Thread: The Chemistry of Soap

I must warn you that soapmaking is rather addictive....lol. If you've purchased a book, I see its already begun. I learned on here that there is also an acronym for people like us....SAD.

It is true that a stick blender speeds or shortens trace time. The type of oils used and the temperature at which the two are mixed together....also govern how long it takes for your soap to trace.

Mine traces pretty quick....I'd say somewhere in the 2 - 5 minute range. It is "at trace" that you add your essential oils or fragrance oils. After adding your EO/FO's you have to act quickly....and get your soap in the mold. It can become thick, more like a pizza dough or something. (just makes it difficult to handle)

Bobbo you'll certainly have to tell everybody across the world how it went for ya! no pressure or anything...lol.

Next week I'll go back to listing properties of oils, maybe clays....its helpful for those who are studying ingredient labels to figure out what works best for your skin.

XXWarm Regards, Colleen

I intend to sell a few bars down the rugby club after christmas to raise money for charity. I told the guys I was making soap, some of them are.......how can i put this..........now wondering about my sexual orientation...but nevertheless I shall soldier on.

Sure, will report back, no doubt with some horror story!

Colleen,

How is this soap as far as drying/moisturizing the skin? What would you add to help it moisturize?

Thanks,
Mike

Hi Mike,

For the soap listed, it would be a very nice all around kinda soap. It will have good cleansing properties, but will also be gentle and the soap is superfatted at 6%, so it has additional oils....to be moisturizing.

the percentage of lye to oil can be dropped so that not all the oil in the formula actually turns into soap....the above soap recipe has 6% unsaponified oils or Superfat.

Happy Monday....
C.

Originally Posted by churley

I must warn you that soapmaking is rather addictive....lol. If you've purchased a book, I see its already begun. I learned on here that there is also an acronym for people like us....SAD.


XXWarm Regards, Colleen

Hey Colleen, is that anacronym or a discription? Just kidding. If I had time/money/space/the patience to explain to my wife that this is NOT just another dumb hobby (again) I'd give it a try myself.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

Hey Colleen, is that anacronym or a discription? Just kidding. If I had time/money/space/the patience to explain to my wife that this is NOT just another dumb hobby (again) I'd give it a try myself.

You should tell her your learning basic survival skills....to be a better provider

SAD....soap acquistion disorder. lol.....I didn't realize I had the affliction until one of the Gents pointed it out to me

Colleen

Well, I only went and did it! Made some soap to Colleens recipe on this thread

It all went pretty well really . The only difficult part is deciding when you have hit trace or not. When I realised it was getting thick a bit too fast for my liking (it goes pretty quick when it goes) and was concerned it may not come out the pan I poured it into the mould. It left a trace when I was stirring it and supported a drop so it should be OK. It poured OK too so no bother there. Even had time to use a palete knife on the top to get a flat top to the bars rather than a Mr Whippy top.

What Colleen didn't tell us was what a pain in the rear it is to clean all the equipment afterwards I recommend an apron if you are as messy as me too

With this success I have ordered some essential oils to fragrance the next batch. Ordered a Lime one (I like lime) and a patchouli (heard a lot about it but don't know what it smells like ). Aparantly it is in 50% of top end mens fragrances so it can't be that bad and it is cheap.

Until the next time, and thank Colleen for the recipe and advice!

Originally Posted by Bobbo

Well, I only went and did it! Made some soap to Colleens recipe on this thread

It all went pretty well really . The only difficult part is deciding when you have hit trace or not. When I realised it was getting thick a bit too fast for my liking (it goes pretty quick when it goes) and was concerned it may not come out the pan I poured it into the mould. It left a trace when I was stirring it and supported a drop so it should be OK. It poured OK too so no bother there. Even had time to use a palete knife on the top to get a flat top to the bars rather than a Mr Whippy top.

What Colleen didn't tell us was what a pain in the rear it is to clean all the equipment afterwards I recommend an apron if you are as messy as me too

With this success I have ordered some essential oils to fragrance the next batch. Ordered a Lime one (I like lime) and a patchouli (heard a lot about it but don't know what it smells like ). Aparantly it is in 50% of top end mens fragrances so it can't be that bad and it is cheap.

....did I forget to mention the "mess" and cleaning up all those pans that don't want to come clean because of all the oil....LOL I do use an apron sometimes, and I have dedicated soap making shirts that have big oil stains on the front.

Robert, you'll have to PM me on your source for Patchouli, cuz it ain't cheap here!!! ( I think I pay $18.00 + for 4 oz.)

I love Patchouli, its a very nice essential oil. When I first heard the name I thought it sounded like a type of Flower, so I was a little surprised when I received my first bottle and took a big whiff of......DIRT....yep! it smells just like "earth"....lol.

As Follows from one of my Books:

Patchouli- Pogostemon cablini, steam distilled; country of origin - Indonesia. A strong, earthy, smoky, spicy, musky scent. Anti-depressant, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent. Known as a tissue regenerator which aids in the regrowth of skin cells.

Congrats on your first batch....I wish you many more!
Soapmistress

Patchouli here seems to be 1/4 of the price of many other oils. The Patchouli and the lime were the cheapest at £0.95 for 10ml each so I went with them to start with. I bet it would be cheaper if you bought a bigger bottle though. I bought it off ebay. There are loads of essential oil sellers on there in the ebay shops bit. Let me know if you want the exact vendor.

I'll be pressing the soaps out the mold tonight and I haven't peeked so who knows what lies in wait for me. I may have a bar of mush or a block of cement. I will celebrate in 4 weeks time when I have a bath with it and my skin stays on!

Originally Posted by Bobbo

I may have a bar of mush or a block of cement. I will celebrate in 4 weeks time when I have a bath with it and my skin stays on!

Well hats off to you, Bobbo Its not always easy getting things in the UK that appear so easily obtainable in the U.S.!

I think you might have to work on your Marketing skills though - the choice of a 'bar of mush' or a 'block of concrete' is perhaps a tad unappealing