Soap Making Made Easy: Second Edition

Soap Making Made Easy: 2nd Edition

Michelle Gaboya

Copyright © 2012 by SoapMakingAdvice.com

Published by Michelle Gaboya at Smashwords.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Produced in Australia, book design by Horto.

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

What is Soap?

How Does Soap Work?

The Differences Between Hand-Made and Commercial Soap

The History of Soap Making

Tips for Beginners

Basic Ingredients

Deciding on a Recipe

Equipment

Precautions for Working with Lye

The Cold Process Soap Making Method

Other Soap Making Methods

Making Liquid Soap

Stick Blenders vs. Hand Stirring

Superfatting

Batch Codes

Types of Soap Making Oils

Properties of Fatty Acids

Natural Colorants

Other Soap Coloring Options

Sample Recipes

Common Problems and Solutions

Scenting Your Soap

Selling Your Product

Packaging and Presentation

Where to Sell Your Soap

FDA Regulation of Soap

Liability

Glossary

About the author

Special bonus for buying the Soap Making Bible!

Thankyou so much for purchasing Soap Making Made Easy - with over 80 pages covering every aspect of the soap making process, including troubleshooting guides, ingredients, suggestions, packaging, equipment, sample recipes and much more.

As an added bonus, you can visit my website by clicking here to download a free PDF copy of Soap Making Made Easy with beautiful, print friendly pages that you can add your own notes to and personalise even further. Turn my book into your ultimate personal soap making reference guide!

Download this free bonus on my website by clicking here, and if you need any help just write me an email at [email protected] at any time.

Thanks again! Michelle

What is Soap?

Soap is an anionic surfactant which, when mixed with water, is useful for washing and cleaning. It can be made in either bar or liquid forms. In terms of chemistry, soap is a sodium or potassium salt, which is formed via the chemical reaction between an acid and a base. This reaction is commonly known as neutralization.

The oils or fats used in the soap making process combine with sodium hydroxide, or lye, in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the lye, yielding fatty acids and glycerol. Today, traditional soaps are often replaced with synthetic detergents, or other surfactants.

The fats and oils used to make soap are made up of triglycerides. A triglyceride is a molecule that contains three fatty acid molecules, which are attached to one molecule of glycerin. The other major component of soap, lye, is an alkali; or a base (the opposite of an acid, on the pH scale).

There are two major types of lye: sodium hydroxide (NaOH, caustic soda, or potash), and potassium hydroxide (KOH, or caustic potash). Sodium hydroxide is the one typically used when making solid soap bars; potassium hydroxide makes much softer soap, and is sometimes utilized for making liquid soaps, or shaving cream.

The lye reacts with the triglycerides in the fat or oil molecules, and the fatty acids are released from the glycerin, and bind to the lye molecules. Both the alkali and the acids are neutralized. The byproducts of this reaction are a salt (soap) and glycerin.

When the process is complete, there will be a ratio of approximately three soap molecules to every molecule of glycerin. Put another way, glycerin makes up approximately 25% of the finished product that results from the saponification process.

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How Does Soap Work?

Soap acts as an emulsifier, meaning that it allows one substance to be dissolved into another, into which it would not dissolve otherwise. Soil contains grease and oil, which are not water-soluble; however, soap attaches itself to the grease molecules, loosens them, and allows them to dissolve in water, and be rinsed away.

There are three types of energy which must be present in order for soap to work well: chemical energy, thermal energy, and kinetic energy. The chemical energy is provided by the soap, and allows soil that can’t be removed with just water to be loosened from the soiled surface, and suspended within the soap molecules. Thermal energy is provided by using warm or hot water. The third type, kinetic energy, is created by movement – washing machine agitation, or old-fashioned elbow grease.

If any of these elements are missing, the cleansing process will not be as effective; for example, soaking soiled clothing in soapy water, without scrubbing or agitating it, will not get it as clean as if it were put in the washer. Similarly, attempting to remove soil with only water, and no soap, is likely to be ineffective.

Soap molecules have two ends; one is a carboxylate, and the other is a hydrocarbon chain. The carboxylate end of the molecule is hydrophilic (hydro meaning water, philic meaning attracted to), while the hydrocarbon chain is hydrophobic (meaning repelled by water). Nearly all substances are either hydrophilic or hydrophobic; anything that will dissolve in water is considered hydrophilic. Anything that won’t, is considered hydrophobic.

Naturally, oil and water don’t mix, because oil molecules are hydrophobic. Most soil contains some variety of oil, which means that it will not dissolve in water without the help of an emulsifier, such as soap. The hydrophilic end of the soap molecules allows the soap to be water-soluble, despite the oils contained in it. The hydrophobic end is the portion that allows the soap to