Sabun Cold Made

Cold Process Soap Making Method (CP)

Posted by: sumpena on: March 13, 2007

 In: Soap Making

 Comment!

Preparing To Mix Soap 

My personal preference is to work at medium to low starting temperatures, and to measure by weight all
ingredients, including water, and only excluding the essential oils, which I measure in milliliters. Also, I
use a stick blender, which cuts down enormously on stirring times. In detail, here is what I suggest you
do:

1. After choosing the recipe and calculating the amounts of the ingredients (oils/fats, caustic soda,
water, fillers and fragrance), prepare your working space – i.e., put away things that might
become contaminated and cover the surface with a layer of old newspaper.
2. Collect all the equipment, the ingredients, and the containers and tools you will need for this
batch of soap.
3. Find a few old towels, or a blanket, or some heavy rags for insulating the moulds. If you’re
planning to fill the moulds to the brim, you’ll also need a roll of baking paper (or plastic film, or
some heavy duty plastic).
4. Prepare the lye solution: measure the required amount of cold water in a heat resistant container.
I use a heavy plastic (HDPE) jug, which has a fitting lid.
5. Place this container in the sink, and fill the sink with enough water to reach the level of the water
in your container or more. Just make sure the container doesn’t float too much (it will get heavier
when you add the caustic, anyway).
6. Wear your protective clothing (gloves mask etc.)
7. Measure the required amount of caustic soda in a clean, dry container.
8. Add the caustic soda to the water a little bit at a time, but not too slowly, and stirring continually
with a long handled tool (I use a paint stirrer).
9. Avoid breathing in the fumes. If you can, I suggest you mix your lye solution outside (wind at your
back, if any . Make sure there is a water tap close by, in case of accidents.
10. Cover the container with the lye solution.
11. Measure your oils or fats directly in your soap pot. I start with the solid oils/butters to avoid
splashes.
12. Place the soap pot on medium heat.
13. While the oils/fats are melting and the lye is cooling down, assemble measure and organize your
extra ingredients.
14. Line the mould (if you’re using a log, slab or divider mold), or otherwise prepare your moulds
(some types of plastic tray molds require greasing)
15. Determine where to place the moulds, and place a towel or thick layer of newspaper under the
moulds. Remember you will not move the moulds for the first 12 to 24 hours – so choose a spot
where the soap can be left undisturbed!
16. When the solid oils/fats are melted, turn the heat off under the soap pot and measure the
temperature.
 17. As I mentioned, I like working at medium to low starting temperatures. I suggest you start getting
ready to mix your soap when the oils are around 45º C / 110º F.
18. If the fats/oils are warmer than this, just go and do something else while you wait – or you can
place the soap pot in a sinkfull of cold water to speed up the process.
19. When the oils are at the desired temperature, check the temperature of the lye solution. Typically,
this will be lower than the temperature of the oils – which is perfect!
20. If the lye solution is still much warmer than the oils, I suggest you try and cool it down by adding
more cold water to the sink.

Making Soap 

When the oils are around 45º C / 110º F and the lye solution has reached the same (or cooler)
temperature, you can start getting ready for mixing the soap.

1. Place the soap pot on a flat, safe surface (the stove is not safe enough, in my opinion).
2. Add the lye solution to the oils in a steady stream, but not too fast, while stirring continuously with
your long handled tool.
3. Stir with slow, even movements to avoid splashes.
4. The mixture becomes opaque and starts taking a lighter color.
5. Once all the lye solution has been added keep stirring for a couple of minutes.
6. Get your stick blender ready (you can leave the soap mixture unattended while you do this).
7. Place the stick blender in the middle of the pot, resting it on the bottom (or as close to the bottom
as you can if you’re making a large batch). Make sure the level of the soap mixture is at least a
couple of inches lower than the motor of your stick blender, and the blades of the stick blender
are covered by at least 3 inches/7 cm of soap mixture!
8. Start the stick blender and operate it in short bursts.
9. As the mixture gets lighter in color, and starts assuming a creamy appearance, you can operate
the stick blender with no interruptions for longer periods.
10. To avoid overheating the motor, turn the stick blender off and use it as a manual stirrer
periodically.
11. Within 3 to 10 minutes (depending on the type of fats/oils, and other variables), the soap mixture
will be smooth and glossy, with similar consistency and “feel” to thin custard.
12. This is the beginning of “trace”, a.k.a. thin trace. This is an important stepping stone for adding
some particular ingredients or carrying out some special operations (for instance, dividing the
batch if you’re working on a swirled soap).
13. Unless you have some special reason for stopping at this point (see above, or refer to your recipe
instructions), keep stirring until the mixture reaches full trace. When using a stick blender, this
might take anything between 20 seconds and a few minutes after thin trace.
14. You’ll know you have reached full trace when a little bit of the mixture, dribbled from the stick
blender, will leave a “trace” before sinking.
15. You can now add the fragrance or essential oils and the other ingredients you have reserved for
adding at trace.
16. For this, you can set the stick blender aside and go back to your long handled spoon. Make sure
you blend the oils (or whatever) thoroughly, and don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the pot.
17. Pour the soap into the mould(s). It is best to do this slowly (see the picture above? the pot was
very full and very heavy, and I thought I could get rid of the weight quickly…. Luckily, the “soap
splash” remained inside the mould!)
18. If you’re using individual moulds, you might find it easier to ladle out the soap mixture, at least in
the beginning.
19. Pour out as much of the soap mixture as you can, and scrape down the pot properly.
20. Cover the soap with the towels (or blankets, or rags). Remember to place a piece of baking
(greaseproof) paper on top, if the mold(s) are filled to the brim.
21. Arrange the towels/rags so that the entire mold is covered – top and sides.
22. Leave the soap undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Insulating the soap helps speeding up the
saponification process (the chemical reaction), and properly mixed and insulated soap is usually
caustic-free after as little as 24 hours.