Hot Process Soap

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What is the main difference between hot process and cold process soap?

Hot process soap involves “cooking” the soap before it is placed in a mold. You can “cook” your soap in the oven (OHP), in a crockpot (CPHP), double-boiler (DBHP) and other various ways. I used a crockpot to make my soap.

CrockPot Hot Process

The drying of hot process soaps takes relatively a shorter time; about 2-4 weeks. Letting the soap dry out beyond the 4 weeks makes the soap even milder. Hot process soaps tend to have a textured look and feel, but expert soapmakers have mastered techniques to make their soaps look almost like cold process soaps.

As with scent, fragrance is retained more with this process.

Cold process soap is “cooked” after it is placed in molds. The drying process takes at least 6 weeks and the look and feel of this soap is much more smoother and creamier.

Sncikerdoodle Latte

I scented this batch of hot process soap with Snickerdoodle Latte. I also added ground coffee for mild exfoliation.

Can I get an order of soap um with Heineken©?

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beer soap

 

 

This wonderful soap was created with natural vegetable and plant oils such as olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil.  The great thing about making soap is the control you have in your ingredients.  One of the ingredients I was able to incorporate in my recipe was Heineken beer at 50% of my water content.

It’s not intoxicating as you may think! The only benefits from using beer in your soap is that you get more bubbles in your lather as well as the faint aroma of hops.

Nonetheless, isn’t it a novelty to know that you can take a shower with Beer Soap and brag about it?

Ingredient Profile: Olive Oil

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INCI: Olea Europea Fruit Oil

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It is a system of names for waxes, oils, pigments, chemicals, and other ingredients of soaps and cosmetics. The labeling of ingredients in any given product is listed in INCI format.

One of the most versatile  oils ever used is Olive Oil.  It is widely used in cooking food, soapmaking and cosmetics, pharmaceuticals.

It derives from the Mediterranean region and comes in a variety grades.  The grade is dependent on the process of extraction.

Grades of Olive Oil

  • Virgin:  oil was extracted without any chemicals.  Rather it was extracted by physical means.
  • Extra-virgin:  oil is commonly used in salads and cooking. It is derived solely from virgin oil.
  • Pomace: oil was extracted by heat using chemicals or solvents; this is also a less expensive grade of olive oil.
  • Refined: oil was extracted using chemicals and all taste and smell elements have been removed. This is considered to be a lesser grade of oil.
  • Pure: oil is a blend of virgin and refined olive oil. This is a low-end grade of olive oil.

It is a medium to heavy weight oil with a shelf life of 2 years.  Yes even oils have an expiration date! In skin care, it is high in oleic acid which means its properties are: moisturizing, regenerative, softening and anti-flammatory. Also considered a humectant since it attracts external moisture to the skin and then absorbed rather well by the skin.

For the purposes of soapmaking I use Extra- Light Virgin Oil. I love getting the benefits of using olive oil and it gives my soap a soft, yellow natural hue.

Ingredient Profiles

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As many of you know and have seen I love making soap!  But more than that, I love to research the various oils that I will use. In believing that knowledge is key in anything you do and as one of the reasons I began this site is to inform the general public what these ingredients are and what they are good for, I will for the next several weeks begin writing a segment called Ingredient Profiles.

It is my hope that after reading these articles, you, my readers are well informed and understand why handmade soap is beneficial.  After all, isn’t your skin the largest organ in your body? Love your skin and it will love you back :)

Update: Oil Skin Cleansing Method

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Hi Everyone!

So far I have implemented a new cleansing regime called the Oil – Cleansing Method. To visit the post click here.

A week has gone by and I have noted that my skin feels smoother with hardly any troubles.  I did get a bump on my chin area a couple of days after starting the routine, but keep in mind that any bumps, pimples, etc are usually the end result of a couple of weeks of oily activity under the skin.  It is the skin’s self-cleaning method.

I did however decided to use a blend of coconut oil (50%) and walnut oil (50%).  Why the change?  Coconut oil has a high cleansing property.  While using coconut oil may be too drying for some I decided to keep it at 50%.  That’s where the walnut oil comes in.  Since it has moisturizing properties and high Vitamin E content I feel that it will be a nice balance to the coconut oil.

Stay tuned for next week as I keep you updated on week number 2.

The Oil Cleansing Method

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The Oil Cleansing Method

Your skin naturally produces oil to moisturize and protect itself from the elements. Although it would be easy to believe that adding more oil to your face would just make it oilier, the case is not true.  Vegetable oils or nut-derived oils have cleansing and moisturizing properties that your skin can benefit from. Castor oil for example has a high cleansing property.

I started a facial cleansing regimen on the 1st day of the year called the Oil Cleansing Method. The purpose is to use a vegetable oil suited for my skin type. I have combination type skin with a couple of fine lines already forming. You can use any oil that is appropriate for your skin type or you can use a blend of oils. A good place to start is using 25% Castor Oil and 75% Jojoba Oil.

In my case I used Walnut Oil. Walnut Oil (cold pressed) is said to have properties that are suited for dry and mature skin.  Your skin needs more or less 2 weeks to adapt itself to a brand new regimen.  It’s best to do the oil cleansing method at night as it will also help in the removal of makeup. I will follow this regimen for at least 2 weeks.

How to do an oil cleansing:

  1. Steam your face for 5 minutes to open up  pores.  You can easily do this by boiling a pot of water on the stove.  Drape a towel over head and very carefully lower your head until you feel the vapors reaching your face. If it feels too hot pull away from the pot.
  2. While skin is still moist, apply 3-4 drops of  oil and spread all over face using circular motions.
  3. Take the liberty to do a quick facial massage always sweeping upwards towards the  forehead. Do not pull the skin down – we are trying to defy gravity here!
  4. With a wet and warm cloth drape the cloth over the face. Allow the pores to open once again and let the oil sink in.
  5. With the same cloth wet it using warm water and remove the oil off the face.
  6. Splash cold water on the face to quickly seal up the pores and let the face dry naturally.
  7. If your skin feels tight or dry dab 1 drop of  oil on your fingers and quickly spread over your face to seal in moisture.

My results (1/1/10-1/3/10):

My skin feels smoother with no dryness. My skin so far does not feel icky or dry when I wake up in the morning.

I will post my updates every 7 days and report any changes with my skin.

For more information and discussion forum regarding this cleansing method visit www.theoilcleansingmethod.com

Holiday Message

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Happy Holidays!

I want to take this moment to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Many thanks to the many readers and supporters of Brooklyn Bath.

May new and exciting things happen for you and yours in the New Year!

Best wishes,

Rose

BrooklynBath

Cold Process Soap

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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:

www.teachsoap.com