While I know that I touched on this in what is soap I continue to find false statements being made by so many soap makers about lye, so I felt it needed it's own seperate blog.
What is Lye? Lye is a a caustic alkaline also know as sodium hydroxide or potassium Hydroxide. It is a true base which makes it caustic to the skin in its natural state. But don't let this scare you, as it is a common ingredient in many products you use every day from soap, to glass making and even food preparation.
The most common way to get Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) is from the chlorakali process, a form of desalanization of sea water. But in the past it was created by using wood ash this created a slightly different version of Lye but it was still the same strong base, this Potassium Hydroxide can still be made at home today http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lye.
The difference between Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide is the salt in each mixture that helps to create two unique forms of soap, Sodium Hydroxide is used to make bar soap while Potassium Hydroxide is used to make soft soaps.
Lye because of its alkalinity when mixed with a fat causes the chemical structure to break up and change the properties of the ingredients. The by-product is glycerin and soap.
Since glycerin is a very sought after byproduct some large companies remove it from their bar soaps and re-sell it as a single product or in the form of glycerin soap.
Lye might sound scary and while it does require extra care in it's natural form it is not dangerous or bad in a high quality soap, in fact, because of the process of saponication (the term for the chemical reaction between the fats and lye) if done correctly the Lye no longer chemically remains in the final soap.
Don't let some people scare you -- Lye is a great ingredient that has gotten a bum wrap. Also know that without it you can not have soap, instead you only have a detergent bar. Now enjoy some homemade, well crafted soap in the knowledge that this great product is a part of our history.
Showing posts with label The What is Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The What is Series. Show all posts
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
What is Soap? Part Two
In my first part, I described the history of soap and some of the processes by which soap is made. In this second part, I will go into further details in the soap making process by explaining three (3) different types of soap making processes: cold process, hot process and “melt and pour” (commonly called glycerin soap).
Cold process and hot process are both traditional ways of making soap. These two types of soap making are very similar in how the ingredients are used and mixed, but the curing process is much different. Both of these types of soap making would be recognizable to people from the past as they have changed little.
To begin, you need to choose your fats. These days, most fats are from some form of plant oils, such as olive, soybean or coconut oils. Each kind of fat has a “saponifiable rating” -- how much of the fat will turn to soap in the process. Some oils have what are called “unsaponifiables” – some parts of that fat will not change to soap in the process. You would typically use oils with unsaponifiables to superfat the recipe. Superfatting, as you will recall from my prior article, means that these oils will stay behind to moisturize the skin. Most soap makers work between 5%-10% superfatting when making modern soap.
After you have designed the oil balance of your soap, to create the desired, hardness, conditioning, foaming and more, a calculator is used to determine the amount of Lye needed for the mixture. Again soap makers work from either a mixture of 100% soap (a even balance of fats to lye) or a superfatted soap that would put the soap as lower then 100% to the fats, to add to the moisturizing properties of the soap.
A liquid is added to help start the processing of the lye and this liquid can be just about anything. Some liquids require extra preparation before being ready to use, such as alcohols (wine and beer, etc.). Most commonly used liquids are water, tea, or various milk products.
After the ingredients are gathered, they are mixed together. At this point, cold and hot processing begin to diverge. Lye, when mixed with liquid, produces a large amount of heat. In hot process, the soap maker mixes and works with the lye in this superhot state and cold process makers let the mixture sit out and cool to a more reasonable temperature. The mixture is blended by hand (or with a stick blender) until it reaches a stage called “trace”. This is the point in the process when the lye and fats start to change into soap.
A hot process maker puts the mixture into the oven to begin the curing process. Curing in an oven (which is why it is known as hot process) can be finished in as little as 45 minutes. The soap can be heated in the mold or placed in molds after the process is finished. Typically scents and additives are added as the soap is molded. The great part of Hot Process soap is that it is ready to us as soon as it is removed from the oven, it also typically requires less fragrance then cold process, but is not usually as “pretty” as cold process soaps. Crock Pot soap making is done in a very similar manner.
Once the trace stage happens for a cold process maker, the mixture is placed into the molds directly. This is when cold process makers add their additives and fragrances (and many soap makers also like to add color additives and do a process called swirling that leaves colored streaks throughout the soap). The soap is left to process in the covered mold for several weeks. The hot process uses heat to accelerate the curing process – the cold process maker lets the natural heat build over time to finish the curing process. During this stage for cold makers, the soap is not safe to handle without protection. Once it is done curing, the soap is safe and ready to cut and use. Cold Process is tough for those who are impatient as it takes time to have a finished product, but when finished it is a very attractive, well scented, bar of homemade soap.
Melt and Pour also know as Glycerin soap is a completely different process than hot and cold process. It is typically done to create a certain look, quickly and easily. It is called melt and pour because the soap is designed to be heated and poured into molds after any additives, colors, and fragrances are added to the base.
It is called Glycerin soap since the most common additive is Glycerin, which helps to add to the texture, melt-ability and to help add conditioning properties to the soap base. An interesting fact is that most mass-produced soaps have their natural glycerin squeezed out of it and then the large soap makers sell the resulting glycerin to make melt and pour soap.
The base typically is a mixture of soap, most common Coconut oil or Palm Oil which are known for their hardness and nice lather they add to a bar of soap. In some bases additives are added such as Glycerin, Sodium Stearate, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, and Sodium Chloride most of these ingredients are added to preserve, add longer lasting lather, to make the soap clear and to help it re-melt in the beautiful way only melt and pour can. These ingredients vary depending on who makes the base.
Some bases are also called detergent bars as they contain no “soap”, instead detergents such as Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), are mixed with other ingredients for a product that works just like soap but contains no naturally occurring Glycerin, just the Glycerin typically added to the base.
How to tell if the base you are using is “soap” or “detergent” is simple -- look for the word saponificated oils, the saponified names of oils such as Sodium Palmate (Palm Oil), Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil) or Sodium Tallowate (Tallow or Animal Fat) and or sodium hydroxide/potassium hydroxide. If you see any of these terms you are using a soap based product. If you do not, it is a detergent bar.
Melt and Pour has become very popular recently as it is very simple to work with and so attractive to use. Unlike standard soaps, it is easy to create very bright colors, wild designs and to imbed items such as ducks, balls, toys and more, since you can see through the soaps. This makes it a fun soap for kids. The downside is some blends can be very harsh to dry skin and people with some skin conditions, users should research the ingredients in each bar to make sure they will work for you, each blend is different so not all work for everyone and this type of soap dissolves much faster then Hot or Cold Processed soaps.
Cold process and hot process are both traditional ways of making soap. These two types of soap making are very similar in how the ingredients are used and mixed, but the curing process is much different. Both of these types of soap making would be recognizable to people from the past as they have changed little.
To begin, you need to choose your fats. These days, most fats are from some form of plant oils, such as olive, soybean or coconut oils. Each kind of fat has a “saponifiable rating” -- how much of the fat will turn to soap in the process. Some oils have what are called “unsaponifiables” – some parts of that fat will not change to soap in the process. You would typically use oils with unsaponifiables to superfat the recipe. Superfatting, as you will recall from my prior article, means that these oils will stay behind to moisturize the skin. Most soap makers work between 5%-10% superfatting when making modern soap.
After you have designed the oil balance of your soap, to create the desired, hardness, conditioning, foaming and more, a calculator is used to determine the amount of Lye needed for the mixture. Again soap makers work from either a mixture of 100% soap (a even balance of fats to lye) or a superfatted soap that would put the soap as lower then 100% to the fats, to add to the moisturizing properties of the soap.
A liquid is added to help start the processing of the lye and this liquid can be just about anything. Some liquids require extra preparation before being ready to use, such as alcohols (wine and beer, etc.). Most commonly used liquids are water, tea, or various milk products.
After the ingredients are gathered, they are mixed together. At this point, cold and hot processing begin to diverge. Lye, when mixed with liquid, produces a large amount of heat. In hot process, the soap maker mixes and works with the lye in this superhot state and cold process makers let the mixture sit out and cool to a more reasonable temperature. The mixture is blended by hand (or with a stick blender) until it reaches a stage called “trace”. This is the point in the process when the lye and fats start to change into soap.
A hot process maker puts the mixture into the oven to begin the curing process. Curing in an oven (which is why it is known as hot process) can be finished in as little as 45 minutes. The soap can be heated in the mold or placed in molds after the process is finished. Typically scents and additives are added as the soap is molded. The great part of Hot Process soap is that it is ready to us as soon as it is removed from the oven, it also typically requires less fragrance then cold process, but is not usually as “pretty” as cold process soaps. Crock Pot soap making is done in a very similar manner.
Once the trace stage happens for a cold process maker, the mixture is placed into the molds directly. This is when cold process makers add their additives and fragrances (and many soap makers also like to add color additives and do a process called swirling that leaves colored streaks throughout the soap). The soap is left to process in the covered mold for several weeks. The hot process uses heat to accelerate the curing process – the cold process maker lets the natural heat build over time to finish the curing process. During this stage for cold makers, the soap is not safe to handle without protection. Once it is done curing, the soap is safe and ready to cut and use. Cold Process is tough for those who are impatient as it takes time to have a finished product, but when finished it is a very attractive, well scented, bar of homemade soap.
Melt and Pour also know as Glycerin soap is a completely different process than hot and cold process. It is typically done to create a certain look, quickly and easily. It is called melt and pour because the soap is designed to be heated and poured into molds after any additives, colors, and fragrances are added to the base.
It is called Glycerin soap since the most common additive is Glycerin, which helps to add to the texture, melt-ability and to help add conditioning properties to the soap base. An interesting fact is that most mass-produced soaps have their natural glycerin squeezed out of it and then the large soap makers sell the resulting glycerin to make melt and pour soap.
The base typically is a mixture of soap, most common Coconut oil or Palm Oil which are known for their hardness and nice lather they add to a bar of soap. In some bases additives are added such as Glycerin, Sodium Stearate, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid, and Sodium Chloride most of these ingredients are added to preserve, add longer lasting lather, to make the soap clear and to help it re-melt in the beautiful way only melt and pour can. These ingredients vary depending on who makes the base.
Some bases are also called detergent bars as they contain no “soap”, instead detergents such as Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES), are mixed with other ingredients for a product that works just like soap but contains no naturally occurring Glycerin, just the Glycerin typically added to the base.
How to tell if the base you are using is “soap” or “detergent” is simple -- look for the word saponificated oils, the saponified names of oils such as Sodium Palmate (Palm Oil), Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil) or Sodium Tallowate (Tallow or Animal Fat) and or sodium hydroxide/potassium hydroxide. If you see any of these terms you are using a soap based product. If you do not, it is a detergent bar.
Melt and Pour has become very popular recently as it is very simple to work with and so attractive to use. Unlike standard soaps, it is easy to create very bright colors, wild designs and to imbed items such as ducks, balls, toys and more, since you can see through the soaps. This makes it a fun soap for kids. The downside is some blends can be very harsh to dry skin and people with some skin conditions, users should research the ingredients in each bar to make sure they will work for you, each blend is different so not all work for everyone and this type of soap dissolves much faster then Hot or Cold Processed soaps.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
What is Soap? Part One
In my two part article, I will give some details as to the history of soap, the soap making process and how soap is made today.
The first part will be what it takes to make soap, the different types of soap and how soap is being made today. The second part will be discussing the differences between melt and pour, hot process and cold process soap making.
The history of soap, and soap making, goes back as early as pre-historic times. It is believed that soap was originally discovered when animal fats were cooked in pots over large fires. Ash from the fire would get into the cooking pots as the contents were cooked and stirred. Then, when water was used to rinse the pots, strange foam would appear that left the pots cleaner. Records of soap used to clean wool and cotton for textile making can be found with the Babylonians around 2800 BCE and the Phoenicians around 600 BCE. Personal washing with soap did not become popular until the Roman Era.
Early soaps were made of animal fats and wood ash. Many plants and wood, when burned, naturally create a form of potassium hydroxide (KOH). This, when mixed with fats, creates a very soft soap in comparison to what we use today. This was the standard recipe for years in most areas of the world. The Egyptians and Spanish used a local sodium alkali from deposits of soda or burned seaweed. Nicolas Leblanc changed the soap making process drastically in the first part of the 19th by implementing the procedure for creating sodium hydroxide from a brine solution in factories. This process was so important that it still bears his name – the Leblanc process.
Bar soap is still made to this day with this solution of Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic soda or lye, is a strong base created from electrolysis of brine sea water as a co-product of chlorine. Sodium Hydroxide can be dangerous as it is a strong caustic material in its base state; however, when mixed with fats in the proper proportions, its chemical properties are changed and soap is the result.
Soap is created when there a reaction occurs between triglycerides (fats), water and a base (lye, with its high pH, works well). In a process known as saponification, the fats break down (hydrolyzed) and, among other things, glycerin is left behind.
A balanced mixture will chemically change all the fats and lye to soap and glycerin with neither fat nor lye left behind. It is more common with today’s homemade soap makers to do what is called superfatting. Superfatting is when more fats are mixed with the lye in order to leave part of the fats behind. Correctly made soap never has lye left behind and is, therefore, completely safe for the skin.
Soft or Liquid soaps of today are created much the same way but use the earlier mixture of Potassium Hydroxide as it creates a much softer soap. Other ingredients can also be added for texture, foaming, and clarity.
Many products purchased in the grocery store today are actually not soap, most are what is called a detergent bar. They may or may not contain actual soap but most of the ingredients are actually a mix of detergents, foaming agents and other ingredients.
True soap always includes the same basic ingredients, fats from some animal or plant source, sodium hydroxide/potassium hydroxide and liquid. Though many, many combinations of fats, liquids, additives and scents exist, the basic recipe will always be the same. In the next article we will discuss the differences that make soap unique and how different soaps are made.
The first part will be what it takes to make soap, the different types of soap and how soap is being made today. The second part will be discussing the differences between melt and pour, hot process and cold process soap making.
The history of soap, and soap making, goes back as early as pre-historic times. It is believed that soap was originally discovered when animal fats were cooked in pots over large fires. Ash from the fire would get into the cooking pots as the contents were cooked and stirred. Then, when water was used to rinse the pots, strange foam would appear that left the pots cleaner. Records of soap used to clean wool and cotton for textile making can be found with the Babylonians around 2800 BCE and the Phoenicians around 600 BCE. Personal washing with soap did not become popular until the Roman Era.
Early soaps were made of animal fats and wood ash. Many plants and wood, when burned, naturally create a form of potassium hydroxide (KOH). This, when mixed with fats, creates a very soft soap in comparison to what we use today. This was the standard recipe for years in most areas of the world. The Egyptians and Spanish used a local sodium alkali from deposits of soda or burned seaweed. Nicolas Leblanc changed the soap making process drastically in the first part of the 19th by implementing the procedure for creating sodium hydroxide from a brine solution in factories. This process was so important that it still bears his name – the Leblanc process.
Bar soap is still made to this day with this solution of Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic soda or lye, is a strong base created from electrolysis of brine sea water as a co-product of chlorine. Sodium Hydroxide can be dangerous as it is a strong caustic material in its base state; however, when mixed with fats in the proper proportions, its chemical properties are changed and soap is the result.
Soap is created when there a reaction occurs between triglycerides (fats), water and a base (lye, with its high pH, works well). In a process known as saponification, the fats break down (hydrolyzed) and, among other things, glycerin is left behind.
A balanced mixture will chemically change all the fats and lye to soap and glycerin with neither fat nor lye left behind. It is more common with today’s homemade soap makers to do what is called superfatting. Superfatting is when more fats are mixed with the lye in order to leave part of the fats behind. Correctly made soap never has lye left behind and is, therefore, completely safe for the skin.
Soft or Liquid soaps of today are created much the same way but use the earlier mixture of Potassium Hydroxide as it creates a much softer soap. Other ingredients can also be added for texture, foaming, and clarity.
Many products purchased in the grocery store today are actually not soap, most are what is called a detergent bar. They may or may not contain actual soap but most of the ingredients are actually a mix of detergents, foaming agents and other ingredients.
True soap always includes the same basic ingredients, fats from some animal or plant source, sodium hydroxide/potassium hydroxide and liquid. Though many, many combinations of fats, liquids, additives and scents exist, the basic recipe will always be the same. In the next article we will discuss the differences that make soap unique and how different soaps are made.
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