The use of a solid soap on a daily basis has ecological and economic advantages compared to the use of a shower gel. The latter is, in fact, made from a greater number of ingredients, some of which are sometimes harmful to the environment and health. Discover some knowledge to acquire to get started in the design of solid soaps!
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The soap is the result of a chemical reaction between a fat body and the welded caustic. In developing your homemade soap, you will use the technique of saponification Cold. This means that the soap paste does not need to be heated. Hot saponification remains a process used by the soap industry. The paste is heated to speed up the chemical reaction.
What material should be needed to make a solid soap?
The making ofa solid soap natural requires a little time, caution and patience. It is also necessary to obtain equipment dedicated to its manufacture. The latter should in no case be reused for obvious reasons of safety. So you will need to equip yourself with:
- an immersion blender;
- a thermometer of the kitchen ;
- a spatula (a flexible spatula);
- two glass salad bowls;
- a cloth ;
- soap molds.
Certain precautions should be taken when handling sodium hydroxide caustic which can give off irritating fumes and is corrosive to the skin. Also, bring:
- gloves ;
- safety glasses ;
- mask ;
- Old clothes.
It is also advisable to ban the tools in iron or in aluminum which give off a gas toxic in contact with caustic soda.
What are the basic ingredients to provide?
Few ingredients go into the composition soap solid. Fats (oil or butter) are the basis. Generally, several oils are mixed together to benefit virtues of each. Know that the quality of the oils used will also condition the quality of your soap. Thus, to make solid soap, it is essential to obtain:
- oil (olive, coconut, sunflowerjojoba…) or butter (shea, cocoa, lawyer…);
- caustic soda;
- some water.
It is also possible to add other oils in the final phase such asalmond gentle, to also incorporate wax bee, essential oils or natural dyes.
A recipe to start
To make about ten soaps, i.e. about 1 kg of final dough, you can start by starting with this recipe:
- 291g olive oil;
- 254 gd’coconut oil ;
- 175 g butter shea.
To fully understand the manufacture of solid soaps, enter this data into a saponification calculator, the quantities of caustic soda and water will be displayed.
What are the phases to respect in the elaboration of a solid soap?
Some recommendations
First, prepare all your equipment for easy access. As far as possible, make your solid soap outdoors and out of reach of children. Protecting the work surface with an old tablecloth is also important.
The recipe possibilities are limitless; also, getting help from an online saponification calculator is essential to create your own soap. It allows to know its acidity, its capacity to foam, its washing power, its hardness… It will tell you the exact weight of caustic soda and water to use in relation to the quantity of oil indicated. Do not hesitate to carry out tests before starting!
The different phases
- The first step is to dissolve the caustic soda in cold water (and not the other way around to avoid the risk of splashing!). Be careful, the temperature of soda quickly approaches 70°C!
- At the same time, mix the oils and butters in a bain-marie in one of the glass bowls.
- When the temperatures of the two mixtures reach less than 40°C, pour the oily mixture into the dissolved caustic soda and operate the mixer. The combination of the two will form the “trace”, a thick mixture.
- If necessary, add additional oils, essential oilsof natural dye and mix again.
- Pour your mixture into the molds and let stand for about 48 hours until the soap hardens.
- Wait 4 to 5 weeks before you can use your solid soap!
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