I get asked all the time how I make soap or if my handmade soaps are “glycerin” soaps. Well, I make what is called cold-processed soap. Very simply put this soap is made by combining different fatty acids with sodium hydroxide (lye) and water. When I make goat milk soap I replace the water with 100% goat milk. Fatty acids can by from almost any oil from Olive, Oil, to Lard, to Sweet Almond Oil. Combinations are as endless as your imagination.
Cold-process soap making is not rocket science but it does incorporate both art and science together. There is a certain proportion of lye (sodium hydroxide) and water to fatty acids that forms a chemical reaction called “saponification”. During saponification the oils and lye mix and become soap. A by product of this process is glycerin. This entire process takes several weeks to complete. That is why handmade soap is allowed to cure. I like to let my handmade soap sit on the drying rack and cure for a minimum of eight weeks. This long cure period results in a mild and hard bar of soap that lasts in the shower.
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I’ve been making handmade soap for several years now So much so that now I consider myself a professional soap maker. I live and breathe handmade soap. Right now I’m in soap mode. That’s what I call it when I’ve got a boat load of soap to make and not a bunch of time to get it done. It never fails that when I am this busy I mess up. My soap molds are custom made of silicone. They insulate really well. No more wrapping box molds in layers of fleece to keep the heat in. The silicone does it for me. Years ago, when I first started to make soap I read about “alien brain syndrome” on Kathy Millers Soap Making website. I got my very first case of this making my Rosemary Mint Soap last week. I stacked my molds. BIG MISTAKE. Now, I do know better. I really do. Apparently, my brain wasn’t working entirely that day and I forgot not to stack the molds on top of each other. Alien brain syndrome is caused by over heating and that is exactly what happened to 12 pounds of my freshly made soap in the middle mold. In this case, it not only is unsightly, it isn’t usable because the soap overheated so much it separated which means that the lye solution leached from the freshly poured soap. Oh Well. Stuff happens!
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Our luxury all-natural handmade and handcrafted soaps are made using exotic fruit and nut oils such as sunflower, sweet almond, wheat germ and jojoba oils in addition to nourishing butters such as African shea butter and cocoa butter which add richness and vital moisturizing properties along with a creamy and luxurious lather.
Naturally glycerin rich, our handcrafted soaps clean your skin without stripping it of its own natural oils. Your skin will be soft, nurtured and pampered. Visit our Wholesale page for more handmade soaps and handcrafted products.
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