How to make cold process soap: easiest step by step soap making with Emma of The Little Soap Company
This month we head to the Cotswolds to learn step by step soap making (or cold process soap) with Emma Heathcote-James, founder of The Little Soap Company (listed in our directory here). As well as selling her own range of natural, handmade soaps, Emma enjoys sharing her knowledge of this satisfying craft by offering workshops.
Join us as we join her soap-making workshop to create our own natural handmade bars, using natural ingredients and traditional cold pressing. Hot process soap is a type of handmade soap made by combining oils with lye, but unlike cold process soap, the mixture is actively heated during the process to speed up the saponification reaction, allowing the soap to be cut and used much sooner after making. The resulting soap has a more rustic appearance compared to cold process soap and some soap makers prefer this. Cold pressing does producer a finer soap in my opinion, even if it does take a little longer.
Step by step soap making
On my arrival at Honeybourne station, Emma arrives beaming and whisks me off to her lovely Cotswold stone cottage just five minutes from the station. I already know and love the soaps she makes and sells with The Little Soap Company.
After a cup of tea and a homemade lavender cupcake in front of the Aga we head off to the workshop behind the cottage to learn how to make soap. This is where Emma explains that making soap is really no different to cooking. Step by step soap making is all about following the right recipe.
Beginner’s soap making
She hands me the how to make soap course pack containing her beginner’s step by step soap making recipe and promises that we’ll have lots of fun…
After a bit of theory Emma wants to get straight in and get our hands dirty. Our first step is to prepare the mould for our soap by lining a plastic container with greaseproof paper so that the soap will come out easily when set.
How to make natural soap – step by step
step 1: melting the base
Next we measure out the solid oils that form the fatty acids base of the soap. We used sustainably sourced palm oil, coconut and olive oil. But there are lots of types of oils you could use for this including coconut oil, cocoa butter or shea butter. Next, place them in a saucepan on a low heat until they melt to create an oil mixture. Use a glass thermometer to check for a temperature of around 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
step 2: preparing the lye
Next important step is to prepare an essential ingredient: a mixture called ‘lye’, or lye solution / lye water, which we will blend with the oils to create the saponification process. This is what turns the mixture into soap. Slightly scary, as it involves using sodium hydroxide (or caustic soda) which is very caustic and must be used with care. Read the cautionary labels before use. Some makers use potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide lye.
After donning protective goggles and rubber gloves (and wearing long sleeves), we carefully measure out the sodium hydroxide crystals using a lye calculator (or soap calculator). This calculates the precise amount of lye (sodium hydroxide) needed to fully saponify (turn into soap) a specific combination of oils in a soap recipe (known as saponification values).
We mix them into a stainless steel pan of cold distilled water until they have completely dissolved. We do this out in the garden to avoid breathing in any fumes (if you can’t do this outdoors, make sure you’re in a well-ventilated area).
On contact with the water, you need to know that the lye heats up very quickly. The aim is to get it to the same temperature as the melted liquid oils in our other pan. When both the oil and the lye have reached around 110 degrees, the lye is carefully poured into the pan of melted oil, in short bursts, and stirred with a silicone spatula until the mixture gradually starts to thicken.
Step 3: achieving ‘trace’
Next step, we use a handheld blender (or immersion blender / stick blender) to stir the mixture at a brisker pace. This is in order to reach the consistency known as ‘trace’. Trace is achieved when the mixture becomes thick like custard. You know you have trace when a lifted spoon leaves a thin trail on the surface. Once trace has been achieved it’s time for the fun to start. Adding fragrance oil and other ingredients such a nutrients, grains, clays or herbs.
Batch 1: Lavender, grapefruit, calendula and poppy soap
For our first soap batch, we decide to add lavender and grapefruit essential oils for fragrance. We add sunflower oil as a nutrient, some dried calendula petals and a sprinkling of poppy seeds for exfoliation. Making your own recipe for this is all about personal preference.
Once the natural additives have been gently stirred in, we pour soap base into its greaseproof paper lined soap mold or soap pot. With the cold precess method, once you pour base into the mould, the soap must then be covered and insulated with an old towel and left in a safe place for up to 24 hours. This is so it can continue to saponify at room temperature. The curing soap batter will generate heat and air bubbles during this essential incubation period and can cause the soap to appear shinier. This is called the gel phase.
After 18-24 hours the soap can be removed from the mould and cut into bars. Then it needs to be left in a cool dry place to cure for a minimum of 4 weeks. After curing the soap will have hardened considerably and will be ready to use, or to wrap as a great option as a handmade gift.
Having learned how to make our first batch of soap, we head off to the village pub for lunch. Sausages and mash and a glass of red wine definitely helped to get the creative juices flowing. Now that I’ve mastered the basic soap making technique, Emma lets me loose in the studio to try out some different fragrance and ingredient combinations for myself!
Batch 2: lavender, orange, oats and apricot kernel oil soap
For my first time making a solo batch I decide to add apricot kernel oil as the nutrient, a blend of lavender and orange essential oils for fragrance, some oats for texture, and to finish off with a sprinkling of dried lavender. I was tempted to add flower petals too, but maybe next time.
Batch 3: pink clay, rose geranium and rose petal soap
Now I am really having fun and there is still time left for one last small batch. This time I add a teaspoon of pink clay powder to the diy soap mixture to give it some colour. I also add castor oil as the nutrient, rose geranium essential oil for fragrance, poppy seeds for texture, and a sprinkling of dried rose petals on top for my decadent finale! Homemade soap recipes are so much fun!
The soft soaps look so beautiful in their paper-lined moulds waiting to set…
By now it’s almost time to catch my train, and I head back home laden with all that I’d made. The heady fragrance of lavender and rose waft behind me all the way. I’d had the most fun, creative day. And I couldn’t wait to take my soaps out of their moulds the following day. I was itching to cut them into soap bars of the finished product.
The next day I am delighted to see that the warm gloopy mixture in a tupperware box, had overnight turned into something resembling a real block of cold-process soap. As I took the lid off, a wonderful fragrance fills the room. So much nicer than store-bought soap.
Step by step soap making: slicing the blocks
Using a kitchen knife, I carefully slice the large blocks into smaller bars on my kitchen work surface. I can’t help marvelling at how something so pretty could be made from a few ingredients and a chemical reaction. Now my soaps have been put away to cure for the requisite four weeks. I can’t wait to get them out again and actually start using them!
Whether you’re a novice or planning a career change, this workshop is a fun, creative and very entertaining day out. Emma is always on hand with useful tips and advice gained from years of experience. You’ll leave with a full set of step-by-step instructions on how to make soap at home.
That way you can experiment with different fragrance, ingredient combinations and soap additives at home which are the most fun parts. You can also have fun creating intricate designs depending on the type of soap and final product you’re wanting to create. The cold process method definitely does take time but the results are worth every minute.
Going forwards
Friends and family watch out, you may be receiving soaps from me for a very long time to come. I’ve loved learning the old fashioned ways of soap making and have digital scales and latex gloves at the ready for my next go. I’m not going to attempt large batches, as I’m not planning to sell my creations, just enjoy them as part of everyday life.
Also, I’m wondering about silicone molds and best heatproof containers as I don’t want to ruin my cooking pans. I’m also putting together a list of the different oils I’d like to experiment with for fragrance and aromatherapy. My base recipe will be exactly as Emma showed me, and I’ll be trying streaks of oil in the raw soap to see how that turns out – maybe a thin trace across the top. I’ve seen you can also buy pre-made soap base which is a good idea if measuring out the harmful
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INFORMATION
The Little Soap Company is listed in the From Britain with Love directory
Get all the info you need to connect with The Little Soap Company from the listing >>
Emma offers a variety of one-to-one, couple and small group soap making courses from her workshop. She also offers a more in depth course for people who are thinking about setting up their own soap business. You can also buy soaps online.
Feeling inspired? Take a look at the Creative Workshops category in our Directory, where you’ll find a variety of inspiring courses, from art and crafts to fashion and beauty, interiors, cooking and flower & gardening.
If you run a creative course that would interest our readers, please get in touch. Email us at editor@frombritainwithlove.com
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