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What are the advantages of hot process soap making? - 1) The soap doesn’t need to be insulated since it’s neutral when spooned into the molds. It just needs to cool and harden, which takes one to two hours. 2) Neutral soap is much gentler on dyes and fragrances. You’ll find that both stay “truer.”
The book Making Transparent Soap by Catherine Failor introduce s a simple, hot process technique that can be tailored to any formulation. The steps are as follows:
1. Use two pots for soapmaking.
The first is your soap pot. The other should be a kettle large enough to comfortably contain your soap pot. An enamel 5-gallon canning pot is ideal for most situations. The second kettle will be used as the bottom of a double boiler. Fill it with 3 to 5 inches of water.
2. Stir your soap until traced.
Meanwhile, bring the water in the large kettle to a slow boil.
3. After tracing, place the soap pot inside the kettle.
Keep the water at a gentle boil. If possible, cover the pot to retain heat.
4. Cook your soap for 1 ¾ hours.
During this time, it should become a soft translucent salve. Translucency is a sign that the soap is neutralizing. Briefly stir 2 or 3 times during the cooking to ensure even heat distribution throughout the soap mass.
5. After 1 ¾ hours the soap will be neutral. Add dye and/or fragrance and spoon into molds.
If the soap seems too thick to work with, thin with a few ounces of alcohol. Start with 2 to 3 ounces, gradually adding more if needed. Pure Ethanol, 90 – 99% Isopropyl or Vodka all work well.
When dividing the soap for different fragrances and colors, keep the unused portion hot since it begins hardening as it cools. Hardened soap can be remelted over a double boiler.
Finally, check to see if there are any air pockets in the molded soap. These can be removed by gently tapping the mold on the counter top.
The above information is provided courtesy of www.MilkyWayMolds.com
Click here to check out our selection of Milky Way soap molds.
Georgia Body And Bath Co.
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