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The
Beginners Guide to Soap Making
GETTING STARTED
Melt-n-pour soap base is a near neutral substance
(ph neutral) and requires no specific materials. You
can choose to make small batches, simply using a
microwaveable bowl or jug, or larger batches, where
a saucepan on a hob is more practical. Whatever you
are doing, the most important thing to remember is
not to overheat your soap base. You need only heat
it until it melts and no further. Cutting the soap
base into small chunks will help this, especially if
using a microwave, although small chunks will melt
far easier in any method used, so it's worth the
time in doing this.
If using a microwave it is unlikely that you will be
able to melt enough soap to make more than 3-4 bars.
Most mass produced moulds for bar-sized soaps will
contain about 70g of soap, so use this as a guide
when weighing out your soap base for melting if you
are going to be using a mould. With the soap cut
into small chunks and put into a suitable sized
microwaveable container, simply use the microwave on
full power for a few seconds at a time, checking to
see when the chunks have melted fully. Around 15
seconds for a single soap bar batch using a typical
domestic microwave is a guide, but check yourself,
as microwaves vary considerably and overheating is
easy using this method.
Once melted you need to work fairly fast, as a skin
will start to form quite quickly on the surface of
the soap. It is whilst the soap is fully melted that
colour, fragrance and any other additions such as
iridescent powder or dried flower petals etc are
added. Simple food colours can easily be used, as
can liquid soap colours and other water-soluble
liquid colour bases. Obviously the depth of a
particular colour is dependent upon how much is
used. Don't be tempted to over-colour your soaps,
especially if using a clear soap base, as the
transparency of the finished soap will be affected
if too much colour is used. Fragrance can be added
either using essential oils or simple fragrance
oils, which are available in a huge range of
tempting fragrances these days. Again, strength of
fragrance is dependent upon the amount added. For a
meaningful fragrance, around 20ml fragrance per Kilo
of soap is sufficient, so a few drops per single bar
is fine. Iridescent powders or glitters will sink to
the bottom of a mould if added in too-larger amount,
so be sparing for best results.
You will need to stir in all these additions quickly
and pour into whatever mould you are using before a
skin forms as this will spoil the finish of the
final bar. There is nothing to stop you from quickly
re-heating the mixture whilst it is still in its
microwaveable container, but remember that a few
seconds is all it will need. Too much heat will
evaporate the fragrance, so avoid this if you can.
Try not to introduce bubbles into the soap mixture
as this will also spoil the final appearance. The
mixture starts to set quite quickly, trapping any
bubbles or other imperfections, which is especially
problematic when using a clear base to make a
transparent soap. Before pouring your soap
into the mould spray the mixture with surgical
spirit to burst any bubbles and spray again once the
soap is in the moulds. Don't worry about the
smell, it is alcohol and will therefore evaporate.
If making larger numbers of bars or maybe a loaf, it
is much more suitable to use the direct - heat
method. That is to say, heat the required volume of
soap in a suitable pan on a hob. There is no need to
go to the trouble of using a double-boiler, but you
must ensure you don't overheat the soap, otherwise
there is a risk that it could burn, although you'd
probably have to have a lapse of memory and leave it
for some time for this to happen. Use a
thick-bottomed saucepan over a low heat.
Cut the soap into small pieces to help it melt
quickly and evenly. Gently heat over a low setting
until the mixture is completely liquid. At this
stage and whilst still over a very low heat, add the
colour and fragrance desired. It is at this stage
that iridescent powders can be added also, together
with other additions for texture, such as oatmeal or
desiccated coconut, which are 2 examples of useful
additions to give an exfoliating texture if desired.
The addition of extra ingredients is more leisurely
using this method, as continuous low heat is
available to keep the mixture from forming a skin.
Again, be careful not to introduce bubbles if at all
possible. Fragrance should be the last addition, as
heat will cause some evaporation. Again, work on
around 20ml of fragrance or essential oil per Kilo
for a meaningful fragrance.
Once all ingredients are added, pour carefully and
slowly into the mould and allow to cool. Larger
quantities of soap will require longer time to cool.
The filled mould can easily be refrigerated to speed
this up. Support large moulds in a bed of sand or
rice to prevent distortion.
REMOVING SOAPS FROM THE MOULD
Removing individual soaps from moulds is perfectly
simple. Be sure to leave the soap to cool
completely. If using a suitable mass-produced mould,
which will have a shiny surface, the soap will
release with slight pressure. More complex or larger
moulds can require some force. To help remove a soap
from a large or complicated mould, ensure it has
fully set and put it in the freezer until quite cold
throughout (don't actually freeze it), When you
remove it from the freezer the change in temperature
on the surface of the soap will help it release from
the mould. This method can be especially useful when
making large loafs or slabs, which are to be cut by
weight or into bar sizes later.
There are a great many household objects that can be
used for simple moulds without having the expense of
buying specific ones. The best material is slightly
flexible, smooth surface plastic, like sandwich
containers and beakers. Small freezer containers are
often a perfect bar size. Also, if you want to pour
the soap into a sheet for cutting into shapes, a
fairly rigid non-stick baking tray is fine, as
plastic trays tend to warp with the heat when the
soap is poured, causing an uneven thickness in the
soap sheet.
Having mastered the technique of actually shaping,
colouring and fragrancing soap, there are a great
many simple techniques to make your soaps more
interesting
MORE INTEREST IN YOUR SOAPS
Melt-n-pour is so simple it lends itself to
experimentation. My first simple experimental soap
was a 'Jam Tart' soap, which was well received by
small children and a great way of adding a little
fun to a Childs bath time. The simple techniques of
combining sheets of soap which can be separately
coloured and/or fragranced and easily rolled or
shaped whilst still slightly soft, with a separately
coloured/fragranced soap poured into or around the
shape can result in a huge variety of colours and
appearances. Use opaque soap within a clear soap to
show off the colours and shapes within to their
best.
The simplest technique is to colour a small amount
of opaque soap base and pour it into a shallow
mould. Once set, cut into small chunks or flakes.
Make up a complimentary coloured batch of clear soap
base. Place the chunks in the mould for the final
soap and pour the second, clear soap into the mould
over the opaque chunks. This gives a simple and
effective appearance to an otherwise plain bar.
Pouring opaque coloured soap into sheets and then
slicing into thin lengths is easy to do. These thin
strips of soap can be easily shaped whilst still
soft into many different shapes, like spirals and
barley-twists, which again can be put within a mould
before pouring a clear and complimentary coloured
soap over it.
'Swiss Roll' loafs are also easy to achieve. Find a
suitable loaf mould and measure the length. Pour a
sheet of coloured soap and cut it to the same width
as the mould is long. Let the sheet set for a while
and whilst still soft, roll it up loosely (or lay 2
or more different coloured sheets on top of one
another and roll together). Place the roll into the
loaf mould and carefully pour the clear soap base
into the mould, slowly, allowing it to flow between
all the gaps in the roll. Let set and slice for best
effect.
Soaps can be poured in layers of colour within
either a large or small mould. Picking out the
detail of a delicate mould by pouring an opaque soap
base into the surface irregularities, letting it set
and then pouring another colour over it will leave a
detailed 'picture' on the surface of the soap bar.
This is especially useful in enhancing soaps with
flowers or butterflies etc. on their top surface.
Tip...To avoid 'bleeding' of colours into
each-other, use a 'pigment' in the soap which is to
be opaque. Pigments not being water soluble will not
bleed their colour, but they are only suitable in
opaque soap.
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