% Palm oil, 40% Olive oil recipe.  It's a good recipe but it has it's cons as well.  I like the fact that it has a lot of bubbles.  I didn't like the fact that it made my skin feel tight after using it.  I definitely needed to use lotion afterwards.  I think that everyone really needs to start somewhere. When I first started out I didn't know what all those numbers meant on the lye calculator sheet.  It took experience formulating different recipes to actually understand what those numbers meant and felt like on the skin and how the bar looked when I changed one oil for another. I've now been making soap for three years.  It has taken that long formulating different recipes to understand what the cleaning number actually brings to a bar of soap, and I'm still learning.  How the high conditioning number is will also mean that it may not come out of the mold for days lol.  Also what oils can be substituted for another.  For instance, you can substitute palm oil for cocoa butter.  Cocoa butter will actually make the bit bar harder than palm, I mean for the creamy lather they work the same or similar. But Cocoa butter is a bit more conditioning than Palm. I can tell someone all these things but only the actually making of different recipes will the understanding come.  It takes experience.  Don't loose heart if your a new soaper and  don't know where to start.  Just keep on making different recipes study your oils.  And test, test, test, your soaps out.  Find out what you like best.  What is more important to you?  Do you need the conditioning for sensitive or dry skin?  Or do you need a high cleansing soap for real big messes?  Do you like a nice creamy lather or are big bubbles more important to you?  Are you committed to having the most natural bar of soap possible?   These are some of the questions that I had to ask myself and test out before finally I realized what was the most important qualities of a soap that I wanted.  What may be my favorite soap may not be yours.  If you don't like a recipe find out why and make soapcalc your new best friend.  :)

Happy Soaping!

The Making of a Soap Recipe

This next recipe I want to talk about is my Avocado Oil Soap recipe. I also use Green Tea Extract and Aloe Vera Gel for a nice rich bar.   I love Avocado oil it has so many wonderful qualities.  It's softening and conditioning for the skin.  It has Vitamins A, D and E.  It is good for sunburned and wind chapped skin.  It's also a really good oil for massage as it has good slip to it.  If you want to learn more check out this blog post by SwiftCraftyMonkey. (I love her blog  :)) http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.ca/2009/11/avocado-oil.html  So because of all those wonderful qualities I thought that it would make a really nice bar of soap.

 At first I tried using Unrefined Avocado oil.  It made the bar a beautiful color but it faded out over time.  It also for some reason was a very very dry bar of soap.  I used 30% coconut oil so it was dry anyway but this one was extra dry.  I decided that it was because of the naturally occurring alpha hydroxy acids in the unrefined brand.  That's just my assumption not scientific fact.  So what I did then was decrease the amount of Coconut oil and use a refined Avocado oil and BINGO I love it.  It is a very nice bar that doesn't dry out my skin.

Other reasons I love this recipe include that it's a slow moving recipe.  If I want to make a few or heck even five or six color bar.  I'm sure I could do it easily with this recipe.  So it's a keeper.

Check out this video of me using the Avocado Oil Soap recipe.

Making Green Tea and Aloe Vera Soap



Just as an aside I wouldn't use Aloe Vera Gel in a Soap ever again.  It tried to volcano on me.  I will use Aloe Vera extract instead.  That will be reflected in the recipe I post here.

Angela's Aloe Vera and Green Tea Soap Recipe

Refined Avocado Oil 20%

Castor Oil 8%

Coconut Oil 20%

Olive Oil 37%

Palm Oil 15%

Additives

1 tsp/lb Vitamin E

1oz/lb Liquid Aloe Vera Extract

Note: Aloe Vera gel will volcano.  I haven't tried to use the aloe juice yet

fragrance 1oz/lb

Color: I used 1 tsp each chromium green oxide and titanium oxide mixed in with a bit of olive oil separately

The Making of a Soap Recipe

I'm working on making some really good recipes for soaping so that I can start selling my soap at the market.  I want to sell but I really want to have a good product that is easy to make that has the qualities in soap that I like.  I have been adjusting my recipes so that my soap is hard and conditioning at the same time.  Most conditioning soaps are very soft.  So far my answer to my delima is to add sodium lactate to my soap.  Here are four videos the first is the making of my bastille soap recipe without sodium lactate and the second is the cutting and unmolding of that recipe.  In it you can see how soft this recipe is. Then the third video is the making of my bastile recipe after I added sodium lactate. The fourth is the cutting and unmolding of the sodium lactate soap.  


Making Strawberry Swirl Soap




Cutting and Unmolding Strawberry Swirl Soap



Making Strawberry Hearts Soap



Cutting and Unmolding Strawberry Hearts Soap




As you can see the sodium lactate did an excellent job at hardening the soap.  I could take it out of the flower mold much more easily.  Also this will make the bar last longer when someone goes to use it in there shower.  

I've also tried putting the mold in the freezer as suggested but some of my soapy friends.  It worked well, however, I found the soap will sweat for a little bit as it unfreezes once it's out of the mold.  Also this doesn't lend any enduring qualities to the finished soap.  

I think I may adjust this recipe further by adding some more hard oils to it.  I'm debating on this since doing so will reduce the conditioning number on the recipe.  This is my favorite kids soap recipe if once I get my new molds it doesn't harden up as much as I need it to I may just adjust it.  Till then I like it the way it is.  

Angela's Bastile Soap Recipe 

Coconut oil 5%

Castor Oil 10%

Olive Oil 60%

Palm Oil 15%

Shea Butter 10%

Super fatted 8%

Additives

Sodium Lactate 2%

Fragrance 1oz/lb

1 tsp/lb Vitamine E

Mica or Oxides for color

Always put any recipe through a lye calculator!