Adding Fragrance to Homemade Soap
In a lot of my soap making videos, I simply show myself adding a particular fragrance to the soap without explaining much about the different options there are to making your soap smell like it just came out of a designer spa but at a far cheaper price. In this article I hope to explain some of the basics to adding fragrance to your soap so that you can feel more confident to experiment with your own scents as you join the wonderful community of soapmakers.
There are basically two chances you will have to add fragrance to your soap. The most common way is to add either a fragrance oil or a pure essential oil to your soap. The second way in which to add scent to your soap is to use various aromatic liquids like tea or coffee. There is a third way that is sometimes suggested by adding herbs or flowers to your soap but I have never had much luck with this method and if the cuttings are not heat safe, you will find most of the time they end up being burned by the saponification process.
Crazy Woody Soap
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SAP Table
Posted by David DeLauro
on Saturday, August 15. 2009
at 09:37
in Soap
If you want to figure out--on your own--the amount of lye to use in your soap, you will want to use the SAP a values. A much easier way is to use the Lye Calculator.
To calculate the SAP value for a combination of oils first you need to convert all your measurements into a single unit of measure. For example. A mixture of oils consisting of 2 Lb Olive Oil, 1Lb 4oz Coconut Oil, 12oz Palm Oil will be: 32oz Olive Oil, 20oz Coconut Oil, 12oz Palm Oil.
Next you multiply each weight by the Value in the table for each oil and add them all together. This will be: 32 (0.134) + 20 (0.183) + 12 (0.144) = 9.676
Because SAP values are for sodium hydroxide in this sap table we have to make an adjustment if we are using potassuim hydroxide. To convert simply multiply the figure by 1.4.
Therefore, to produce a fully saponified soap using 2Lb (32oz) Olive Oil: 1Lb 4oz (20oz) Coconut Oil and 12oz of Palm Oil you will need 9.68oz of Sodium Hydroxide.
To superfat your soap, simply discount this figure. To create a 5% discount you multiply the amount of lye by 0.95 (95%).
For most batches of soap you will want to have between 27% and 38% of the total weight as the figure you use to determine the amount of water you are adding. So, in the above case we would figure that the minimum amount of water we want to add would be 64oz * 0.27 = 17.28 oz of water.
Lye Calculator
Posted by David DeLauro
on Thursday, July 9. 2009
at 15:56
in Soap
When making homemade soap it is essential to find out how much lye you need by weight. Using volume could lead to too little lye--a very oily soap--or too much lye--a harsh drying soap. You can use this calculator to determine the quality of soaps as well how much lye and liquid you will need for your soap batch. You can find the lye calculator here: http://www.metaphysicalfarms.com/pages/Lye-Calculator.html
Homemade Soap Making - Cold Process Soap Making
Soap Making Instructions
Since I was a kid I have been playing with chemicals. It started with a chemistry set that was used daily when I was growing up. It morphed into a wonderful baking and cooking career and has landed itself in the world of soap making. I can tell you soap making is easier than baking. So, if you can make a creame-puff rise (or even if you've never set foot in a kitchen) you'll have no problem making your own homemade soap.
The first thing you will want to do is gather all of your equipment. A standard set of soap making tools include:
Summer Forest Soap
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Summer Soap - Molds and Cutting
This is a two part video (because of size restrictions not time) in this first part I go over the different types of molds and things to set them up.
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Part 2:
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Part 2:
Sage and Citrus Soap
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Lavender and Lotus
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Lavender Dreams Soap
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How to Make Soap Cold Process
To Follow is a step-by-step guide for making your own homemade soap. You can find full written instructions on my metaphysicalfarms.com website. Because of the 10minute restrictions on youtube.com I've had to break the video up into two parts. Enjoy making your own homemade soap!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 1
Part 2
Cinnamon and Apples Soap
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Tea Tree and Lavandar Soap
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