Story of a Handmade Soap

What is the basic daily chore that you do each and every day? Bathing. And what is the one essential ingredient of bathing (other than water, of course)? Soap. With a variety of soaps in the market today, we are spoilt for choice for what we want. There are soaps made through machines, by hand, naturally, with artificial additives, with natural ingredients of all types- you name it and it is available out there. Such a simple, everyday item has a lot of work that goes into it. Especially if it is handmade. And we realised it after meeting someone who has been making handmade soaps for the last many years. From her we got to know a lot of insights about soap and what additives are good for the body and which ones are just added for the fragrance. Here is an excerpt from her chat with us.

“Soap making can be very simple or as complicated as you like, depending on what material is being used and what size, shape etc. is desired. Once the basic technique is understood and practised” She placed a lot of emphasis on practised “adjustments can be made. Most recipes are well measured and if you stick to it, it is rather simple. It is the experimentation which is difficult- but it is also super fun and has got us our best selling products!” She further adds “There are two methods of making soaps- cold processed and melt-pour. Both methods are equivalent in process and end product. Which process you use is a matter of choice. I mostly make cold process soaps”

On asking about the most key ingredient of soap- “The one thing in homemade soap you can’t substitute is lye” Lye is Sodium hydroxide, which “must be 100% and in crystal form only”. She emphasised further by saying “Some people use drain cleaners or Drano but these substances have metal in them which definitely harms the skin and moreover throws the measurement in disarray. I would never make a soap that can harm someone” But there is a risk with Lye as well. “Lye is caustic. It can make holes in fabric and even cause burns on your skin. That is why gloves, eye protection and a mask are a must while using it. One useful thing to remember is- always add lye to water and not water to lye- and start stirring right away” What she said next made us sit up straight “If the lye clumps on the bottom, it could heat up at once and cause an explosion” But if this is the case, every soap should burn and be explosive! “Once the lye reacts with the oils in soap (Saponification), it gets completely dissolved and in the finished soap, there is no lye”

It is really simple to make soap at home and we are sure a lot of us will try it out. What are the things we should be careful about? “Use equipment that will not be used for cooking. Stainless steel and glass are ideal for mixing bowls. Never use copper or aluminium because they will react with lye and avoid using plastics as they may melt and get absorbed in the soap- leading to harmful effects to users. Spoons of styrofoam or silicone and the moulds can be made of silicone baking pans”

Naturally occurring materials are best for soaps and most of us have read and seen that artificial additives will end up harming our skin. The soap maker speaking to us also feels that natural ingredients are the best. “There are so many options! You could use herbs like lavender, which is so popular these days, or lemongrass or oak moss. But always use a dried form and try not mixing herbs. You could use essential oils from plants as additives or other items which are in vogue- like aloe vera, dry milk powder, ground coffee etc.” But the colour would have to be artificial, isn’t it? “Using natural colours is easy. Cinnamon or cocoa powder gives a brown soap. Powdered chlorophyll gives a green soap. Turmeric powder gives a yellow soap. Beetroot gives a orange-red soap. Although using food colours may not be the best idea as they may not hold too well. But there are other options like black walnut hull which gives purple specks, carrot which gives yellow-orange colour, henna which gives green colour or milk for beige or off-white”

“In addition to colour, a lot of these naturally occurring ingredients have qualities of their own which gets added to soap. Beetroot and green tea powder contain anti-oxidants, carrots contain beta-carotene, chlorophyll has deodorising qualities, coffee and cornmeal are exfoliating and rose is high in vitamin C”

In some simple steps, she depicted the making of handmade soap to us “ First mix the lye with water. Then mix the oils and heat in a microwave. Once the oils and lye- water mix are at 95-105 degrees, they can be mixed together in a separate bowl. If the temperature is lower, then the soap will be crumbly. On mixing, as the mixture becomes lighter in colour and thick, combine the herbs or other additives and pour into moulds. Cover the moulds with plastic wrap and wrap again in a towel. After 24- 36 hours, when the mixture is cold and firm, take it out on parchment paper and cut into whatever shape you like. The soap has to cure for 4 weeks or so with turning every week” After 4 weeks, the soap is ready and needs to be stored in an airtight container. “Hand made soap creates its own glycerin which pulls moisture from the air and can attach dust from the air. So it needs to be wrapped well and kept in an airtight container”

One interesting tip that we got was “If you want to wash the equipment you used, let it sit for several days” Why? “At first, just after preparation, it is all fat and lye- you will struggle washing it and it will burn your hands. After some days, it becomes soap and all it will take to wash is warm water”

Understanding the technique and the useful tips made us understand more about how much technique and finesse goes into making these beautiful, all natural, handmade soaps. The care and passion infused in the soap is definitely commendable and shines through in the end product. As we finished the conversation and walked away with our lavender, coffee and nature blend (chlorophyll and aloe vera) soaps, we at Wudbox couldn’t help but feel awe struck with the skill. Keep going artists!

 

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