Did you know, you can make a batch of cold process soap in less than 30 minutes?!? Let me show you how!
There’s actually several ways to make cold process (CP) soap, there’s so many “processes” within the “process” that it can seem overwhelming! So I want to tell you about the fastest and easiest way to make CP soap. It's called the Heat Transfer (HT) method, and you could totally make a batch of soap from start to finish in less than half an hour, it’s that fast!! I’ve been using this method a lot lately to make soap dough and single colour soaps.
There is one, tiny downside to the heat transfer method...
Your soap batter gets thick, fast!
So this is not the way if you want fluid batter for intricate designs.
Today I made the 2 coloured soap pictured above using the HT method, and it’s so quick to do I actually made 2 separate batches, washed dishes in between, and layered them together. The whole thing still took me less than an hour. So let’s walk through it step by step:
First, put on your PPE! If you haven’t read my blog post on Soapmaking and Safety yet then pop over there and read it please! Lye is dangerous but it’s easy to work safe with it.
All you need equipment wise for this process is:
Your trusty plastic mixing bowl
Scale
Container for weighing liquid oils
2 plastic containers and a plastic utensil for mixing lye
Silicone spatula and silicone whisk
Immersion blender
Silicone mold
It’s a fast process so prep your workstation and have all your ingredients ready. Measure out your fragrance if you’re using any, your colourants, and any other additives and place them in a spot where you can see them. It’s the worst feeling when you’ve gotten your soap into the mold and then realize you’ve forgotten an ingredient! So find a spot that's out of the way but still in plain sight.
Weigh your solid oils and butters into your mixing bowl. For this process you don’t want to use really hard butters like cocoa butter or waxes. You’re just using the heat from the lye to melt these oils so choose ones that melt easily. I use coconut oil and palm oil. You can use any recipe you like, just keep the solid butters and oils below 50% of your total weight in oils. The lye cools quickly once you dump it in, and you need to completely melt those solids. If you want a recipe for inspiration, this one will work well for this process:
This batch is for 1lb because I made 2 batches to fill my mold. To convert this into a 2lb loaf, enter the same ingredients and percentages into a soap calc, but change your total oil weight to 2lbs.
Weigh your liquid oils into a separate container and set aside. We will add these later.
Measure your water and lye into separate containers, I use 30% water for this. I don’t recommend adding much into the lye water, maybe a bit of salt but that’s it. You want the lye solution as hot as possible for as long as possible, and additives like milks will scorch. Remember to add your lye into your water, not the other way around to avoid splashes. Mix your lye solution in a well ventilated area and watch it 👀 you’re just waiting for the solution to turn clear and stop emitting gases. The instant you see that lye solution is calm, pour it right on top of your solids in the mixing bowl. Be careful, the lye container is hot!
Use a spatula and gently stir while breaking up the bigger chunks. You have a couple minutes while that melts, so at this point I usually add my mica into my liquid oils and mix those in. I recommend only using 1-2 colours because this batter is warm so it thickens fast.
As soon as the solids are melted I’m adding the liquid oils right away. Then hit it with the immersion blender. Make sure your blender is completely submerged, and give it a couple taps on the bowl to knock out any air bubbles. When using your stick blender, you don’t want to hammer on the trigger. Give it a couple bursts then stir a bit with the blender off. Give it a few more bursts then stir again.
Keep repeating this until you reach trace. Trace is the thickening of the batter, when you lift the immersion blender out of the bowl and batter drips off, you can see your soap drops sit on top. It’s not quite as thick as pudding, more like a melted milkshake.
Now is when you add your fragrance or essential oils, and any other additives like clays or exfoliants. At this point I just hand stir, if you keep blending it, it will get too thick to manage. And if you added any botanicals your blender will destroy them. Stir until all the fragrance is incorporated, and then stir it a bit more. This step goes quickly because your soap is already solidifying, so mix it in quickly but thoroughly and get it into the mold.
Dump the soap into your mold and tap it on the counter to settle it into the corners and pop out any air bubbles. You can use plastic or silicone tools to make a design on the top, and decorate it. Then I put the mold into a cardboard shoebox and cover with a towel. Keeping the soap warm helps the colours pop and they look more vibrant.
Let your soap set for a day then un-mold and cut! This cold process soap needs to sit in a well ventilated area and cure for at least 4 weeks. And you're done! So quick and easy! I hope you try this! It’s a great way to begin your soap making journey. Wanna see videos and designs using the heat transfer method? Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok 💜
Lindsay
Comments