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 advanced techniques such as handmilled soap, using milk in your soap, and an introduction to liquid soapmakming.
Making your own recipes
As a beginner, it is useful to stick with the tried and true soap recipes you find in books, over the web, or in this guide. However, once you become more adept at making soap, you may wish to begin testing your own recipes. One option is to use a basic recipe, but to change the ingredients added at trace. For example, you can change the essential oils to one’s that you prefer and add a different exfoliator, substituting almond meal for oatmeal. This is easily done and requires only your imagination.
Recalculating the lye
However, and this is very important, if you change the oils in the recipe — even one — you must recalculate the amount of lye in the soap. You cannot take a recipe and substitute 2 oz jojoba oil where the recipe calls for 2 oz cocoa butter. This is because different oils have different amounts of fatty acids and unsaponifiable material. That means that different amounts of lye are required to produce saponification with different kinds of oil.
It is therefore necessary, when substituting or making up your own recipe, that you recalculate the amount of lye needed for saponification to take place. This is done by using the sap values and the instructions for calculating lye. There are a great many excellent lye calculators available on the web (check the resources section), so no math on your part is actually necessary. Some of them even allow you to name your recipes, list additives and make notes before saving it or printing it for your records.
Selecting your oils
I did take pains to note in the base oil ingredients section the effect of certain oils on the final soap bar, so please review this section again thoroughly before attempting your own recipes. You can't make a soap out of just jojoba oil, the bar will likely not harden and you waon't get it to lather. Likewise, you probably don't want to make a soap bar out of just coconut oil, as the bar will be drying and harsh to the skin. I don't want to discourage you from creating your own recipes, in fact I encourage it, and I have been doing it for years. Just use your accumulated knowledge about soapmaking and be sure write down exactly what you do, (a) so that you can replicate it if it is a sucess, and (b) so that you can tweak it if it seems a little off.
Additives
With regard to additives, the following information is generally true for a one pound batch of soap. Use (but not all at once!):
- ¼ cup of exfoliating substances such as oatmeal, cornmeal, almond meal etc.
- 2 tablespoons dried herbs
- 2 tablespoons of emollients such as warmed honey or glycerin
- 2 tablespoons gel or liquids such as aloe vera and witchhazel
- 1 teaspoon oils such as Vitamin E or Evening Primrose Up to 1 oz essential oil (depending of the strength)
- 2 tablespoons clay, kelp or milk.
- Substituting herbal tea for water in your recipe. Steep the herabl tea of your choice in boiling water. Allow it to cool. Weight out the exact amount necessary for your recipe. Remember, never use hot water when making soap.
- Making an infused oil to use in your soap. Steralize a canning jar in boiling water or by running it through the dishwasher. Add fresh herbs and your base oil of choice. Cover top of jar using cheesecloth and a rubber band. Set in a cool, dark place. Stir or shake gently every day. After 10 days, strain off the herbs and use the infused oil in your soap.
