The Art and Craft of Soapmaking |
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By Diane Woodman There is a resurgence today in the ancient craft of soapmaking. In almost any craft store, like Michaels or even Walmart, anyone can buy a chunk of glycerin soap, bring it home, melt it, add fragrance and color and pretend that they made soap. This is known as melt-and-pour, or MP soap. This is not homemade soap and it is important to know the difference, when you are purchasing a handcrafted product. A home-soapmaker begins with a large pot, a whisk, some olive, coconut or castor oils (or many other combinations of different oils) and some lye and water. When temperatures of both solutions are the same, the lye water is added to the oils, and the mixture is stirred until "just right". In soapmaker's terminology, this is called "trace", and is recognized after many trials and experimentations. Fragrances and/or colour can be added at this time, as the temperature has cooled enough to hold a scent. The watery soap is then poured into a mould, covered, and let to rest for 24 to 48 hours, to set. The block of newly-made soap can then be cut into bars and left in a dry place to "cure" for at least 3 weeks before using. All soap is made with fats or oils, water, and lye. You cannot have soap without lye. If someone tells you that they make soap without it, be suspicious... they're lying (pun intended). Lye is sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda and when you combined it with oil and water, it goes through a chemical change. This process is called "saponification". In the end, a properly made bar of soap will not have a trace of lye in it. How does homemade soap differ from commercial bars? Here are just a few examples: 1. There are many soaps on the market that are called "bars" rather than "soap". This indicates they are made with petrochemical oils rather than food-grade oils. Commercial soaps save money by using cheap fats or oils, like beef or pork tallow, or petrochemical oils. These are known as "detergent bars". There is still much controversy on the alleged carcinogenic dangers of using petrochemicals on the body. Homemade soap on the other hand, is usually made from food-grade |
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oils such as olive, coconut, castor, palm, which are easily digestible by skin (yes, skin eats and drinks, and nourishes itself. Skin is the largest organ of the human body). 2. Commercial companies can use any kind of water during production and then chelate the minerals out of the product by adding harsh chemicals. This is to ensure that the minerals do not clog their large machinery and the chemicals they use are not in the best interest of the consumer. Home soapers use distilled water, herbal teas or rainwater. Sometimes milk or coconut milk is used to make the soap richer and more moisturizing. 3. Since the larger companies want to leave their products on grocery shelves for long periods of time, they need to add many preservatives to extend the shelf-life. Just take a look at the ingredients listed on a package of commercial soap. It reads like a chemical minestrone soup! Homemade soap should last for a year or so without preservatives, but you'll find it hard to resist using it before then. 4. Larger companies, as well as some home soapmakers, will also save money by scenting and colouring their products with artificial perfumes and dyes. Look for the word "fragrance", or "whitener",on the label, to detect these synthetics. Natural soapmakers ,may use essential oils (derived from steam-distilling flowers and plants) or leave the soap unscented. For colouring, herbs and flowers are often added. The play is endless! The greatest benefit of homemade soap is that it retains its moisture-loving glycerin, a by-product of the soapmaking process. Commercial soap companies remove glycerin from soap. They sell the soap cheaply, and reserve the glycerin to sell at much higher prices to manufacturers of hand lotions, medicines, cosmetics and even |
paint. You will need the hand lotion if you use detergent bars regularly. Commercial bars, which are called "glycerin soap", have only some of the glycerin added back in. Alcohol is also added to make it translucent. All homemade soap is glycerin soap, whether it is clear or not, because home-soapers don't have the equipment nor the desire to remove the glycerin. When you use a bar of homemade soap, you will notice that it feels luxurious in your hands. It will leave your skin feeling soft, not dried out. It smells lovely while you're using it, but the scent doesn't linger to perfume your skin. It rinses off. Homemade soap may cost more because the ingredients are expensive. It also may not be uniform in size because each bar is hand cut. Sometimes it even looks chunky or mis-shapened but that makes it all the more charming. If you want to make soap at home, find someone to teach you as there are a few safety precautions concerning the use of lye. The main equipment pieces you will need are a digital scale (to measure ingredients by weight, not volume), a big pot, a whisk and a source of heat. You can use many different objects as moulds... like cutlery trays, milk cartons, or boxes. There are some good books out on the market for making soap. One favorite is Susan Miller Cavitch's, "The Soapmaker's Companion". There are also numerous Internet sites where you can get advice, support, recipes, hints and friendship with other soapmakers. Be forewarned though. It can change your life. It did mine. |
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