Cold Process, Hot Process, and Melt & Pour

I was chatting last night on an Etsy board, and the question came up, "what's the difference between cold process and hot process?" Another soaper claimed that hot process is milder and has a better lather. I avoid the drama llama, so I kept my fat mouth shut, but that wasn't entirely accurate, and I thought I might bring my soapy experience, and my science degree here and shine some light on this. Most soapers think of soap making as: lye + fatty acids = soap + glycerin. But there's another ingredient, and that is heat. Heat is a product of this chemical reaction, but heat can also be added or conserved by insulation to speed up this reaction. In cold process soap, no extra heat is applied to the emulsified lye, water, and oils. This process can take a very long time. A cold process soap with milk, for example, will darken if heat is allowed to stay in the process, because the milk cooks, caramelizing the milk sugars. For that reason, many milk soapers will even refrigerate the soap to prevent this. But this soap may take as long as six weeks to fully saponify.
With a hot process soap, heat is added, and saponification may be complete within an hour. It doesn't make this soap any more gentle, it just makes it gentle faster. Much faster. Also, it evaporates most of the water from the product, making the bar harden faster. A fresh hot process soap, cured for one week, will lather better than a six week old cold process bar. The reason for this is that this fresh hot process bar still has a higher water content than the fully cured cold process bar. Soap salts have to dissolve in water before they will lather, and the fresh HP bar is already partially dissolved. A six week old HP bar and a six week old CP bar made with the same recipe will have the same lather - and the CP bar, being more porous may even lather better, as it will dissolve in water easier.
So, HP is not more gentle than CP, and does not lather any better. These are properties of your formula. Gentleness is kind of a vague term - it may indicate pH, superfatting percentage, or how much the soap dissolves the oils on the surface of your skin. If a soap has a high percentage of coconut oil, it may feel like it's harsh, because it does remove your skin's oils very well. A lard soap may feel very gentle, if it's been superfatted up to 8%.
And what about melt & pour, what makes it different? Well, melt and pour soap is prepared with a hot process method, with an added alcohol such as sorbitol (which is a long chain alcohol that does not evaporate and dry the skin) used to dissolve the soap salt into a solution which will solidify at room temperature, but will remelt at a relatively low temperature because of the added glycerin, with no additional fluid added. To melt a regular HP or CP soap, you have to heat it to over 140 degrees, and have added liquid to dissolve fully. A melt and pour soap will melt at temps around 100 degrees, with a nice pourable consistency. Making melt and pour soap from scratch is frankly, a pain in the ass. Many high quality melt and pour bases are available, and they are relatively inexpensive, and very safe to work with - no lye! Some bases even have added detergents, making their lather very bubbly, but a bit more drying.
So that's the truth. The process you decide to use for soap making will highly affect what additives you can use, how much and what type of fragrances to add, and what pigments as well. But it's all soap, and the formula is what makes it lather, clean, or condition - not the process.

Make Your Own Soap Balls

You don't have to be a soap maker to make beautiful handcrafted soaps for gifts. For this project, all you need is to save up your soap scraps, it's super easy.

Materials:
One quart sized zip lock bag full of soap bits, scraps, shavings, or grated bar soap. Can be any kind of soap, including melt and pour, cold process, hot process, or plain soap from the store.
1/2 cup distilled water (you can add a few drops of essential oil with this, if you'd like a scent to bring the different scents together, or 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, but this will discolor the balls)
One sheet waxed paper
Optional ingredient: Brambleberry Gold Mica, used to coat the balls after they dry, use with a soft make up brush or clean meat basting brush.

Instructions: Make sure all your soap bits are small pieces, less than 1/4 inch square. If you're starting with new bars, grate them with a cheese grater, and use at least 4 bars. Put them in the bag, bag should be stuffed full, but still able to zip closed. If you don't have a full bag, use less water. Pour water in bag with soap, and seal the bag. It should be just enough water to make all the soap bits nice and moist. Leave the bag sitting out overnight. The soap will all be soft and a little sticky in the morning. Give the soap a good kneading inside the bag, about 1 minute. Then, open the bag, and grab a handful of soap (about 1/4 cup), form into a ball, and place on waxed paper to dry. Repeat until you run out of soap. Don't worry about how perfect the surface of the soap looks, you will be able to smooth it when the soap dries. Let these balls dry for one week, turning once a day so all surfaces get some air. After drying, you can smooth the balls by rubbing with a dry dishcloth, then paint with gold mica, or other mica pigment, you can even use eyeshadow.

A couple of these balls can be packaged in a cello bag with a nice washcloth for a super nice stocking stuffer or gift for co-workers, and you can also use them as a component of a nice bath gift basket.

A Sale Every Day

For the rest of this month, I'll be placing one item in each of my shops on sale for half price, a different item every day. At SweetsNThings, my soap shop, this discount will already be applied to the deal of the day. At KnitHabit, I'm doing the same thing, I was going to do a coupon discount, but now, you won't forget to get a discount. So, if you're planning on giving awesome handknits as Christmas gifts, or you're looking for a baby shower gift, or just something great for yourself, now is a great time.

Easy Summer Snood Pattern

I'm always fighting with my hair! It wants to be a part of my crafts, and sorry hair, you can't be in it. So, I made myself this quick & easy hair net, and it's become my favorite summer accessory. Light and colorful, this isn't your lunch lady's hair net!

Materials - one ball worsted cotton yarn (about 90 yards used), I used "I Love This Cotton" from Hobby Lobby, it's really soft!, one N size crochet hook, one yarn needle, one elastic headband, scissors.

Begin: ch4, dc eleven times in first chain, join in top stitch of ch4 (12)
Round 1: ch 3, dc in same stitch, 2dc in each stitch around, join in top of ch3 (24)
Round 2: ch 3, dc in same stitch, dc in next stitch, *2 dc in next stitch, dc in next stitch* repeat around, join in top of ch 3 (36)
Round 3: ch3, dc in same stitch, dc in next two stitches, *2dc in next stitch, dc in next two stitches* repeat around, join in top of ch 3 (48)
Round 4: ch3, dc in same stitch, dc in next three stitches, *2dc in next stitch, dc in next three stitches* repeat around, join in top of ch 3 (60)
Repeat round 4 five more times, can repeat more for a slouchier hat for dreads.
Last round: hold elastic head band together with edge, *2 sc in first stitch, sc in next stitch* repeat around, being sure to catch the head band inside each stitch, join at end with slip stitch, weave in ends.

Enjoy!

What's On Sale?

I'm having an Independence Day sale in my soap shop all weekend, including Monday. Just use coupon code JULY4 for 25% off your entire order at checkout for my Etsy shop SweetsNThings.

In addition to knit hats, gloves, baby stuff, and scarves, I have a couple of patterns listed in my knit shop, and will be adding more over the weekend. KnitHabit will be participating in the "Christmas In July" sales promotion on Etsy, with a 15% discount on all orders, including custom orders, with coupon code CIJ11. Thanks to everyone!

Getting Ready for Halloween!

I have new stuff in my soap shop for my favorite holiday, Halloween! I know it's early, but hey, Hobby Lobby was putting out Christmas stuff today, so maybe it's not that early. Halloween inspired soaps so far are: Blood Orange, Grape Goblin, and Triple Pumpkin. Just a note on the Triple Pumpkin, there are lots of ingredients in soap making that cause the chemical process to speed up, and pumpkin is apparently one of them! I checked my soap one hour after I put it in the mold, and it had completely gelled, without any insulation or added heat. My whole kitchen smelled like I was baking pumpkin bread, yummy, but disappointing, since there was no freaking pumpkin bread. I love this soap though, it is lush. The pumpkin seed butter is one of those luxurious oils that you can just spread on your skin right out of the tub, I'll definitely be making a whipped butter with this one when the weather cools down.

I also have some awesome yarns in stock for the fall knitting frenzy, angora, bamboo, and of course, wool. If you happen to see a hat or scarf in my shop you'd like in a special fiber or color, just drop me a line, I can knit it up, and send a picture - if you want it you can purchase at that time.

Summer Solstice Sale

The Summer Solstice is on Tuesday, but the sale starts at Midnight tonight! Everything in the shop will be marked down 25%. Returning customers and LSG members can still use your coupon codes, so the savings will be very nice. I'll also have a few new products to add to the shop over the next few days. I'm always in a Halloween kind of mood - like keeping Christmas in your heart, but with candy corn and spider webs instead of peppermint and trees. So Triple Pumpkin Soap, and Grape Goblin are coming out this week. I also have an Agave Oatmeal Soap, vegan and specially formulated for delicate skin, just a hint of lemongrass and amber for a super light fresh scent. Discounts will also apply to custom orders. The sale will continue through Midnight on Tuesday, and thanks to everyone!

New Soaps in the Shop

Oh yeah, and it's a good one. They're all good, but today's additions are just completely awesome. My good friend, NeedleNookCreations needed more soap for her hubby, so I made an new batch of an old favorite, Touch of Grey Nag Champa Soap, for her. But there's 2-1/2 pounds of it, so we can share. The really, really new soap is my favorite, perhaps of all time. I had a hard time coming up with a name, so I called it Handmade Soap of Super Awesomeness. I blended the scent myself, with citrus oils, cedar oil, cinnamon, ginger, and a tad bit of patchouli. Then, this went into swirls of pink, purple, green and black, and I painted the top of the soap with gold mica when it was all done. It's just stunning, both visually and smell-wise, and I'm very happy with it!

Father's Day Sale!!!

Everything in my shop will be marked down 25% for the weekend, so you can get Father's Day gifts in time for the big day! You can also use your repeat customer coupon with this sale, so you can pick up a little something for yourself. I can also ship direct to your dad, just be sure to add that address to paypal when checking out. Oh, and let me know if it's going straight to dad, so I send a card that says "Happy Father's Day from your kid", not "Thanks for buying my stuff". Big sale starts tonight at MIDNIGHT!!!

Sponsoring a Giveaway!

If you've never checked out the blog Mad In Crafts, now is the time! I'm sponsoring a giveaway there right now! One full sized bar of The Island soap, and a jar of Absinthe Hand & Body Cream. Jessica has a great blog with all kinds of crafty information, so whether you're into soap, or fiber arts, or stuff with glue or metal or paint, it's just full of fabulous! My giveaway is live right now, but there will be many, many this month, so keep checking in, there's a new one every 2-3 days all month long.

Walnut Sugar Scrub

For this scrub, I started with one pound of my cream soap base. It is very, very stiff, so I added 1/2 ounce apricot kernel oil, one ounce aloe juice, and a few drops of coconut fragrance oil, and kind of squished it together. Then, I went at it with the hand mixer on medium. This part is kind of tricky, kind of like making frosting. If you add too little aloe, the soap won't be creamy enough to whip, but if you add too much, goop. So, I added one mL at a time with a pipet until it was like divinity, or whipped until stiff peaks form. I then took one cup of this whipped soap, and added two cups white sugar, and 1/2 ounce finely crushed walnut shell. I'm sure pumice would have worked as well. The addition of the sugar made it very creamy again, not stiff at all. And that was it! Just a little mixing with the hand mixer on low, just until it was well mixed. The result was a creamy honey consistency, and just dreamy on my hands! It feels a lot like an oil based sugar scrub, but rinses completely clean, moisturizing but not oily. Yea!!

Cream Soap Progress

I checked the cream soap this morning, and it is delightfully unchanged! That means it is fully emulsified, I won't have to worry about any liquid soap or other fluids separating out. Right now, it's like a firm putty - like fresh playdoh, but translucent. After I've had my coffee and breakfast I'll be taking one pound of the soap, and whip it with a hand mixer. I can let it sit for a couple of hours after the whip, to see if it stays whipped, and then mix in crushed walnut shell and sugar, perhaps a little apricot kernel oil or jojoba, and see what kind of scrub it makes. My feet are just dying for some scrub, I've taken to going barefoot or with sandals since the layoff, and they look pretty bad! It's too hot to put back on my hand knit socks, but they were doing a great job of keeping my feet nice and soft - but it won't be so bad using handmade scrub and foot cream instead!
And speaking of things that scrub, I have a couple of new soaps in my shop. I sent my oldest son to town to pick up, gasp, lard. My brother just bought a new house, and he prefers an old recipe of mine that is about 27% lard, and requested new soaps for the new bathrooms. The instruction I gave my son was "There are several different sizes of lard, I just need the one pound box, not the giant tub". What he heard was "Blah blah blah lard, blah blah blah blah giant tub." He brought home the EIGHT POUND TUB! Gah! Oh well. It is a great formula, with creamy lather and a long lasting rock hard bar, so I made enough for everyone, not just little brother. The Slab of Slate soap and the Lemon Poppy seed are made with this non-vegetarian recipe, I had forgotten just how luxurious those soaps are, and still full of great veggie oils (olive, macadamia, mango butter). Coffee is cold now, I'm off to whip me some soap!

Shop Update, and Cream Soap

**This recipe is intended for soapers with some experience, and please don't forget your safety gear - goggles & gloves please!. If you're new to soap, you may want to see my earlier post "Beginner's Soap"**

I have whipped up a new batch of cream soap, new recipe! I had tried a low stearic recipe, and it wouldn't hold a whip, AND had a terrible lather. It felt like lotion on the skin though, and it was a small batch (1 pound of oils), so it is all mine. I created a new formula yesterday, with the goal of LATHER. Bubbles. Froth. I still want to keep the stearic to a minimum though, so here's the recipe:

14 oz. coconut oil
10 oz. olive oil
8 oz. stearic acid
6 oz. soy oil
4 oz. castor oil
3 oz. palm oil
1 oz. cocoa butter
1 oz. mango butter
8 oz. glycerin
24 oz aloe juice
28 oz distilled water, frozen
1.4 oz NaOH
7.6 oz KOH
supercream - .4 oz stearic + .6 oz glycerin
day one additive: .2 oz germall plus, .5 oz polysorbate 80, .5 oz aloe juice

I melted together all the oils and the glycerin on low heat in my big stainless pot. Then I mixed the aloe & ice in a heavy plastic pitcher, and added the lyes slowly while stirring. Then, slowly added lye mixture to oils while blending with the stick blender, this worked very well, no stearic separation! Then I put on the lid and popped it into a 225 degree oven. Checked and stirred every 20 minutes for two hours. I no longer do a phenophthalein test, mainly because the long curing time on this soap allows it to fully saponify long before you actually use it. Then, I melted the supercream ingredients in the microwave, and used a potato masher to incorporate them into the soap. It is really stiff at this point, and very hot. Then, I turned off the oven, and just stuck the pot with lid on into the oven to sit overnight. The second pic is what was there this morning. Some liquid had separated out. I mixed in the day one additives, and with a gloved hand, squished it thoroughly until it was all mixed well. My hand was tired! After the squishing, I took the pic on the left, and now the soap needs to rot (sounds gross, but that's what the curing process for cream soaps is called). I tested a bit on my hands, and it is very bubbly! Success! I was also pleasantly surprised, it is very mild, my hands felt very soft afterwards, which is unusual on a day one test - cream soap is usually somewhat harsh before it's had a chance to mellow. I can't wait, I will be using this soap as a base for foaming scrubs as well as scented cream soap, I wish I had a time machine to age it faster! This soap needs to cure for at least a month before using, and should really be cured for six months before whipping.

And, oh yeah - the shop update! I'm having a sale in the soap shop, and also have opened a new shop for my hand knits, Knit Habit, on Etsy.

Proudest Moment of My Life

I just had to share a bit, about my son Jack. He's about 6"1", with brown hair, and one brown eye, one green eye, dimpled, and dashing. He has a silly grin, and I loved going to his parent teacher conferences - once, a teacher said he was "magical". He's full of sweetness, and bluntness. And he's on the autism spectrum, with Asperger's Syndrome. He's never been able to ride a bicycle (no sense of balance), and he can't remember most of the names of the kids he's been in school with for the last 13 years. He could tell you the names of every planet in our system, and how far from the sun they are when he was 5. And the names of their moons. Every year at school has been a struggle, and he has worked so hard. Today he graduated from high school, and will continue to college this fall - another challenge as he is terrified of driving. I sat in the crowd today, watching as he went in line across the track, to the chairs, and then after the speeches, up in line again to the stage.
Jack participated in Key Club, but he's very uncomfortable in social situations. He wasn't in band or sports, and he doesn't go to parties, although he likes to be invited. When he walked up the steps to the stage, and his name was called out, his entire class stood and applauded for him. As he took his diploma, I was crying, to hear how much support and love he has. He really is magical, and I'm so proud of him.

In My Mailbox Today!

I guess it's no secret, I love handmade soap. I make it every day, but even so, I like to try other soaper's stuff, because we're all different. Today, I received my order from BuzzPlanet on Etsy. I met her on the Etsy forums, and she is just a wonderful, wonderful person, and like me, she's a mother of five, and a soaper with less than 5 years experience. And her soap is AWESOME!!! I received two bars, one of the Hula Bugs, and one of the Dirty Bugs. Both scents are wonderful, but my favorite is the Hula Bugs, very fresh and uplifting. And the soap itself was a delight! Bubbly, but with a nice creaminess to the lather, and it left my hands looking and feeling so nice! I have hands that need a little TLC, from all the years of sun exposure and riding on my Harley, and there was no drying whatsoever! I'm super greedy, for a communist, but I have to recommend her shop - you can never have enough perfect handmade soap.

New Hand & Body Creams

I have removed the body butters from the shop, they are too heat sensitive to ship again until fall, but to make up for their temporary loss, I have a new line of hand & body creams! They are all vegan, and chock full of great ingredients! Organic aloe juice and witch hazel sooth irritated skin - I used the sweet papaya on my son's recent sunburn, he loved it! And the oils - macadamia, hemp, mango butter, pumpkin seed butter, cocoa butter, and more! The scents are all wonderful, but I especially have to brag on the Absinthe - blended by me, it's not too licorice-y, a nice herbal blend of essential oils that is sweet and mysterious.

Friday the 13th Good Luck Sale

Everything in my shop is marked down 20% through this weekend! I have several new soaps listed, and will be adding fragrances and more body gloss also, and some super awesome market bags! I have a love of yarn that is overwhelming at times, and I am loving these market bags. All of my friends and family use these bags as well - they last forever, and you can easily smush a few of them into your purse for shopping. And, our local grocery store gives you a 5 cent discount per bag when you use them instead of paper or plastic. Which is like, an extra fifty cents back when you have a big family like mine :).

Sponsoring a Giveaway!

I'm sponsoring a giveaway on an awesome blog, The Remodeled Life. Megan's blog is wonderful, with much advice and great remodeling projects that any budget can accommodate. I especially loved the new lighting project in her bathroom! Megan also has a wonderful shop on Etsy, Day Dream Designs where she has beautiful Victorian style jewelry.
The giveaway on Megan's blog is for a bar of my Lemon Rosemary Shampoo, and a jar of Pumpkin Spice Handmade Whipped Soap. Thank you for checking it out!

New Soaps in the Shop

I'm working super hard to get the shop filled again, and I have a couple of things added - Goat's Milk and Honey, which is one of my old favorites back again, and Chocolate Covered Almond Soap. The Goat's Milk & Honey has no artifical ingredients, no added fragrance, but with the milk & honey & hot processing, it has a beautiful caramel color and scent. And the Chocolate Covered Almond is a new thing, what a PITA!! But well worth the effort, it is so smooth, and has such a great almond scent, it was my daughter's idea, thank you Esperanza! Oh, and I'm on twitter now, if you want to follow me, I'm @sweets_n_things. Not for under 18, I use bad words.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I am having a great Mother's Day!! My oldest daughter is coming to visit me next weekend, I was gifted with a bunch of new knitting needles, a potted snapdragon, and a six pack of Smirnoff Ice Green Apple! My kids know me well, LOL! I hope your day is splendid, and if you're in the mood to treat yourself, you can use coupon code SUNDAY for 25% off your order today.