How I make my soaps using the cold process technique

A bit of History

The art of soap-making can be traced as far back as ancient Babylon when archaeologists, during an excavation, first discovered a soap material inside clay cylinders dating as early as 2800 B.C. Inscriptions on the cylinders described a process of fats boiled with ashes, the world's first soap-making method. But the Babylonians weren't the only ones who benefited from this idea. Today, the cold process method of soap-making evolved to rely on a different ingredient called sodium hydroxide or commonly known as lye. Cold process soaps are better for the environment, healthier for the skin and can be made incredibly moisturising.

​

The design

To make my soaps, I get inspiration from things around me. Sometimes I start with buying a fragrance that I like and I then design a soap that I think would match it; sometimes it is the other way around, I am inspired by a song, a photo, a season, a movie, an object, I design the soap and then look for a fragrance.

​

Making a soap recipe

I first have to decide on which oils and butters I want to use, there are so many and each of them have specific use. This part is really important, every oil has different properties and qualities to give to the bar and I have to find the perfect combination to have a bar that is hard enough, lathers well, clean well, is gentle for the skin and doesn't melt too quick.

After choosing the oils and butters I want to use, I run my recipe through a soap calculator to make sure my soap will have the properties I want it to have and to know how much lye i need to use.

​

The process

After my design is chosen, my recipe is perfectly balanced and my colours and fragrances have been picked, it is finally time to make the soap !

I start by weighing my ingredients. While my butters are melting, I am preparing my lye solution by combining hydroxide sodium and water. This step can be very dangerous and requires me to be very cautious because lye is very corrosive and once in water, the solution heats up and can reach 93°C. It also release dangerous vapour, but don't worry, once combined with the oils, it becomes inoffensive !

When everything is ready, I add the lye water solution with the oils and melted butters and start mixing with a stick blender. Quickly the mixture will saponify and start becoming thicker: this is what is called a trace. It is now time to split the batch into different buckets to add my colorants.

After reaching the right colours, I can then pour the fragrance. I save this step for last because some fragrance can be very tricky to work with and can accelerate the trace quite fast, which leaves me with a batch with the consistency of a frozen ice cream when I wanted a custard... And trust me there is no way to make a nice marble design with an ice cream!

 

The cure

Once the soap is poured into the mould and the top is decorated, I cover it and then let it sit for about 24h to let it harden. After that, it will be cut into bars which will cure for 4 to 6 weeks to allow excess water to evaporate.

​

And that's it ! Now the soap is ready to be labelled, packed and shipped to you.