BK Silicone Mold Blog

Cold Process Soap - Starting From Scratch If making melt and pour soap is akin to using a cake mix, "cold process" is making your cake from scratch. You control everything that goes into the pot, and you can make it as "natural" as you want. However, your setup is a little more complicated, and you’ll need to learn a few techniques of the craft first. To make cold process soap, you heat the oils in your soap pot until they’re approximately 100 degrees. Slowly add the lye-water mixture and blend the soap until it thickens to “trace”. After the mixture reaches trace, you add your fragrance, color, and additives and pour it into the mold. The raw soap will take about 24 hours to harden, and about four weeks to cure before it’s ready to use. To get started making cold process soap, you’ll need: A flat, uncluttered workspace with a heat source and access to water Some animal fats or vegetable oils A pitcher of lye-water A soap pot and some other easily found ...

The Melt-and-Pour Method The melt-and-pour soapmaking method uses a premade soap base that melts easily. Most soapers melt the soap base in a microwave or a double boiler, though any gentle heat source — for example, a dualtemperature rice cooker — will do. Once the soap base is melted, you simply mix in colorants, fragrances, and other additives; stir well; and pour the mixture into the mold. As soon as the soap sets up (usually within an hour or two), it is ready to use. Many soapers prefer the melt-andpour technique because the clear or white base gives them many design options and because the end product does not need any curing or drying time. The premade base limits the choice of ingredients, but the 40 to 50 available formulations fit the vast majority of soapers’ needs. Meltand- pour soap is also a fun craft to make with children. Though it does not use lye, the soap base can get quite hot during the melting phase, so adult supervision is recommended. The Hot-Process Met...

The hot-process method of soapmaking is similar to the cold-process method in that you start from scratch, which allows you to choose from a wide range of ingredients, and you use lye. However, as the name implies, this method involves the application of heat. With the hot-process method, you either cook your soap on the stove in a large stainless-steel pot or bake it in the oven (keeping a close eye on it at all times) or use a slow cooker. Hot-process  soap mold  can be used immediately; however, without the 4- to 6-week curing and drying time used in the cold-process method, the bars are softer and do not last as long in the shower