How to cook soap from scratch in a cold way

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Before you start make soap from scratch in a cold way Learn the safety requirements for making soap from scratch. If you do not have a ready-made recipe, calculate it using a soap calculator from scratch.

Make soap cold possible in 1-2 hours. This process involves several steps:
1. Preparation of alkaline solution
2. Preparation of oily base
3. Mixing alkali and oil (trace stage)
4. The gel phase
5. Saponification of oils

Let's consider in more detail all stages.

1. Preparation of alkaline solution

The most responsible and dangerous stage. Using a soap calculator, determine the right amount of alkali and water. Work slowly, accurately and accurately. Evenly measure the required amount of alkali - this is very important, especially with small volumes of soap. We measure out the required amount of water or broth. The liquid can be previously cooled in the freezer so that the alkali warms up more slowly.

If you use milk, be sure to freeze it, otherwise when mixed with alkali, the reaction will be strong and very unpleasant to the smell.

Lay a paper towel under a jar of alkali and scales. Put the necessary amount of alkali with a porcelain spoon in a container (disposable cup), use the balance with the greatest accuracy. Work carefully. After wrapping a spoon in a paper towel and put in the sink.

Prepare dishes with cold water or place a glass with measured liquid in the sink and turn on cold water (the stream should be far from the glass). Now, carefully, constantly stirring the solution, pour ALKALINE IN WATER. FACE SHOULD BE FAR FROM A GLASS. During the reaction, vapors are released which are forbidden to breathe! Make sure that fumes do not get on the skin either (if they do, rinse with a weak solution of citric acid or vinegar, then with plenty of water).

If lumps are observed in the solution, strain through cheesecloth.

If you use silk, then add it to dissolve at this stage.

2. Preparation of oily base

Measure out the required amount of oil and wax, put in a glass pan (this is best done before working with alkali). Make a water bath or melt solid oils in the microwave. Melt until small pieces are formed. Remove from the bath, it is better if the oils do not melt completely. Due to the temperature obtained, they "reach". Add liquid oils at the end. If using wax, only cool the oil with stirring!

3. Mixing alkali and oil

Measure the temperature of the oil and alkali. The optimum mixing temperature is 30-40 degrees. Alkali and oil should be at the same temperature, otherwise the mass will delaminate when mixed. Use a laboratory thermometer.

Now it's time to pour the alkaline solution into the oil. Pour gently while stirring with a wooden spoon. We place a glass with the remains of alkali in the sink. After pouring the alkali, the mass becomes cloudy. Keep stirring until the soap reaches the “trace” state. You can use a blender, but only when the mass has cooled more or less (blender overheating is possible).

As soon as a good thick track appears, you can make additives: color, essential oils, herbal powders and others. You can divide the mass into several and make different additives to get a layered soap.

Prepare a mold for soap: put a film or grease with liquid paraffin. Put the soap in the mold. Now wrap the soap in a towel.

4. The gel phase

If the soap is on milk, honey, chocolate, silk, then skip this step and put it in a cold place to maintain a white color and not form a greasy layer of oil.

If there are no such components, then preheat the oven to 50 degrees and turn it off. Now put there a mold with soap to go through the gel stage.

The gel phase is a chemical reaction with the release of heat. The mass heats up and becomes darker, the alkali combines with fat. The gel phase is needed to accelerate the process of saponification of oils and hardening. Insulation of soap (wrapping in towels) contributes to the gel phase. Without this phase, the soap will be softer and lighter, but it will still be soap.

During the gel formation process, do not touch or poke soap, it is liquid and hot.

5. Saponification of oils (ripening soap)

After the soap has passed the gel stage (it takes several hours), remove it from the oven and let it harden for a day. Then take out the soap and cut into pieces. Put on a wooden board and cover with something. Now leave the soap to ripen and dry for 3-7 weeks.

After 3-7 weeks, the pH of the soap returns to normal (use a pH meter for control), it becomes soft and gentle, but at the same time solid. The longer the soap is aged, the better its consumer qualities. It will not dry the skin. Soap can dry out if a lot of water was originally used.

How to prevent mistakes in the manufacture of soap from scratch, 8 errors in the manufacture of soap from scratch

Soap from scratch in a cold way: advantages and disadvantages

The process of cold soap making takes less time than the preparation of soap in a hot way. But the cold method has its own nuances. So, its advantages include:

smooth, even surface of soap (unlike hot cooking),
ample opportunities for decorating soap (for example, swirls that cannot be done with the hot method),
preparing soap from scratch in a cold way takes 0.5-2 hours (hot soap making requires additional cooking in a water bath or in an oven, which can take 4-6 hours).

But do not immediately rejoice, because the cold method also has disadvantages, for some it’s even quite significant:

after cooking, you need to give the soap some time to reach readiness (about 3-6 weeks),
it is impossible to control which oil will act as a fat.

If you are a patient esthete, then this method of soap making is quite suitable for you. If it doesn’t matter to you how beautiful the soap will turn out, and its usefulness and hygienic function are paramount for you, then you can choose any of the methods - both cold and hot.

How to cook soap: safety precautions for soap making

Before making soap from scratch, regardless of the cooking method, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with safety precautions, since work with alkali is expected. Since this substance, when dissolved in water, forms vapors, the ingress of which on the skin, in the respiratory tract or in the eyes can cause burns, it will be necessary to stock up in advance:

respirator
safety glasses
gloves
a hat
old robe (with long sleeves),
vinegar.

Before starting to cook soap, the working surface must be covered with newspapers or polyethylene - after completing the preparation of soap they must be discarded. It is also recommended to use dishes that will not be mixed with food in the future. But washing it is also necessary. Keep alkali away from children and pets.

Important! When mixing alkali with water, it is necessary to add alkali to water, not water to alkali! When the alkali is mixed with water, the solution heats up sharply!

Before adding alkali, you need to make sure that the liquids have cooled to a similar temperature in the alkaline solution. Otherwise, your kitchen knows, roughly speaking, the consequences of a volcanic eruption.

In case alkali enters the skin, a 10% solution of purchased vinegar will help neutralize the effects. breed it in advance. In addition, it will also be needed to clean appliances.

Keep in mind that, even when in protective equipment, you do not need to lean close over the tank with alkali - its vapors are dangerous. You should not conduct the soap making procedure in a closed room - it is better to leave the window open or, in extreme cases, turn on the hood. At the end of soap making, wash dishes, a table and floors with vinegar, and then wash with water.

How to cook soap: cooking features

Solid and liquid oils are measured separately. The solid must first be melted, but not brought to a boil.
After dissolving the alkali in a liquid, it is recommended to filter the solution to avoid ingress of insoluble grains of alkali into the mixture.
Solid oils are added to liquid oils only after they are completely melted.
It is necessary to control the temperature ratio of oils and alkaline solution - it should be approximately the same (an error of +/– 1-2 ° C is allowed).
Permissible temperature of fats and alkalis is 30-70 ° С.
Mixing oils and alkaline solution is carried out using a blender.

Attention! Do not use the blender, which will interfere with the soap mixture, for cooking! See above the section "How to cook soap: safety precautions for soap making".

Make swirls (if such a process is planned) is necessary in the first stages of the “trace” stage (the moment when the mixture flows off the blender, forming visible traces on the surface that look like patterns). The next stage of the “trace”, when the mixture does not flow at all from the blender, will no longer allow making soap with swirls:
Flavors, dyes, etc. are added to the soap mass after the onset of the “trace” stage.
The mixture poured into the form must be set aside in a warm place (for example, in a preheated and turned off oven), wrapped with a film and a towel.
During the “gel” stage (heating the mixture, discoloration, appearance of transparency) you do not need to touch the soap with your hands - there is a risk of getting burned.
When there is no need to go through the gel phase of soap (for example, when preparing milk soap to preserve white color), the mixture does not need to be sent to the oven, but rather, put in the cold.
If the soap was poured into one large mold (i.e., sliced), and not, for example, into silicone molds for soap, then the soap should be removed after 24 hours and cut into pieces, then covered with a cloth and placed in a ventilated area to complete the saponification stage .
Finally, soap from scratch in a cold way will do in 3-6 weeks, after which it will be ready for use.