How To Produce Soap Using the Cold Method

The Cold Step To Making a Quality Laundry Soap

Previously, I
post an article on how to produce soap successfully and make money, it can be in the Lab,
homes, factories or anywhere you desire. Today I am going to show you how soap
is been produced using the cold method. Although we have two method of soap
production, which are cold and hot method, this short tutorial is all about the
cold process, please ensure that you go through it properly and effectively.

Kindly crosscheck
the ingredients you will need for this process

Olive oil
(15.6 ounces)
Coconut Oil
, 76 degree (13 ounces)
Palm (10.4
ounces)
Orange 5x
essential oil (25 grams)
Lavender
40/42 (25 grams)
Grapefruit,
Pink (12.5 grams)
Lye (207
grams)
Distilled
Water (19 ounces)
Kindly
remember that all measurements are by weight not volume. 
Important
information about lye:  Lye which is known as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), should
be used when making soap from scratch. Lye actually forms a major component
of the soap making reaction/process. My candid advice is to use extreme
caution when handling lye. Shielding hand gloves and eye goggles should be
worn at all times when preparing the lye solution. It is your sole responsibility
to use this chemical with absolute caution and care .  
 With the
above been said without hesitation, don’t be afraid of soap making because of
the use of lye. Treat lye with respect as you would with any chemical and you
should be just fine.  The “fear of lye” is the number one reason
why people don’t get involved in the wonderful art of cold process soap
making.  Don’t be that person!
If you truly
desire to produce soap, but completely don’t want to finger sodium hydroxide,
you can make soap using the melt and pour method . Much details in relation to the melt and pour method will be revealed later….
Now that you
have your ingredients prepared, we can now start the soap making process…i
hope you are ready?
Carefully
note this  short and important conversion
: A unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound or
28.349 grams. This actually means that 1 oz (ounce) unit for a weight
and mass equals = into 28.35 g (gram) as per its equivalent weight and mass
unit type measure often used.

Step 1: weigh
out 207 grams of dry lye in a plastic container. Please ensure that you use
plastic container. If you use glass, the NaOH will react vigorously with it.
Step 2: 
Carefully weigh out 19 ounces of distilled water.  Remember that this is a
weight ounce, not a liquid ounce.  Be sure to use distilled water here as our
normal pure water or bottled water probably may have impurities that can
potentially interrupt the soap production reaction. Carefully Measure out your
water in a heating safe container that can also withstand the caustic
properties of lye. Like I earlier said, please don’t use glass.
 
Step 3: Combine
the two components.  Carefully pour the dry lye into the water and stir incessantly
until all the lye is completely dissolved.  You’ll notice a somewhat
powerful fume present as you stir.  Try to keep away from breathing in
these fumes. You’ll also become aware that your water will heat up considerably
once the lye is further introduced. This is why you should not be using
glass for mixing/creating your lye solution. You don’t want your container
to shatter due to the heat of the reaction which would cause your lye solution
to dangerously spill everywhere. 
Step 4: 
Gently put a thermometer into your solution and set it off to the side away
from children and subsequent pets around especially goats and rats…lol. 
We need this solution to drop in temperature till it reaches about 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. This is my favorite temperature for creating my soap.
Step 5: 
At the same time as we wait, we are going to prepare our oils.  Measure
out 15.6 ounces of olive oil, 13 ounces of coconut oil, 10.4 ounces of palm
oil, and 2.6 ounces of Shea butter.  Try doing this in your stainless
steel soap pot. Hope you grab? Ok…
 
Step 6: 
The Next step is for you to melt all the oils to a liquid form.  Do this
on your cook top using a low heat setting.  Keep it as low as
possible. 
Step 7: 
whilst the oils melt, we are going to prepare our essential oil blend.  In
a detached container, measure out 25 grams orange 5X essential oil, 25 grams
lavender 40/42 essential oil, 12.5 grams grapefruit (pink) essential oil …We
are doing this now so that the blend is ready to be added to the batch right
away when the time approaches.
Step 8: 
At this point, your oils should be melted and your lye solution should have
cooled significantly. Therefore , we want to try to get both solutions to
be at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  It doesn’t need to be perfect, but try to
get it pretty close.  How should we we adjust the temperatures?  To
cool the oils and lye solution, we are going to fill our sink with ice cold
water and place the containers within.  If you need to heat up the oils,
you can do this on your cook top burner. If you need to heat up the lye
solution, you can fill your sink with hot water.
 
Step 9: 
At this point, your essential oil blend is prepared and your lye solution and
oils mixture should be at just around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  You are now
ready to make soap!  Slowly pour the lye solution into your oils mixing
steadily using a silicone spatula.  Do this until you have a somewhat even
color and texture.
 
Step 10: 
Once a smooth color and texture is achieved, take out your stick blender and
begin mixing. Using a stick blender for soap making will substantially
speed up the process. Without it, you could be stirring for hours on end. Not
fun… at least for me!  Start at a slow speed and gradually increase the
power from there. Keep mixing until you reach a light trace.
Test for
trace by dribbling a little portion of your soap from the stick blender onto
the exterior of the rest of your mixture. If the dribbled soap sits on top
of the solution for a brief period before sinking back into the rest of the
mixture, you have reached trace.  At this point, the consistency should be
that of a very thin pudding. You don’t want it to get too thick yet!
Step 11: Once
a light trace is reached, pour in your essential oil blend. Stir again with
your stick blender until everything looks even and thoroughly mixed in. 
Doesn’t it smell wonderful!  At this point, your soap should be the
consistency of a thick pudding.
  
Step 12: 
Lastly, carefully pour your soap into your mold. Bear in mind… if you
are using a wooden soap mold; make sure that it is lined with freezer paper.

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