Today I embarked on a new journey in my soapmaking venture. I made my first batch of cold process soap. What is cold-process soap?
Pineapple Delight
Cold-process is the saponification of vegetable oils or animal fats with lye and water. The process has a cure time of about 4- 6 weeks and the end result of this process is a pure-made soap with glycerin (humectant) as its by-product. Glycerin helps to attract moisture and helps the skin retain it.
I was very excited to experiment with my first batch as I my skin truly understands what a difference using handcrafted soap is versus a commercial bar of soap. Nothing is better than rewarding one of the most vital parts of your body. Soapmakers take a considerable amount of time and effort to create handcrafted soaps. Their love for this craft is clearly shown in the outcome of the beautifully created handcrafted soaps produced and its homely goodness only one can experience with them.
My first batch took a couple of hours to make since I wanted to make sure I took my time and fully comprehend my instructions. I prepared myself prior to making this batch by pouring over reference materials (see below for links) on the soap-making process. Taking a course in Handcrafting Soaps & Lotion Making with La Shonda Tyree – The Handmade Soap Coach helped me a lot (I’m a visual-learner).
I took full precautions when handling Lye by using safety gloves, goggles and a face mask and I still kept my gloves on throughout the whole process. I used a combination of palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil to make my soap.
I finished my soap with using an Iced Pineapple fragrance oil (an essential oil can also be substituted for anyone allergic to fragrance oils). I also incorporated a swirl pattern on my soap to give it an appealing visual effect.
Overall, I was very pleased with my first batch and can’t wait to make future batches in time for the Holidays!
References:
