A nutrient is an ingredient included in your formula not only for its ability to make soap, but also for its skin-care properties. Some nutrients are emollient, others are conditioning. Some stimulate the skin, others heal it. A few nutrients protect the other ingredients from spoilage while offering the skin vitamins, and attracting moisture. Many soaps are drying, but organic nutrients can reverse this, creating a soap that cleans gently and moisturizes.
Some nutrients, like oatmeal, aloe vera, or chlorophyll, are added to the soap mixture right before pouring. Coconut, castor, avocado, sweet almond, and olive oils work a double shift. They are nutrients, but they also participate in the saponification reaction.
Any ingredient which saponifies can either be included in larger quantity from the start of the soapmaking process, or added in small quantity just before adding the essential oils. For example, evening primrose oil will saponify and can be used as a major soapmaking oil to replace a portion of one of the other oils, but most people find it too costly to use in large quantity and instead add a few tablespoons (4 tablespoons [59 ml] per 12-pound [5.45 kg] batch) at the end of the soapmaking process. Too much liquid incorporated at the end of the soap-making process will separate out of the bars later on.
Though a large amount of a nutrient offers the greatest benefit, even a smaller quantity added at the end will enrich your soap. The basic soap recipe should already be filled with beneficial soapmaking oils like olive, coconut, and avocado, so these few tablespoons of added nutrients are an extra dose. When nutrients are added after the soap has saponified, they will remain unsaponified within the final bars, making a superfatted soap.
SWEET ALMOND OIL
Use/Benefits: Almond oil, obtained from the dried kernels of the almond tree, is an excellent emollient, known to soften, soothe, and condition skin. It is easily saponified and produces a very mild soap with a nice lather. Since it is quite expensive, almond oil usually accounts for only a small percentage of the total oils used within a formula.
Quantity/Procedure: A little goes a long way though, and a relatively small amount is needed to make a superior soap. This nutrient can be saponified in large quantity as a soapmaking oil included from the start with the other oils, or 4 tablespoons (59 ml) per 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap can be added just before the essential oils.
ALOE VERA
Use/Benefits: The sap or gel found within aloe vera’s succulent leaves is an effective healing agent for the treatment of burns, injuries, and acne. This cool, clear gel is soothing and moisturizing, as it stimulates the growth of new cells and tissue with steroids, enzymes, and amino acids.
Quantity/Procedure: To incorporate aloe vera gel within soap, add 4 tablespoons (59 ml) to a 12-pound (5.45 kg) batch just before adding the essential oils. Be sure to use only fresh, pure aloe vera gel, as synthetic preservatives or additives destroy its cellular properties. Even following all precautions, be aware that the heat of the cure period is likely to rob the aloe vera gel of some of its curative powers.
Caution: Note that some people find the fresh aloe vera gel irritating — I am one. It can sting and itch, so test the gel first on a small patch of skin before using it in your own soap.
AVOCADO OIL
Use/Benefits: Avocado oil is therapeutic. It contains vitamins A, D, and E, protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, chlorophyll, and glycerides of many fatty acids. It also has a high percentage of unsaponifiables — those portions of the oil which do not break down during saponification and are thought to have softening properties. Our skin easily absorbs avocado oil and responds well to its healing quality; it is known to regenerate skin cells and soften tissue.
Quantity/Procedure: Replace a portion (one-quarter to one-third) of your fats and oils with avocado oil, or thoroughly incorporate 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of it per 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before adding the essential oils.
Nature: Some confusion surrounds this natural oleoresin, tapped from trees in the Amazon rain forest. It is said that Amazon natives have long used this “sap” to heal and soothe. Companies are advertising balsam copaiba (pronounced co-pa-ee-ba, co-pay-ba, or co-pie-ba) and copaiba oil (the oil derived from the copaiba balsam) to heal wounds and soften skin.
I am intrigued by the history of this natural gift, but I am not sure of its skin-care properties. For years it has been used as an organic motor fuel; within paints, varnishes, plastics, and photographic processing; as a diuretic and laxative; and as a fixative in scenting soaps and perfumes.
Use/Benefits: As I research this oleoresin and the oil, their chemical makeups read more like that of an essential oil or a fixative than a fatty oil (in the opinion of a layperson). They seem well-suited for use as scents or fixatives: like tea tree oil, balsam copaiba and the copaiba oil could be used to scent cosmetics with a pleasant, woody fragrance; they could also be used as a fixative within cosmetics, perfumes, soaps, and lotions.
Though balsam copaiba may offer skin-care qualities, robbing the trees of this resin depletes their source of life, and, in time, they die. I opt for one of the many other healing sources, since this one can’t be replenished.
CALENDULA OIL
Nature: Calendula, also known as pot marigold, is an herb whose blossoms yield calendula oil, known for its skin-care properties. For therapeutic benefits, be sure to use only the pure oil extracted without solvents.
Use/Benefits: Calendula oil’s regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties are known to successfully heal a variety of damage. The oil promotes the healing of wounds, burns, and tissue, and softens and soothes dry, chapped skin.
Quantity/Procedure: Add 4 tablespoons (59 ml) for every 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before adding the essentials oils. Since calendula oil will saponify, it can be included from the start as a replacement for a portion of the other soapmaking oils, but it is expensive to use in large quantities.
Confused regulations have blurred the classifications of some ingredients; calendula oil may be listed as calendula extract. Be sure to ask for the oil-soluble extract, and not the extract made with propylene glycol.
CARROT ROOT OIL, CARROT SEED OIL, AND WHEATGERM OIL
Use/Benefits: Look for vitamin-rich carrot and wheatgerm oils where you purchase high-grade pure essential oils. Each of these oils offers particular vitamins, and, depending upon your specific needs, they all discourage spoilage and soften skin. Wheatgerm oil (which is very high in vitamin E) inhibits oxidation within the unsaponified portion of your soap. It also contains carotene and vegetable lecithin which nourish skin cells and prevent moisture loss.
Carrot seed oil is high in beta-carotene and vitamin A, and carrot root oil is a highly concentrated blend of vitamins A, E, and provitamin A. Vitamin A heals dry, chapped skin, and both of these oils are good antioxidants. They also stimulate the sweat glands and the sebaceous glands, which work to balance the skin’s moisture content. The carrot oils are expensive, particularly the carrot root oil, but a little goes a long way and they are effective.
Quantity/Procedure: Use these oils in quantities no less than 0.5 percent of the total ingredient weight for satisfactory results. I have used as much as 5 percent for maximum benefit. Add these vitamin oils to your fats and oils just before the lye is added, being sure to thoroughly incorporate them. Adding them toward the end of the soapmaking process is an option, but their antioxidant properties are maximized when the vitamins can have direct contact with the fats and oils — the potential sources of rancidity.
CASTOR OIL
Use/Benefits: Castor oil, like avocado oil, is active within your final soaps. This thick, viscous oil is soothing and lubricating, and is absorbed quickly by the body. In its presence, other, less easily absorbed materials are more likely to be absorbed. This is an advantage if the other ingredients are pure and therapeutic. However, be aware that castor oil is indiscriminating and will just as readily carry a synthetic substance into our systems.
Quantity/Procedure: Either replace a portion (0.1 to 0.2 percent) of your total fats and oils with castor oil or thoroughly incorporate 4 tablespoons (59 ml) per 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before adding the essential oils. Too high a percentage of castor oil will produce a soft, transparent soap.
CLAY
Nature: Clays are combinations of finely ground minerals found within the earth. There are many clays, but most are too harsh to be used in a skin-care product. Out of the universe of clays, perhaps a half dozen are occasionally used in soaps. The two most common are kaolin and bentonite. They contain silica, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.
Use/Benefits: Clays are used in skin-care masks to draw out excess sebum, toxins, and dirt. A clay clears the pores of blockages and encourages a more regular flow. This leaves the skin more receptive to natural moisture, yet free of excess. I am somewhat skeptical, however, about the effectiveness of clay in soap. Given the very diluted presence of clay in a soap bar, and given that the lather is rinsed off quickly, I question how much waste it could absorb.
A few soap manufacturers are adding clay to their soaps for its astringent and cleansing qualities. Clays are thought to clean all types of skin, though they seem best suited for people with oily complexions. I find them too drying for combination and dry skin when used regularly.
Types/Availability: Of the many clays available, each one contains its own unique combination of minerals. White clay, or kaolin, contains a high percentage of the mineral kaolinite, and is used within a variety of cosmetics. It is the most pure of the clays; the others are often colored artificially. Green clay, or bentonite, also known as montmorillonite of French green clay, contains a high percentage of mineral montmorillonite. Bentonite has a slippery feel, can absorb large quantities of water, and is the clay typically used in a face mask. It stabilizes the production of sebum and cleans the skin. Quantity/Procedure: For those who want to experiment, add the clay to your soap just before pouring into molds, using ½ to 1 cup (118 to 237 ml) for a 12-pound (5.45 kg) batch of soap. Before adding the pure essential oils, blend the clay with 2 cups (473 ml) of soap mixture in a small container. Then blend this clay/soap mixture with the remainder of the batch, stirring briskly. Proceed with the scenting, if desired.
Caution: Minerals derived naturally by ingesting a well-balanced diet offer the skin what it needs to function normally. The minerals we dig from the ground may also draw out waste, but I have the same concerns about these that I do about mineral dyes: the minerals’ purity and suitability for skin care are in question.
Clays contain silicates and free silica, which both are suspected of causing health problems. When silica is not bound to other minerals in the form of a compound, it is called “free” silica. It is this unbound silica which is thought to be hazardous. Potters who are exposed over time to these materials have experienced a variety of illnesses, from shortness of breath to an increased incidence of infections, and cases of silicosis, a condition with asthma-like symptoms.
Kaolinosis, a “clogging” of the lungs from inhaling large quantities of kaolin dust, is also caused by the “free” silica within these minerals which enters the lungs and never breaks down. New lung tissue grows over this free silica, and as more free silica is inhaled and more lung tissue forms, the lung eventually chokes from the build-up.
Topical use is very different from inhalation, yet I don’t want to absorb any material through the skin that is toxic to my lungs. I don’t feel that the long-term effect is well enough understood to take the risk.
EVENING PRIMROSE OIL, BORAGE OIL, AND ROSA MOSQUETA ROSEHIP SEED OIL
Nature: Evening primrose oil, derived from evening primrose flowers, contains a high content of linoleic acid and, more important, gamma-linolenic acid. The small, oval fruit inside the rose bud is called the rose hip, and the oil from one particular species, the Rosa Mosqueta rose, yields an oil rich in essential fatty acids — called Rosa Mosqueta rosehip seed oil. Borage oil, the essential oil derived from the leaves of the borage plant, has even higher percentages of gamma-linolenic acid. The human body does not produce these essential fatty acids (also known as vitamin F), so we must be sure to include these nutrients in our diets and skin-care products.
Use/Benefits: Essential fatty acids are unique because they offer the skin and the entire body a wide range of benefits. Evening primrose, borage, and Rosa Mosqueta rosehip seed oils are easily absorbed by the skin, encouraging the transport of these essential fatty acids.
Essential fatty acids inhibit bacterial growth and encourage the production of antibodies, enabling our systems to defend against infection and inflammation. They also combine with protein and cholesterol to build membranes which link cells to one another. Water loss, resulting in eczema, hair loss, and dry skin, is thought to be related in part to low levels of essential fatty acids. Vegetable oils with high percentages of essential fatty acids ease inflammation and itching, moisturize the skin and scalp, and treat scaly skin and dandruff (see definition of essential fatty acids, page 167). These three oils are best suited for dry skin and shouldn’t be used by people with oily complexions.
Quantity/Procedure: Though they can be saponified as high-percentage soapmaking oils, the high cost is limiting. A little goes a long way though, so add 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of either oil to 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap, just before adding the essential oils.
JOJOBA OIL
Use/Benefits: Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax which solidifies below 50°F (10°C). Its ability to offer the traits of an oil and a wax makes jojoba effective within oils, creams, butters, shampoos, and soaps. Be sure to buy pure jojoba oil and not a synthetic imitation, or you forfeit all meaningful skin-care properties. Jojoba oil resists rancidity and is, therefore, highly stable within soap as an unsaponified, superfatting material.
I use jojoba oil in my creams, shampoo bars, and some of my soaps. Within each product, it serves as a moisturizer and a humectant. The skin and scalp benefit from its greaseless lubrication and its ability to hold in natural moisture while attracting external moisture.
Healthy skin receives a regular flow of sebum which lubricates and softens the skin, and traps bacteria that we later wash away with soap. Jojoba oil contains more than four times the waxy esters found within human sebum. When our skin’s system is pushed past its limits, jojoba oil helps us maintain normal functions while allowing the skin a chance to repair and rebalance. A thin breathable layer of jojoba oil can regulate the flow of our natural sebum while controlling evaporation and dryness.
Quantity/Procedure: Add jojoba oil as a percentage of the total soapmaking materials during the initial mixing of fats and oils, or incorporate 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of it per 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before adding the essential oils. For a superior product, do both, but be aware of its high cost. Also, should you choose to use jojoba oil to replace a portion of the fats and oils, make note of its very low SAP value and adjust the sodium hydroxide accordingly (see page 153, “SAP Value Chart to Calculate Sodium Hydroxide”).
KUKUI NUT OIL
Nature: The kukui nut tree is the official state tree of Hawaii. Within its fruit are the nuts and kernels from which kukui nut oil is expressed. For hundreds of years, Hawaiians have used this nongreasy oil to treat sunburns and chapped skin. Kukui nut oil is high in linoleic and linolenic acids — essential fatty acids which are critical for healthy skin — and it is easily absorbed by the skin.
Use/Benefits: Research has shown kukui nut oil to benefit acne, eczema, psoriasis, sunburns, and chapped skin.
Quantity/Procedure: Kukui nut oil is expensive, but a little goes a long way. Even 4 tablespoons (59 ml) added to 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before incorporating the essential oils adds richness to your soaps. A higher percentage of kukui nut oil added to the other base oils is even better — 10 percent of the total oils makes an outstanding soap.
OATMEAL/HONEY, CORNMEAL, FLAX SEED MEAL, JUNIPER BERRY MEAL, ALFALFA MEAL, JOJOBA MEAL, FLAKED SEAWEED
Nature: Our skin needs to be cleaned periodically of impurities. As skin functions normally, sweat glands and sebaceous glands rid our bodies of waste and toxins. They also trap external pollutants on the skin’s surface in a barrier of sebum and sweat. It is our job to clean the slate regularly.
Exfoliants are materials with irregular textures used to release debris which collects on the skin’s surface. They add some texture to our soap’s lather, increasing the soap’s cleansing qualities: the grainier lather removes dirt and dead skin cells while stimulating the healthier cells below. Always include some moisturizing nutrients (sweet almond oil, shea butter, jojoba oil) within this formula to avoid irritation and dryness. When using exfoliants, never rub with force. Soap and a little texture will pick up much debris, without a heavy hand.
Use/Benefits: Oatmeal, cornmeal, flax seed meal, juniper berry meal, alfalfa meal, flaked seaweed, and jojoba meal can all be added to soap for texture. Oatmeal, jojoba meal, and alfalfa meal exfoliate gently. Juniper berry, flaked seaweed, and flax seed meals are more coarse, with sharper edges; finely grind them before adding as exfoliants to soap.
My favorite soap is an oatmeal/honey soap. The oatmeal gently scrubs away debris while the honey hydrates and soothes the skin. Honey is also moisturizing and it inhibits the growth of bacteria. Warm the honey slightly in a bowl of warm water (not hot) to increase solubility. Because its active ingredients are destroyed in the presence of high temperatures, incorporate the honey just before adding the essential oils. Quantity/Procedure: ½ to 1 cup (118 to 237 ml) of meal is suggested for a 12-pound (5.45 kg) batch of soap, though these amounts are dictated by personal preference. Add exfolients immediately after the soap has saponified. Stir well to avoid clumping, or add the meal first to 2 cups (473 ml) of the soap mixture in a separate container, then incorporate the soap/meal mixture back into the full pan of soap.
To make an oatmeal/honey soap, first blend in the oatmeal, then incorporate no more than 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of warm honey for a 12-pound (5.45 kg) batch of soap, and finally add the essential oils. Blend these swiftly and thoroughly, to avoid an overload of liquid and a quick setup within the soap pan.
Seaweed flakes, particularly of lithothamnium calcareum, can be used as an exfoliant within soap. See following entry about seaweed and its beneficial properties. Blend in 1 to 2 cups (237 to 473 ml) of flaked seaweed per 12 pounds (5.45 kg) of soap just before adding the pure essential oils.
SEAWEED (ALGAE)
Nature: There are thousands of species of seaweed, and many have been used within cosmetics for their nutrients. Since blood serum and seawater are so similar, chemically, many of the vitamins and minerals we need are found in seawater and sea plants: from vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F, and K to iodine, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and manganese. Seaweed has many more vitamins and minerals than land plants. It offers therapeutic properties: seaweed attracts and retains moisture, making it an excellent humectant; it is used for cell regeneration, to soothe and heal the skin; and it acts as an antioxidant.
OTHER EXOTIC BUTTERS
As you experiment with using shea butter in your soap, you may want to also investigate other exotic butters such as Dhupa, Kokum, Mango, Mowrah, Sal, and Illipe.
Use/Benefits: Unfortunately, seaweed does not readily release its nutrients within cold-process soap-making. Seaweed, as flakes and flour, should be added for texture and design, but do not expect these pieces to contribute meaningful nutritive value within a bar of soap. Seaweed extracts do offer the concentrated nutrients, but only in a water-soluble or a propylene glycol base, and neither is well-suited to cold-process soapmaking.
SHEA BUTTER
Nature: Shea butter, also known as African karite butter, is expressed from the pits of the fruit of the African butter tree which grows in Central Africa. This butter has been used for food and body care. It is remarkably high in unsaponifiables, up to 11 percent, making it a superior superfatting material for soapmaking. Unsaponifiables are those components within the fat or oil which do not decompose and combine with the sodium hydroxide to form soap, thus remaining in their original state within the bars, able to moisturize and nourish the skin.
Use/Benefits: Shea butter is gentle enough for babies and people with sensitive skin. It soothes and softens dry, chapped skin, while nourishing all skin types. I have come to rely heavily upon shea butter for its effectiveness.
Quantity/Procedure: Add shea butter (2 to 5 percent of your total fats and oils) at the start of the soapmaking process to the still-warm coconut oil, then add this combination to the other vegetable oils. To incorporate it at the end of the process, incorporate 4 tablespoons (59 ml) of shea butter — melted and cooled to approximately 75°F (24°C) — just before you add the essential oils.
ECODERMINE
Sederma, a company based in France, and one of the first to introduce shea butter, has patented a product called Ecodermine, which is a combination of glycerin and sugar alcohols. Ecodermine was designed to balance the skin’s “microflora,” a community of resident (beneficial) and parasitic microorganisms: the resident flora can digest the sugar alcohols and multiply; the parasitic flora cannot digest these sugar alcohols, and are even thought to be slowed in their presence, inhibiting this population.
Environmental factors, use of harsh cosmetics, and over-cleansing can reduce the beneficial flora, enabling the parasitic flora to multiply quickly and stake its ground, leaving the skin defenseless. Ecodermine is designed to feed the skin’s beneficial bacteria, leaving less room for outside parasitic microorganisms that dry and expose the skin to the elements.
Sederma suggests using 1 to 5 percent Ecodermine in soaps, but the cold-process soapmaker will have trouble incorporating any amount of Ecodermine at the beginning of the soapmaking process because the lye will probably destroy the integrity of the product, leaving few, if any, beneficial properties within the final bars. A few tablespoons incorporated at the end of the process may be of little benefit to the soaps. Because Ecodermine is a relatively new product, there is little research to evaluate, but I encourage you to follow the continuing reports as to its effectiveness. The initial studies are intriguing.
A SOAPMAKER’S STORY
Jane Hawley/Nature’s Acres
With a degree in horticulture and twelve years specializing in growing and selling herbs, Jane Hawley now creates personal care products that incorporate organically grown plants and their medicinal properties. “We hope you can feel the love and respect for our earth and its rejuvenating power as it flows from our gardens to you,” Jane writes to her customers. Her company is located on 130 acres in Baraboo Bluffs, Wisconsin, thought to be the site of the oldest quartzite in the world, formed perhaps one and a half billion years ago.
Drawing on the bountiful harvest of the surrounding fields and woodlands, Jane uses herbs, almond and olive oils, beeswax, vitamin E, aloe, comfrey root, and pure essential oils like melissa, patchouli, rose geranium, lavender, and peppermint in her soaps, bath salts, body oils, lip balm, toner, salve, and moisturizers. Her skin-care soaps incorporate the healing herbs she grows: Peppermint-Aloe Soap, a stimulating, astringent bar with healing properties; Rosemary-Oatmeal Soap for deep cleansing; Lavender-Vitamin E Soap to repair overexposed skin and act as a milk deodorant; and Almond-Sage Scrub, a gentle exfoliant with an antiseptic quality. All of these soaps are colored only with the speckled colors of the dried herbs.
Jane passes on to other soapmakers two creative adaptations she’s developed: for soap frames, she has designed removable sides which can be pulled apart from the bottom piece to allow easy access for cutting the bars; as a great cutting tool, she uses an L-shaped piece of galvanized metal, first brought to her attention by her five-year-old son when he was rummaging in the basement.
