8–12 quart enamel or stainless steel pot with lid (the “soap-making pan”)Soap can be made using millions of dollars of equipment or in a bucket. I have settled on the following list of supplies after years of experimentation with all sorts of other options, choosing these for precision, convenience, economy and durability. You will surely have your own ideas, as you venture through soapmaking. Play with them all — that’s half the fun.
Ideal soapmaking equipment includes:
8–12 quart enamel or stainless steel pot with lid (the “soap-making pan”)
3 quart (2.8 liter) saucepan
2–3 quart (1.9–2.8 liter) heat-resistant glass bowl or pitcher
2–3 heavy-duty rubber or silicone spatulas
Good quality scale (preferably two scales — one measured in grams and one in ounces)
Two good quality thermometers (0°−220°F [18°−104°C], quick-read best)
Molds (1 wooden tray 25½″x13½″x4″ [64.8 cm × 34.3 cm × 10.2 cm] for a 12-pound [5.45 kg] batch)
Heavy-duty waxed paper for lining the trays
Masking tape to flatten paper against the sides of the tray
Sharp, thin paring knife for cutting and trimming soaps
Safety goggles and gloves
EQUIPMENT MATERIALS TO AVOID
Soap may be fairly harmless and mild, but its components go through some very active, caustic stages before they are tamed. Equipment for the soap-making process must hold up to these components at their nastiest. Lye eats through some materials instantly, and others over time. Cold-process soaps are free of their caustic properties only after weeks of curing, so the equipment used, from beginning to end, must weather varying concentrations of lye. Here are my recommendations of materials to avoid.
Do not use anything made of aluminum, tin, iron, and teflon, which are all corroded by lye.
Avoid cast-iron; seasoned iron pots deteriorate somewhat, discoloring the soap.
I find plastic too weak and flexible in the presence of high temperatures, although heavy-duty plastic is better.
I avoid wood. After using wooden spatulas for a couple of years, I switched to heavy-duty rubber or silicone spatulas, since the wooden spatulas become soft, splintered (leaving tiny splinters in the soap pan), and impossible to thoroughly clean when constantly exposed to the caustic soda. Rubber or silicone spatulas are more expensive, but are good as new two years later.
Heat-resistant glass, earthenware, heavy-duty rubber (white), silicone, enamel, and stainless steel all hold up well to the powers of lye. I use all of these except for stainless steel. It is very expensive, and I save these pots and utensils for cooking only. But if you happen to run into an old industrial stainless steel pot at a flea market, grab it. From thermometers to spatulas, from lye pitchers to the soapmaking pot, try to locate the materials I’ve recommended since they are the safest and most durable.
A year or so into soapmaking, I relaxed about the precision of my measurements, but I’ve returned to more precision. The cold-process soapmaker must be especially accurate because the process does not allow for adjustment later. Once the lye is poured into the oils, the cold-process soapmaker has no reliable way to correct a little more of this or a little less of that. At best, this method produces soaps which are either slightly superfatted or slightly alkaline; our preference is clearly for the slightly superfatted, which we must ensure through careful measurement.
A NOTE ABOUT MEASURING
Do not measure ingredients by volume (except for essential oils, which can be measured by either volume or weight). Weight is far more reliable. A couple of soapmaking manuals offer formulas calculated by volume, but unless you’re feeling confident with this system, it’s worth recalculating the formula (carefully) into weight.
Some ingredients are measured most precisely on a gram scale; others are too heavy for the non-industrial version and are weighed accurately enough on a scale measured in ounces. For over a year, I weighed all of my ingredients in ounces, but most of these scales have two-ounce increments, leaving it up to you to approximate the one-ounce and half-ounce measurements. Fats and oils can be measured accurately enough this way, but with respect to sodium hydroxide, essential oils, and natural preservatives, an ounce off is significant. So I keep both scales on hand and consider it a worthwhile inconvenience to switch back and forth.
While my orientation is primarily toward the Imperial system of measurement used in the United States and the Fahrenheit scale for temperature, I realize some readers may prefer metric measurements and the Centigrade scale. For these readers I have included conversion measurements in my recipes.
I am less knowledgeable in this area than many soapmakers are, since I prefer a simple chunk of soap over fancy shapes. A few years back, I played with seashells, cookie molds, and soap-balls, and though they were fun for a time, I drifted right back to cubes and rectangular chunks of natural, dense soap. I don’t even like the bevelled look, so I save myself the time and the effort of extra cutting.
If you want to experiment with molds, look past the obvious. Once you open your mind to possible receptacles, the strangest objects begin to catch your attention. Textured ashtrays, plastic cookie trays which are divided into decorative compartments, well-scrubbed seashells, children’s toys, plastic wine glasses . . . let your imagination go. This is the fun part. Ceramic and glass molds often don’t release the soap, lending themselves as soap dishes set beside a sink for dabbing. Plastic and rubber can be gently pulled from the final soap, leaving the shapes intact.
Cold-process vegetable soaps made without palm oil will probably be too soft to satisfactorily mold. They make better soapballs than detailed sculptures. A formula incorporating 25 to 30 percent palm oil will be firm enough to mold, though tallow soaps are the ones best suited to decorative molding.
For rectangular bars, I use wooden trays made from 1-inch plywood with tightly sealed and mitered corners, and handles attached to the sides for convenience. If made well, these hold up for years. My trays measure 25½″ × 13½″ × 4″. Using the formulas in this book, this size tray yields 40 bars, each about 1 inch thick. These measurements don’t have to be exact, but if your tray dimensions are different, expect slightly thinner or thicker bars. The important variable is the number of square inches in the bottom of the tray — in my case, 344 square inches. The depth is not as critical, except that less than four inches doesn’t accommodate heavy-duty waxed paper as comfortably. You can also make trays from heavy cardboard boxes, but they warp quickly and need frequent replacing to avoid uneven bars.
I always line trays with heavy-duty waxed paper to avoid deteriorating wood and subsequent soap discoloration. My trays are only slightly higher than the height of my bars, a most efficient height for conserving heat during the twenty-four-hour insulation period. I cover one tray with another, upside down tray, and then wrap both well with blankets.
Some very costly industrial frames come with inserts for dividing the mass into bars. I have not found an inexpensive alternative for vegetable soaps. While the addition of palm oil leaves a fairly hard soap within just 24 hours, deep inside the bars the soap remains soft for longer than you’d want to leave them in the molds. I find it’s better to slice the bars and let them air dry with the softer parts exposed. This method works best for me, and people do love hand-cut bars. Again, working with a 100 percent vegetable formula is very different from working with a tallow formula, though worth the initial inconvenience.
Everyone, especially beginners, should wear goggles and gloves as a safety precaution.
Purchase gloves that are somewhat close-fitting, allowing you a degree of feel. Look for latex, neoprene/latex, heavy plastic, or natural rubber gloves. Make sure that the material is not slippery; it’s important to have a reliable grasp.
As you decide how to handle the safety issues for you, your family, or any unknowing passers-by, keep in mind the dangers of dry sodium hydroxide, the lye solution, and even the less concentrated soap within the pot. Pots and bowls should not be placed close to the edge of a counter or a table. Consider cats and dogs; educate your family; put up warning signs; make sure that you will be able to monitor the process from start to finish or wait for another time; and factor in all sorts of contingencies before deciding to proceed.
The beauty of soapmaking is that anyone can make soap in almost any setting. The process is flexible and adaptable to a variety of arrangements. Even the few requirements which must be followed can be creatively satisfied. Most of my suggestions stem from the fact that sodium hydroxide in any form is potentially dangerous. The other suggestions relate to the convenience of making soap within easy access of the stove, the sink, and the ingredients themselves. Carrying pots of sloshing oils from room to room and carting around supplies is a messy nuisance.
People make soap everywhere — from the basement, to the garage, to the kitchen, to the barn. Very few have tailor-made studios to satisfy all soapmaking needs. I use my kitchen because everything is accessible, and I can have the family nearby. (Anyone who chooses to be centrally located must educate the family.)
Soap can be made way out back in a barn without power, exposed to the elements, and far from the soapmaking ingredients (which should be stored inside at room temperature to avoid early rancidity). To be on the safe side, however, and for convenience and a more stable product, try to find a place that meets basic requirements.
Ideally, the following guidelines should be considered in choosing a work area. They are listed in order of importance.
1. A stove should be located within a few feet.
2. A sink should be located within a few feet.
3. Ingredients and supplies (sodium hydroxide, oils, scales, and utensils) should be stored within a few feet.
4. The workspace should be counter height with enough area (approximately 50 square feet) to spread out all the equipment and the ingredients. Avoid wood and metal; my butcher block island in the kitchen has some battle scars.
5. Room temperature should be moderate, not under 60°F (16°C) or over 95°F (35°C). Again, this is ideal, but even extreme temperatures can be dealt with creatively.
6. Locate a comfortable chair to accommodate the height and depth of your work area.
Some people bake from the hip and others measure and set out all of the ingredients beforehand. The soapmaking process accelerates quickly, so you’re more likely to succeed if the ingredients and supplies are sitting there waiting for you. Plan time to set up your area and equipment well before you actually make soap. First cover the work area with heavy cloth or newspapers. Then line the soapmaking trays and weigh out all ingredients that can be prepared ahead of time, as detailed in the instructions for making soap in chapter 9.
