In regards to milk soap...

A few weeks ago, I posted this post about making soap with milk. In that tutorial, I talked about making milk soap using the rebatch method, which allows you to make soap without using lye.

I thought that I would post again on milk soap, but this time, instead of rebatching, we are making soap using the hot process method.

Hot process is a different way to make soap, and it is quite similar to cold process in the beginning. Instead of pouring your cold process soap into the mold to let it saponify, you introduce heat using a crock pot or double boiler. The heat essentially "cooks" the soap, making saponification happen quicker.

I like to use the hot process method when making milk soaps because I do not have to worry about accidentally cooking the milk, since I am deliberately cooking the milk! It takes some of the worry out of making milk soap.

Here's a video I made the last time I made goat's milk soap:

If you are interested in my milk soaps, you can find the Goat's Milk and Oatmeal soap HERE and the rest of my milk soaps HERE.

Friday Spotlight: Tea Tree and Peppermint Soap

I really miss my weekly segments focusing on different sellers on Etsy, so this summer, I am debuting a new weekly segment: Friday product spotlight!
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Let's take a look at this week's spotlight: Tea Tree and Peppermint Soap!

This soap is a vegan soap made with olive oil for mildness, coconut oil for hardness and cleansing, and castor oil for loads of bubbles. The soap was made using the hot process method, where the oils, lye, and water are cooked until the mixture is completely saponified.

I colored this soap with activated charcoal powder, which is a natural black. Activated charcoal is known for drawing out toxins.

The soap was scented with a combination of tea tree essential oil and peppermint fragrance oil. Tea tree is a medicinal scent that is a light medium note. Tea tree has antibacterial properties. The combination of tea tree and peppermint is classic and rounds out both scents perfectly.

The combination of activated charcoal and tea tree makes this soap a great facial soap for people who suffer from acne breakouts.

Many roads with one destination: Soap!

Cold process soap... Hot process soap... Melt and Pour soap... CP Oven Process Soap... Handmilled... Rebatched... Wow, there sure are a lot of soap making methods out there! When shopping for that perfect bar of soap, what does all of this mean?

Well, all of the above are methods for making soap... each one is a little different from the last. Today, I will break down the top 3 methods for soap making, as well as their benefits: Cold Process, Hot Process, and Melt and Pour.

I'll start first with the method I use most often: Cold Process. The cold process method involves mixing a water/lye solution with various oilsat a temperature of between 100 degrees and 90 degrees. Once the soap batter reaches trace (or, becomes the consistency of thick pudding), scents, dyes, or other additives can be added, then the mix is poured into a mold. The soap is safe to use once it has cured (or, set out of the mold to air dry) for approx. 6 weeks. The long cure time allows for the lye molecules to react with the oil molecules to form glycerin, which is the cleaning agent in soap. This reaction is called saponification!
Cold process bars of soap are well known for their creamy, solid bars. I prefer the CP method over the others because I like the instant gratification of seeing (and smelling) my soap, as well as the anticipation over the cure time before I can test the soap myself!
CP soap (and HP soap) has the benefit of being made from all natural ingredients. Some synthetics can be added to the soap in the form of fragrance oils and dyes, but scary synthetics (like propylene glycol) are often left out.
You can find photographs of my soap making process here on my facebook fan page! My etsy shop is full of cold process soap, and here are more Etsy soap makers featuring CP soap!!

Hot process is another popular method for soap making, and it is quite similar to cold process. With the HP method, soap makers use the same lye mixture and the same oils, but they speed up the saponification of the lye and oils by adding heat to the mix! The oils and lye mixtures are added together in a crock pot or similar heating source, and are essentially cooked over a period of hours. The heat encourages the molecules to form glycerin faster, and the soap made with the HP method is ready to use almost immediatly! (The HP soap makers that I am familiar with still like to cure their soap for a short period, to ensure that the lye is completely gone.)
Hot process soap is often identified by its rustic, rough look. When the soap is ready to go into the mold, it often has a very thick consistency and has to be spooned into the mold, rather than poured. This can lead to air pockets which give the soap its signature look!
Check out this link to Etsy to view some amazing HP soaps!!

Melt and Pour soap rounds out the top three when it comes to soap making, and it is often the method that most soap makers start out with. M&P is essentially safer for the soap maker, because instead of working with caustic lye (very dangerous if handled improperly!), M&P soap makers are working with premade bases, which can be headed up and poured into various, intricate molds. Melt and pour soap makers can make some amazingly beautiful creations, and melt and pour soap can be added to CP soap or HP soap for an added burst of color.
To make M&P soap, just head to your local craft store! Most craft stores sell premade bases that can be melted down, as well as the colors, fragrances, and molds needed to make your soap your own! The downside to the craft store kits lies in the list of ingredients to their soaps... if you are looking for a more natural base, there are many vendors online that can help!
Check our this link to Etsy to view some gorgeous M&P soaps made by amazing artists!

Comment if you are interested in learning more about soap making, or contact me on my facebook fan page... I love to talk soap!