Salted Soap Bars Pictured here

I have been making cold process soap for about a year or so. Cold Process soap is made by combining a specific amount of lye to a specific amount of distilled water. This lye water is then added to whatever 'base oils' you are using to make your soap.

Most common base oils are olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oil.

The lye water converts the oil molecules into a salt compound, also known as SOAP. This process is called saponification.

Without lye, you have no soap.

Since lye is so caustic, great care is taken when making cold process soap.

The soap recipe is checked and double checked with a lye calculator to determine the exact amount of lye and water needed to saponify the oils.

The temp of the lye water and the oils have to be within 10 degrees of each other.

Once the lye water has been added to the base oils, it is stirred by hand or stick blender until it turns into soap right before your eyes!

The soap is poured into a mold, insulated with towels, and left alone for 24 hrs.

After 24 hours, the soap is firm and then taken out of the mold. The log of soap is cut into bars and placed on a wire rack to cure for 3 to 4 weeks.

After the curing process, the bars are hard, long lasting bars of soap. The ph is tested with a ph strip, and then I test it on myself, including my face. I figure if it's gentle enough to feel nice on my face, then it is suitable for any skin type.

Cold process soap is stored in a cool dry place. I use shoe boxes so they can get some air. The longer they cure, the harder and longer lasting the bar of soap.

The beauty of cold process soap is that they are of a superior quality than what you get with commercial soap. My cold process soaps contain NO animal fat, NO chemicals, NO fake fragrance. Although they can be scented with a fragrance upon request.

Even the coloring is natural.

Fancy Health Spas use Cold Process Soaps and Salt Bars

Since I make my cold process soap in small batches, usually 2lb to 5lb at a time, my inventory is constantly changing, and the soap you buy will be unique.

If you are interested in learning how to make soap, check out this site

www.iheartsoapmaking.com/shop

Here you can buy soap, or buy ingredients to make your own soap. This is a new site and still being built. If you check back you will find recipes, a forum and more....