Making Natural Soap And Its History

This article will explore some of the history and aspects of natural soap making and the differences between the commercial bars and natural soap.

WHY I STARTED MAKING COLD PROCESS SOAP

You Can find me at http://bodynaturalsoap.blogspot.com/

www.abodynaturalsoap.com

or www.bodynaturalsoap.etsy.com

THE BRIEF HISTORY OF SOAP

IN COLONIAL AMERICA AND TODAY

THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND SOAP MAKING.

CLICK ON PICTURE TO OPEN IN LARGER WINDOW

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A Soap molecule is formed when a triglyceride reacts with either sodium or potassium hydroxide the reaction that takes place is called Saponification. The Diagram above shows an example of this process. This process results in the production of Glycerol and Sodium or potassium stearate (Soap). Each soap molecule has a long hydrocarbon chain, sometimes called its 'tail', with a carboxylate 'head' (or as in my diagram the polar Tail).

Water is largely polar, and water molecules tend to separate into fragments with opposite electrical charges, one positive and one negative. Chemicals such as table salt, happen to be made up of collections of charged fragments, or ions, find it easy to dissolve in water because the positive ions in the salt are attracted to the negative ions in the water.

Fats and Oils are not polar and their molecules have no particular charge, so they are not attracted to polar substances such as salts. They prefer to bond with other non-polar substances.

The long hydrocarbon tail is repelled by water but attracted to grease and oil. When grease or oil (non-polar hydrocarbons) is mixed with a soap- water solution, the soap molecules work as a "bridge" between polar water molecules and non-polar oil molecules. The oil is a pure hydrocarbon so it is non-polar. The non-polar hydrocarbon tail of the soap dissolves into the oil. That leaves the polar carboxylate ion of the soap molecules are sticking out of the oil droplets, the surface of each oil droplet is negatively charged. As a result, the oil droplets repel each other and remain suspended in solution (this is called an emulsion) to be washed away by a stream of water. The outside of the droplet is also coated with a layer of water molecules.

WHY CHEMICAL DETERGENTS REPLACED SOAP

Some of the first detergents developed and manufactured were in Germany during World War I. During World War I there was a real shortage of the fats and oils normally used in making soap. Chemical detergents were produced to fill in the void. These detergents were made by coupling propyl and or butyl alcohols with naphthalene. These detergents were sold under the name Nekal. But detergents really took off during World War II when again due to the war there was a shortage of oil and fats used in the manufacturing of soap. This and the need by the military for a cleaning agent that would work well in the mineral rich sea water further stimulated research into developing detergents. Around the 1950's is when synthetic detergents really took hold. By 1953 the sales of detergents surpassed that of soap. One marketing campaign that helped bring detergents into the fore front was that of Lever's Dove Soap.[3]

IS NATURAL SOAP BETTER THAN DETERGENT SOAP

There is differing opinions on whether there is a significant difference between soap and detergent bars to your skin. I of course have the opinion that soap bars do make a difference. With in approximately a week I noticed that my skin felt better and I needed less moisturizer. But what convinced me the most was the disappearance of my son's eczema. Now granted my son did not have severe eczema some suffer with but it was noticeable. He has not had any outbreaks since we started using natural soap. It was after I noticed this that I decided to try making soap for my family, and then came my friends. I received such great reviews and I loved making it that I decided to also sell it.

Through out this article we have been calling it natural soap. But lets be honest most of the handmade bars including mine have fragrance added to them, and some have essential oils (which are natural) added. The fragrance oils added to soaps are chemically made. So we are adding some chemicals to the soap. With that in mind, we can still say that handmade soap still has fewer chemicals in it than a detergent bar. With essential oils as with all things can be harsh to the eyes and mucas membranes if the concentration is strong enough. Due to allergies It is also recommended that any products that you put on your skin should be tested on a small patch of skin. Most soap makers will make some soap with no fragrance. I have one friend that is particularly sensitive to smells so I always make his shaving soap with out fragrance.

Another difference between soap and detergent bars is that a properly cured bar of soap will out last a detergent bar. Most handmade soaps will outlast detergent bars three to one. I had one bar hang around for well over a month. This is with three people showering at least once a day and sometimes more. This in itself could justify the higher cost per bar compared to cost of detergent bars.

HOW TO MAKE SOAP

There are a few items that you will need in order to successfully make soap. Most of these items can be found it you kitchen. The one item I would never be with out is my stick blender. You can find these for under $20.00 at any Wal-Mart. These are sometimes referred to as hand blenders, stick blender or immersion blenders.

Stick Blender

This tool is invaluable due to how quickly and thoroughly you can get your soap from pan to mold. The nest items I would make sure to have are safety items and are very important if you don't want to have any chemical or heat burns due to the lye. These items include long sleeve shirt or something to go over your clothes that will protect your arms, rubber gloves, and safety glasses. Another item I recommend is a deep stainless steel pot. Even if I am making a small batch of soap I like to use a deep pot because it protects me from any raw soap or lye solution from splashing out. The reason behind the pot being stainless is the lye tends to react with aluminum and Teflon. We don't want Teflon in our soap. Also the reaction between the water, oil and lye is very exothermic resulting in enough heat to damage some plastics.

I feel this next item is a must have for a good soap making experience. You need to have very accurate scales that can weigh to the tenth of an ounce. I would recommend spending the most on this item. A good postal or kitchen scale can mean the difference in a usable soap. When making soap all measurements are made in weight not volume. The scale I got was 50.00 dollars on eBay. I would also include in the items several (long Handle) spatchulas and spoons. These can be rubber, wooden or stainless steel. The spatchulas I love for getting every drop form my pot to my mold and that would be the next item needed a mold. The mold can actually be anything. My first mold was a shoe box lined with a small garbage bag. The only requirement of the mold is that it wont leak (Lined shoebox) and it can with stand the temperature. To test the mold, fill it with your hottest tap water (at least 120 F). If it stands up to that without deforming or becoming soft then it will do. Two candy thermometers are really useful. With one thermeter you can measure the teperature of the lye water and then with the other the temperature of the oils. This is important because you do not want the two temperatues to be very different. The closer the two temperatures are the better. Temperature is important also in that you do not want the temperatures to be to hot. The chemical reation is exothermic to begin with so adding to much heat could cause the reaction to speed up faster than your ready for. Also the amount of heat could cause some very serios burns. The ideal heat for the oil and the lye solution is between 100 and 120 degree farahieght. Later, with more experience you may want to experiment with the cool process (Whipped soaps) and the hot oven process (this creates soap that can be used right away). But for now stick with the basics.

The next item can normally be found at most hardware stores or even plumbing stores. Lye is a hazardous chemically that is next to the oil the must have ingredient. Lye is sodium hydroxide and when combined with a vegetable or animal fat creates soap. Lye can cause painful burns so caution should be taken when handling this material. You should always were a non-absorbent type glove such as your plain old rubber kitchen gloves when handling lye.

Next comes choosing your oils. If you are a novice you should choose your recipe and then buy your oils according to the recipe. After you get a few batches under your belt you may decide to get adventurous and use a Lye Calculator to develop your own recipes. Each oil that you choose will have different soap properties. Olive oil is very moisturizing but doesn't lather much and coconut can be drying but creates a great lather. In combination these oils can create a wonderful moisturizing soap with lather. At the end of this article I will list some of the lye calculators that I enjoy using.

1. Stick Blender
2. Stainless Steel Pot
3. Rubber gloves
4. Long sleeve shirt
5. Goggles
6. Mold
7. accurate kitchen or postal scale
8. Lye
9. Oil (no not motor oil)
10. Tested Recipe or Online Lye Calculator
11. Candy Thermometer

EASY VEGTABLE RECIPIE WITH OILS FROM YOUR GROCERY STORE

SOAP MAKING PROCEDURE

Please Read through the Procedure before starting. Have all items ready before you start the process. This recipe will produce approx 2 lbs of soap. To determine if your mold is not to big or small pour 2lbs of water into the mold. This will approxamate the volume of soap that will need to go into your mold. Remember everything is done by weight. None of the measurements will be done by volume. All the oils lister below can normally be found at your local grocer. The Lye can usually be found at a hardware store or online.

Ingredients:

9.6 Oz. Crisco

12.8 Oz. Coconut Oil

9.6 Oz. Olive Oil

4.71 Oz. Lye

12.16 Water (distilled is better than tap for soap)

Optional: Fragrance. (This needs to be a soap tested fragrance that is body safe. Try local hobby shops but I really recommend Bramble Berry's on line.) I would start with no more that .5 to .7 oz of fragrance per pound.

• Measure out the coconut oil and crisco carefully and then melt and mix them together. Add in you measured amount of Olive Oil
• You should be wearing your rubber gloves and long sleeve shirt at this point.
• Measure out your water in one containor and your lye in another. Add your lye to the water slowly. Mix thouroghly. It is a good idea to do this in a well ventalated area. Do not breath in the fumes.
• Allow your lye mixture to cool (100 degree F to 120 Degree F). While this is happening make sure all you equipment is ready. Go ahead and measure out your fragrance and have your colorant ready. Make sure you mold is ready and is on a stable surface.
• Using the stick blender slowly mix the lye mixture into the oils. You will see immediat reatction.
• Add your frangrance and colorant at light trace. Light Trace can be described as a thin coating that stays on your stick blender. The mixture will start to look thick almost like a thin pudding.
• Once the mixture is like a thick batter or pudding this is trace. Pour into your mold. Some soaper claim that you have to insulate your soap. I have never done this and find that it add no value to the soap.
• Allow your soap to set for at least 24 hours before attempting to remove from the mold. Test the hardness of the soap by using you finger to see if the soap is hard enough to remove from the mold. Cut into bars and let the soap dry for approximatly 4 weeks. Before using, touch the tip of your tounge to the soap. If you feel a zap, most likley the bar still has lye and will be harsh, wait another week. PH strips are also a good choice for testing PH.