I had my day planned Friday.    The plan was to make several batches of handmade soap and then take a break and go to town.  It didn’t happen that way.   The first batch went smoothly.    Made the first batch which was  goat milk soap with honey and oats.     Something must be in the air as this is the second special request for this type of soap with no scent.   It went smoothly.  Got everything prepped and ready to make another batch of a the new Cucumber Mint goat milk soap that will be coming soon.  Made it before, no issues.  Well….this time as soon as I added the fragrance to the soap pot it was instant SEIZE.  Instant!  What a headache!  Either dump 12lbs of handmade soap or thinking quickly I decided I didn’t want to dump this so decided to turn the oven on and try to hot process it which I have never done before so it was risky.    Simply put,  in hot processing you “cook” the soap to speed up the saponification process.   By using this method you can use the soap right away if you want, however, allowing it to “cure” for a week or so will allow a harder bar.    Once the soap is ready it is glopped into the mold.  Not poured.   It makes for a different texture and more rustic appearance but I have seen hot process handmade soap bars made by soap makers who only make hot process soap turn out very smooth bars.   I however, was  just going for saved soap.  I tell you I had a mess on the floor, a mess on the table and a mess in the pot but the soap cooked and I was able to slam it into the mold.  Not a pretty site but in the mold non the less and not the garbage can.   After I released the soap the next day, I used my kitchen aid stand mixer to shred it and roll it into little soap balls which will be used a design element in a new soap.   Feeling pretty good about this!  Actually, learned something here.  Took me all day and I was pretty stressed by the time it was over but I’m glad I took the plunge.

Seized soap in the pot!

Seized soap in the mold.

And voila!  Soap balls!

Popularity: 16%

Sometimes, but not always, once you pour your handmade soap batter into your molds and the soap starts to solidify, a white powdery substance will form on the top of the soap.  In the morning, when the handmade soap is removed from the mold, you will notice that you either have a light scattering of white residue or it can be fairly thick as will happen with goat milk soap.

Ummm..what is this white powdery substance you ask?  This white chalky residue is commonly known as soda ash or sodium carbonate, a sodium salt of carbonic acid and forms as the water in the soap stock evaporates.  This soda ash may be a bit unsightly on top of those perfectly formed and colorful handmade soap bars but it is harmless and washes away with water or can be wiped off with isopropyl alcohol or simply ignored and accepted as part of what makes handmade soap unique and special.

One tip to prevent the formation of soda ash is to simply cover your freshly poured handmade soap with plastic wrap which cuts the soap off from the open air  preventing the soda ash from forming.  Unfortunately, because of the type of molds I use, this isn’t an option and I picked up another tip from a fellow soap maker which I’ll pass on.  I spritz my slabs of freshly poured handmade soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol after the soap sits a bit and goes opaque.    This has been a huge help in reducing or eliminating the amount of soda ash that forms.   Especially, on the goat milk soap bars.    Be sure to either use 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol as the 70% does not seem to work.

The photo below is an example of soda ash on the  side of a few bars of Raspberry Mint Goat Milk Soap that weren’t sprayed with isopropyl alcohol after sitting for one week on the drying rack.  When these particular handmade soaps are beveled for sale, I will remove the soda ash just because I’m a bit obsessive about it.

Popularity: 19%

For those that like to buy handmade soap it’s always fun to try something new.   I am gradually adding to my goat milk soap line and have a new handmade soap to introduce.  I’m calling it Summer Solstice because it reminds me well, of warm summer days.    Anyone who lives here in Washington this year will appreciate that I need something to bring summer back into my life.   The weather just hasn’t been cooperating.  Anyhow, this handmade soap is scented with Litsea Cubea, Lavender & Patchouli.   The resulting fragrance is warm, sunny and bright.  Just like a bright summer day!

Popularity: 32%

Oh I had a time today cutting a hugh batch of Lavender & Rosemary goat milk soap.    I had so much to cut that the smell was overpowering and all I wanted to do was go outside and take a whiff of fresh air.   I’m sure your wondering why I’d want to get away from fresh goat milk soap blended with lavender & rosemary essential oils.   Let me explain.   Freshly cut milk soaps have a funky smell initially which actually smells just like one of those old fashioned diaper pails you used to put baby diapers into.  Oh my gosh, it’s bad!   This is because the sodium hydroxide reacts with the milk protein and produces a bit of ammonia.   Thank goodness the smell dissipates over a few days of sitting on the drying rack.  This is because ammonia is very volatile and just evaporates off.  What you have left is the lovely smell of your scented goat milk soap.   All of our handmade goat milk soaps are favorites for wholesale soap customers. 

Popularity: 47%

In my “old” age I have got into fitness.   I’ve been running and lifting weights now for about a year and a half which for me is a real milestone.   Recently, I joined a “boot camp” at my gym.   After running my three miles I faithfully participate in this camp.   It’s a real challenge and when I’m on the third set of bear crawls I feel like I’ve lost my mind.   We sweat a lot!  Sometimes cry.  It is pure pain.  I was thinking what handmade bar soap I make that would be invigorating and refreshing after a good sweat.  I’d like to give a bar of my handmade soap to my classmates.  Personally, I like the Lemongrass or Peppermint & Tea Tree soap.   Both of these handmade soaps get the dirt, grime, mud and sweat off nicely and the poppy seeds invigorate after a good work out.  Think I’ll bring a bag of these to my next boot camp experience. 

Popularity: 66%

The other day I was thinking about a conversation or attempted conversation I had with a customer a couple of years back regarding sodium hydroxide.  I like to label my handmade soaps with all the ingredients that go into the process which of course includes sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or lye.  This particular customer took one look at my ingredients listing and loudly proclaimed “You have caustic ingredients in your soap!”   Of course this exclamation was made in front of a loaded booth of potential customers.  Try as I may I could not get her to understand that sodium hydroxide was necessary to make handmade soap.  After sensing that I was going nowhere with her I gave her a bar to try.   I watched as she promptly ran to another artisan booth selling body care products and loudly declared pointing her finger at me “That woman is making soap with caustic ingredients in it!” holding my bar of soap I gave her.  Listen folks handmade soap can not be made without using sodium hydroxide.  Ain’t gonna happen.  No way.  It is part of the process.  No lye and you have a runny  mess of oils and water.   Soap by it’s very definition is “A cleansing agent, manufactured in bars, granules, flakes, or liquid form, made from a mixture of the sodium salts of various fatty acids of natural oils and fats.” (answers.com).   A true liquid soap is made using potassium hydroxide (KOH), and a cream soap is made using a combination of both sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.   I know, I know, now I’m gonna hear “BUT MY SOAP DOESN’T HAVE LYE IN IT…” If your bar soap or liquid soap doesn’t contain lye you either 1) don’t have a true soap, you have what we in the business call “a syndet” (synthetic detergent) bar,  2) your soap could refer to lye in a different way, such as “saponified oils of..” or something like “Sodium Olivate ” which is a fancy way of saying Olive Oil or 3) you have soap and your label is mysteriously missing a key ingredient.    Soap is and always has been made one way and that is with either sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide or a combination of both depending on the final result wanted.    The process is just a lot more refined now.  Now kudos to you for reading all through this and I invite you to take a look at our artisan handmade soaps.

Popularity: 57%

Yep!  I’ve been a busy gal having fun making handmade soap logs.  These are different from my usual handmade soap bars and I am having a blast trying out new design methods.  You can get into a rut making the same thing over and over and over again.   This winter I had several requests for wholesale soap logs and this gave me the boost I needed to have a new soap mold designed for making them.   These handmade soap logs have been well received and I couldn’t be more pleased.  Now the hard part.  Deciding what scents to carry them in and/or to offer custom scenting.  We will see how this develops in the future.

Popularity: 80%

I am so excited about my new handmade soap mold.  It is from Soaphutch.com and was custom made for me.  I am so pleased with this mold.  Rich Bartko is wonderful to work with and designed this new mold for me with several options.  I can make a large slab, add dividers for logs, make several different scents of handmade soap logs or use the “dams” and have the option of reducing my batch size.  I am thrilled to add this mold to my collection.   It is easy to use and no lining!  Did I say I love this mold?  I also purchased the the combination log splitter/bar cutter.  This tool is a great help in cutting slabs into logs and will cut several different sizes of handmade soap bars including bed and breakfast size.  Love it!  Thanks again Rich! 

Popularity: 74%

About a year and a half ago Patchouli essential oil went sky high and I had to discontinue the handmade soap I make with it.   The oil is still on the high side but I was lucky enough to get into a coop with other handmade soapmakers and get the oil at $44.00 a pound.   This is still higher than what you used to be able to buy the oil for but so much better than it’s high of $189.00 a pound.  Yikes!  That was unbelievable!    I am pleased to announce that our popular Patchouli handmade soap will be ready around 4/17/09.  While I’m thinking of it Patchouli & Orange, Patchouli & Spearmint, and Patchouli & Lavender sound pretty good too!

Popularity: 77%

When I make handmade goat milk soap the first thing I do is measure out my goat milk and freeze it.    Adding sodium hydroxide (lye) to frozen goat helps to avoid the nasty stinky burning of the milk.  It is important to keep the milk as cold as possible so that it doesn’t burn and you get a nice creamy color to the soap once it sets up.   Stirring the lye into the milk while the pot is sitting in a cold water bath helps keep the milk from heating up too much.   As the milk heats up it changes from cream to yellow to orange.   You want to avoid the deep yellow to orange color.    Last week I made some Raspberry Mint goat milk soap and took some photos of the process.

Frozen Goat Milk and Solidified Fats and Oils

Melted Fats and Oils

Stirring lye into the Frozen Goat Milk

Blending Goat Milk Lye Solution into the Melted Oils

Finished and poured in the mold!  This is a batch of Raspberry Mint goat milk soap.  I don’t like my milk soaps to gel so they just sit in the mold with no insulation until ready to cut into bars. 

Popularity: 100%