Lessons
Our first lesson will include an overview of the course, the history of soapmaking, a brief description of cold process soapmaking, and a glossary of...
Welcome & Course Overview
Overview of Cold Process Soapmaking
History of Soapmaking
Glossary of terms
Bibliography and Student Preparation
Lesson 2: Getting started with soapmaking
This Lesson will cover safety, soapmaking equipment and supplies, and how to make your own soap molds. By the end of this lesson, you will be able...
Safety Guidelines
Equipment and supplies
Making your own soap molds
Bibiography & Student Preparation
Lesson 3: Ingredients
This Lesson covers the essential ingredients of soapmaking: base oils, additives (herbs, essential oils, preservatives etc.) and colorants. I also...
Base Oils
Additives
Colorants
Finding soapmaking ingredients
Storing your ingredients
Animal or Vegetable?
Bibliography & Student Preparation
Lesson 4: Soap Recipes
This lesson contains three of my favorite soap recipes, a basic Castille (olive oil) bar, a body bar and a facial cleansing bar. However, you are...
Basic Castille Soap
Citrus ZING Body Bar
Gentle Facial Bar
Using a lye calculator
Recipe Wrap Up & Preparing to Make Your First Batch of Soap
Bibliography and Student Preparation
Lesson 5: Soapmaking Instructions: Part One
Lessons five and six are meant to be reviewed together as they contain step-by-step soapmaking instructions from start to finish. Review all of the...
Step One: Set Up
Step Two: Prepare the lye/water solution
Step Three: Heat the oils and the fats
Step Four: Combining the oils and the lye/water solution
Step Five: Mixing the soap and achieving trace
Step Six: Additives
Step Seven: Pouring the soap into the mold
Lesson 6: Soapmaking Instructions: Part Two
Lessons five and six are meant to be reviewed together as they contain step-by-step soapmaking instructions from start to finish. Review all of the...
Step Eight: Unmolding your soap
Step Nine: Cutting your soap & finish the curing process
Step Ten: Storing, using and giving your soap
Bibliography and Student Preparation
Lesson 7: Troubleshooting
Much like baking a cake, there are several things that can go wrong during soapmaking. Some problems are merely aesthetic — while they may detract...
Trouble during mixing
Trouble before you unmold
Trouble after you unmold
Testing the pH
Bibliography and student preparation
Lesson 8: Advanced techniques
I begin with some information and advice about developing your own recipes or modifying one's you find to fit your own needs. Finally I cover other...
Making your own recipes
Superfatting your soap
Handmilled Soap
Other Advanced Techniques
Bibliography, Final Wrap Up and Goodbye
