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3 Steps To Get Started With Soap Making

This document provides a 3-step guide to getting started with making soap from sustainable and low-waste materials. Step 1 explains how to gather tools and ingredients while reusing and reducing waste. Most tools can be found second-hand or are likely already in the kitchen. Ingredients should aim for sustainable packaging when possible. Step 2 outlines essential safety, precision, and patience needed for soap making. Step 3 defines key formulation terms like superfatting and water discounts that are important for creating custom soap recipes using tools like Soap Calc. The document encourages learning more through the author's website and online courses.

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Fitri Annum
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
182 views

3 Steps To Get Started With Soap Making

This document provides a 3-step guide to getting started with making soap from sustainable and low-waste materials. Step 1 explains how to gather tools and ingredients while reusing and reducing waste. Most tools can be found second-hand or are likely already in the kitchen. Ingredients should aim for sustainable packaging when possible. Step 2 outlines essential safety, precision, and patience needed for soap making. Step 3 defines key formulation terms like superfatting and water discounts that are important for creating custom soap recipes using tools like Soap Calc. The document encourages learning more through the author's website and online courses.

Uploaded by

Fitri Annum
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3 Steps to Get

Started
My 3 exact steps on how to start making
soap & formulate your own vegan, palm
oil free recipes that will help you reduce
waste!
Tools
What tools do we need to start making
soap, and how do I get these tools
without producing extra waste? 

1) use what you have

Making soap doesn't require any fancy


or expensive tools and equipments and
most of the stuff you need to start it's
very likely already in your kitchen. Just
make sure that if you are converting a
kitchen tool into a soap making tool, you
don't use if for food anymore.

2) buy second hand

Many tools are very easy to find in


second hand shops, car boot sales or
even on online websites selling second
hand stuff! If you are struggling to find
second hand items, check out your local
department store as they will likely have
a section with tools, and most of these
will likely come already unpackaged. For
example, I picked up my large soap
making stockpot as well as a few
silicone spatulas from IKEA.

3) reuse, reuse, reuse

Try to get everything reusable: look into


durable and lye-safe materials such as
stainless steel or pyrex glass. For soap
moulds I recommend silicone moulds as
they are easy to use, wash and you can
reuse them for a very long time. I would
avoid using wood or plastic because
over time lye will damage them.

STEP 1
LEARN HOW TO GET
STARTED: TOOLS &
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients
In soap making you could use a
variety of oils, depending on the
qualities you wish to achieve in your
soap. When I first started soap
making, I really wanted to experiment
with any oil available because I was
so curious to find out what property
every single oil could give to my
soap!

After doing this for a while, I realized


that this practice was not necessarily
that sustainable. Remember,
simplicity is key! You can obtain a
wonderful soap with just 2, 3, 4 oils
or even 1 oil! This can help you
control better the waste you are
producing. When I first started, I was
creating these very complex recipes
with so many oils but then I ended up
realising that sometimes, using less is
better.

Another major obstacles you may


encounter when learning how to
make soap is packaging. My advice is
to go look for oils and butters that in
your country come in more
sustainable packaging than plastic.
Try to find ingredients packaged in
cardboard, tin or glass. Whenever this
is not possible, try to buy the
ingredient in bigger quantities. For
example, as opposed to get 1 L of
castor oil, get a 5 L batch. When
doing so, make sure the oil you are
buying in a larger quantity has a
longer shelf life.

STEP 1
LEARN HOW TO GET
STARTED: TOOLS &
INGREDIENTS
STEP 2
WHAT EVERY SOAP MAKER
MUST KNOW BEFORE
MAKING SOAP

BE SAFE BE PRECISE BE PATIENT

It is essential for every soap Each soap making ingredients, When making soap using the cold
maker to follow some essential whether liquid or solid, is process method, there is no
safety measures. Cold process alway measured in weight and not added heat in this process,
soap involves handling sodium volume. This is because different therefore, the soap will maintain
hydroxide, also called lye, which is oils might have very different the essential qualities of the
a very caustic material. When in weights even if they cover the ingredients used. Because we are
contact with water, sodium same volume. For example, castor soaping at medium-low
hydroxide can burn down tissues oil is such a heavy and thick liquid temperatures, any water used to
very easily. But don't worry: just which will weight much more than prepare the lye solution will need
like driving, if you take the sweet almond oil, even though to evaporate before the soap can
necessary safety measures, soap they will both cover the same be used. This is why this methods
making is safe. Check the next volume when poured at the same requires a long “curing” time of
page for the steps you must quantity. Soap making is truly a about 4-6 weeks before the soap
follow to safely make soap. precision game! In the next page I can be used.
will give you some tips on how to
be precise when making soap.
SOAP MAKERS
ESSENTIALS
Cheatsheet

BE SAFE BE PRECISE
Wear safety googles, gloves Use a high precision digital scale to
Wear long sleeves and long pants weight the ingredients in
Prepare the lye solution in a well grams/ounces
ventilated area or next to a window Keep the work area tidy
Always, always add the lye to the Weight all the ingredients in advance
water and never the opposite Respect the correct soaping
Wear a respirator or hold your breath temperatures
when preparing the lye solution Be focused and ready when mixing
Keep children and pets away when soap so you can control trace (which
handling lye and raw soap determines when the soap is ready to
be poured)

BE PATIENT
Allow your soap to sleep in the mould
for at least 24 hours
Let the soap cure for at least 4 weeks,
always better if 6 weeks or more
STEP 3
FORMULATE!

If you want to learn how to make your own


soap, there are a few terms which are very
specific to soap making that you need to first
understand fully. These terms are used to
describe the way a soap maker decides to
handle the recipe to create a particular soap.

Superfatting

Every oil has a unique saponification value -


the SAP value. This value determines the
amount of sodium hydroxide necessary to
transform the oil into soap. If you use less
sodium hydroxide than what the recipe calls
for, you can obtain a more moisturising - or to
better say - "superfatted" soap.

Water Discounts

Sodium Hydroxide is normally formed by


small granules or flakes and needs to be
dissolved into a liquid in order to form a “lye
solution”. The liquid doesn't necessarily need
to be water, but you could also use different
liquids such as milks, aloe vera, tea, herbal
infusions to name a few. In order to formulate your own recipes you need
to learn how to use Soap Calc.
Technically there is no maximum amount of
water you could use, but the more water you Soap Calc is free online tool where you can just
use, the softer the soap and the longer it will plug in the your formulation to then obtain a
need to cure. Whatever liquid you are using, calculation of the exact quantities of ingredients
remember that lye cannot dissolve itself into a you need to use to achieve your desired result.
solution smaller than its weight.
Click here to discover Soap Calc*
You can however apply what it’s called a
“water discount”. This simply means * a detailed step by step guide on how to use
deducting some water to whatever your Soap Calc is included in my online course Soap
recipe is calling for. Keep in mind that every Making for Zero Wasters
bit of water in your soap will need to
evaporate for the soap to become mild and
usable. A standard cure time is 4-6 weeks.
FORMULATION
TERMS

SAP SUPERFATTING
Saponification Value Removing some sodium
Determines the amount of hydroxide from the amount
sodium hydroxide required to required to completely transform
transform oil into soap the oil into soap so that the soap
becomes milder and more
nourishing

WATER DISCOUNT
Reducing the water amount used
to dissolve sodium hydroxide so
that the soap becomes harder
faster and you can also shorten
its cure time 
(not) THE END!
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E-SCHOOL
Soap Making for Zero Wasters

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