The Soap Making Made Simple Mini Course...

Cold Process Soap Making!

Welcome To Day 4 of the Soap Making Made Simple Mini Course!

Today you'll learn about "The Cold Process Method of Making Soap."

As we discussed in earlier lessons, the cold process is a bit more complicated than making soap with the melt and pour method. Cold process soaps are very elegant and great for your skin. And they are known to have a hard, long-lasting quality.

However, the cold process method is not rocket science and can be easily understood when boiled down to the basics and following simple procedures.

You should not attempt to use the cold process method until you have a thorough understanding of it as there are some safety precautions you need to take.

The cold process depends on heat generated by a chemical reaction called saponification. It depends on lye, fatty acids, water and alkali to create the soap.

The process itself requires many steps that must be done in a particular order.

Due to the length of the process (and safety issues that need to be explained) we will, instead, refer you to two great resources for teaching you the exact details.

We highly recommend the following for learning all about cold process soap making:

Together these two products will get you well on your way to becoming a soap making expert in your own right.

Sorry about the soft pitch, but cold process takes a bit more learning and I want to point you in the right direction so that you won't get frustrated.

Now, back to the lesson...

Today we'll talk about some of the special ingredients you can or must use with the cold process to make your handcrafted soap unique and tailor-made for your particular uses.

Depending on the type of soap you are making, you will require many different ingredients. The ingredients discussed here are some commonly used ones, as well as some others used to make specialty soaps.

Soap Making Caustic Agents

Lye

The common name for lye is sodium hydroxide, which is a strong alkaline that reacts with fat to form soap.  Typically, lye is mixed with water and then added to the fat - when using the cold process.  Remember that lye is extremely caustic so great care must be taken when storing, handling, and combining lye to make soap.

Potassium Hydroxide

This substance is also caustic and appears as a white solid used in making soft or liquid soaps.  Potassium hydroxide can be used in lieu of sodium hydroxide as the alkali part of the saponification process.

Soap Making Fats

Tallow

Tallow is a pure fat suitable for making soap or candles.  This product is used in rendering (cooking) animal fat, as a means of removing impurities.  By using tallow, you will achieve a soap that is firm and mild.

Suet

This fat is what surrounds the kidneys of cows.  Suet is an excellent starter for tallow, resulting in tallow that is firm and relatively easy to work with.

Beef Fat

This fat is found everwhere in the cow's body with the exception of the kidneys.  Beef fat is darker than suet and has a softer texture.  These variances mean that the soap produced using beef is soft and that the tall produced is of a lesser quality than that produced by using suet.

Soap Making Oils

Palm Kernel Oil

This oil is harvested from the kernels of the palm tree, thus the name.  Soap made using this oil will be mild and have a rich lather.

Palm Oil

Similar to Palm Kernel Oil, this oil is actually harvested from the pulp of the palm fruit.  More common than Palm Kernel Oil, it produces a finish that is soft, mild and has a rich lather.

Almond Oil

Almond oil is used as an emollient because of its ability to soften the skin.  Extracted from almond nuts, this oil also has a nice, sweet fragrance.

There's so many oils to tell you about that I'll stop here and dedicate the entire next lesson to revealing even more really neat oils that you can use to make your soap truly special.

Think of all the great gift packages of soap you could be creating.

If you're in a hurry to learn much, much more about all the unique oils you can use to make your soap, consider giving "Soap Making Made Simple!" a try.

And check your email in a few days for Equipment You Need To Make Soap At Home!

Regards,

Dave Cushion

P.S. Don't forget to check out the multi-media program "Soap Making Fun!"