Soapmaking 101

Lesson 6: Soapmaking Instructions: Part Two

Step Nine: Cutting your soap & finish the curing process

To cut the soap into bars, use a strong, non-serrated knife. Some people use this knife just for soapmaking, but it can be washed thoroughly and used in your kitchen. Wash it with lots of hot soapy water. You can also use a professional soap cutter. Some molds come with a built in slicing guide which can be very helpful in producing evenly sized bars.

You should continue to use your rubber gloves at this point. However, although the soap is still caustic and could burn your skin, unless you have gone terribly wrong somewhere, it should only be a little caustic and would cause redness and itchiness if it were to get on your skin. The saponification process is almost complete!

After you slice your soap to the desired size, place the bars about ½ an inch apart on your curing tray. Your soaps will need to cure for two weeks minimum. Some recipes tell you the curing time for a particular soap and it can take up to six weeks. Curing is necessary to reduce the ph level of the soap and for the water in the soap to evaporate. Cure your soap for as long as possible. The ph of your soap after the curing process should be about 9. You can test the ph of your soap using ph strips. The soap will shrink as it cures because of water evaporation.

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