NATURAL SOAPS? BUT HOW AND BY WHAT METHOD?

October 20, 2021

We all know, nowadays thousands of soaps available on the market are manufactured using various types of processes. So we find in various shops, various products ranging from the most aggressive to the softest for the skin, and thus from the most polluting to the most environmentally friendly.

The product obtained by the chemical reaction of saponification is called “soap”. This reaction takes place when a fatty substance and an alkali are mixed:

Alkaline:

(NAOH) Sodium hydroxide (to obtain solid soaps)

(KOH) Potassium hydroxide (to obtain black soaps, cream soaps, liquid soaps)

Fat body :

All vegetable oils and butters as well as animal fat used since time (nowadays we opt more and more for vegetable fats)

SAPONIFICATION (There are two types of saponification):

. Cold saponification (Cold process): this method does not use any external source of heat. The only source of heat involved in the process is that naturally produced by the saponification reaction itself (produced with the interaction of the alkali with the fats)

At the trace (when the consistency of the mixture resembles the texture of mayonnaise) we add selected active ingredients and additives, therefore:

. Dyes: (clays, plants, natural pigments, powdered plants, etc.)

. Aromas: synthetic or natural (essential oils, CO2 extracts, fragrances, etc.)

. Emollients (oils or fats, etc.)

After this step, the product can be poured into moulds, (then unmolded within 24 to 48 hours to be cut). But the saponification has not yet come to an end. Cold process soap needs a period of curing (or drying). During the cure (4 weeks and more), saponification occurs naturally.

(The period of cure, rest or drying is necessary for the soap (cold) to reach its optimal qualities.)

. Hot saponification: this method involves the use of an external heat source, so the paste is literally cooked in order to achieve saponification during the manufacturing process.

With this method, several manufacturing processes can be used:

. So the so-called Marseille method which is done in several stages

Hot mashing (we mix fats and alkalis under a heat source)
Salting out to separate the glycerine
The cooking
Washing
Then the liquidation

And that's how we get the well-known Marseille soap, the bondillons de Marseille as well as the traditional Aleppo soap.

. Another method, hot pasting (hot process)

With hot saponification transparent soaps, liquid soaps, cream soaps and also black soaps can be produced. With this method we also produce very soft soaps of very high quality.

. Another method, soap noodles (mentioned above)

Used by many Marseille soap makers who often work with the cold pressing process . This saves them from carrying out the entire saponification.

. And another method, this also the vegetable nuggets (or not), designed in modern times.

Here, the saponification of fatty acids themselves derived from chemical treatments of fatty substances (commonly used for commercial soaps, for organic soaps or not).

With this method the makers don't heat anything, instead they mix, bulldoze, extrude and then press and cut pieces of soap without any heat source. So it doesn't formulate and it doesn't saponify either.

(From there, he simply practices cold pressing and not cold saponification)

. And then the method of Melt and Pour soaps

This therefore soaps based on glycerin (clear or opaque) which are saponified from vegetable oils and butters, mixed with surfactants and emulsifiers and enriched with emollient agents.

To use ready-to-use Melt bases, you do not need any special equipment or machinery to produce a final product, you just have to melt it, enrich it further with active ingredients, oils and/or butters if desired, perfumes or essential oils, coloring (of your choice), then pour them into moulds.

This method lends itself very well as creative hobbies with children.

CONCLUSION :

In artisanal soap, the soap makers will saponify the fats and will choose them carefully according to the desired virtues and characteristics that they will give to the soaps.

In addition to being surgras (portion of vegetable oils and butters added to the trace) to give bars with exceptional properties for the epidermis that they will keep intact.

Thus we obtain soaps or glycerin produced naturally and fatty substances (oils and butter added to the trace) are always present. This ancestral and artisanal manufacturing method consumes little energy and gives entirely biodegradable soaps!

And there you have it, I hope I have enlightened you a little on the different methods of making soaps. At home, we only use the cold saponification method, and all our soaps are superfatted with vegetable oils and butters. We use no animal fats and our products are never tested on animals, as dictated by law.

Choose products from our craftsmen to choose healthy and quality products, soft for the skin and also for the planet, handcrafted by passionate craftsmen near you.

Thank you for encouraging us, and choosing us for your purchases.

Look for these products at markets and trade fairs, in stores or on the web, and in our store!.

-To get our handmade soaps: https://dayacosmetik.ca/collections/savoirs-saf

-To get our goat milk and donkey milk soaps: https://dayacosmetik.ca/collections/savoirs-a-la-glycerine

For the curious:

https://www.les-franchised.bio/les-autre-methodes-pour-fabriquer-du-savon-avantages-et-inconvenients/