What Cold Process Soap Making Means to Me
It's hard to believe that I've been making cold process soap for over 20 years. It is my passion in life and, because it is both art and science, it allows me to use both sides of my brain. Planning and making soap sparks my creativity and soothes my mind.
I was first introduced to the possibility of making soap at my grandmother's Pennsylvania farm. She made soap every year and used it for everything from bathing to washing clothes. Her ingredients included lard and tallow rendered from pigs and cows raised on nearby farms. I think her chickens may have contributed too! Soft oils would have been available from the local store to round out her recipe. I'm pretty sure she didn't render her own lye because drain cleaner (lye) was sold commercially.
I don't know whether Grandma hot processed her soap outside, but I can imagine her stirring it in a big pot over a fire in her yard. Unfortunately, she didn't have access to a lye calculator or accurate scales, so her soap was somewhat harsh and irritating.
I wasn't able to help grandma make soap since I was only seven years old at the time. I was only allowed to peek at it curing in the cellar. Her snow white bars were lined up in straight rows separated by a wooden grid built from two-by-fours. There didn't seem to be any liners between the bars and the wood, so I'm fairly certain she had to cut them away from the wood to remove them. She wasn't concerned with making beautiful bars--her soap was a practical necessity. She took what she had available and went with it.
I was amazed at the sight and remember asking her, "You can make soap from scratch?" She laughed in the affirmative--I loved her so much.
Years later, remembering Grandma's soap, I started to research cold process soap making. The first soap that I made was a plain 100% olive oil Castile soap that took forever to cure. I didn't know about water discounting when I made it, so I had to wait for all of that extra water to evaporate. It was a good unscented soap and my family and I enjoyed using it. I was hooked!
More research. I bought some books and took to the Internet to properly learn soap making. Things improved immensely and I started adding scents and colorants to my soap. Then I discovered the Soap Challenge Club and my skills soared!
I was so upset when the Great Cakes Soap Challenge closed after a few years. Fortunately Amy later started a new soap club named the Soap Challenge Club at https://soapchallengeclub.com/. Amy is still there doing her usual remarkable job as host and organizer. I participate when I can and have made some beautiful and downright awful soap designs for the Soap Challenge Club! It's a great learning experience and lots of fun.
I became a member of the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild in 2016 and took advantage of their Certification program. I earned the basic level certification by taking a proctored exam. Then I received the advanced level certification when I took the advanced exam at the HSCG Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida. That certification also required me to enter a soap bar for evaluation that I made with a recipe that I formulated. The guild provides several services that are particularly valuable to the soap making side of my small business, such as product insurance, continuing education, and a listing for my business on their website.
In addition to Cold Process Soap, I also sell other items through my business, Made In Colorado For You, LLC. I'll post things that I make and my thoughts on this blog.
~Janie