Hot Process Soap Making Tips!

Hot process soap making like cold process has been around hundreds of years. The basic ingredients as with either process are the oils water and of course the lye (caustic soda).

The differences between the two processes are that where the cold process works on the chemical reaction only the hot process uses both the chemical reaction of the lye and the application of heat from either a using a double boiler, microwave, oven, or crock pot this helps speed up the saponification.

The recipes for both processes are very similar and so regardless of process you can still achieve really good quality soaps although practise and patience are always good tools. Also a common problem with hot process soap making is that it is reasonably easy to remove a soap from a well lined wooden mould however to remove one from a modern plastic mould which are commonly used with cold process soap making is near impossible.

As with the cold process the use of lye should be treated very seriously and all safety regulations should be followed, the use of gloves and protective glasses are essential.The one piece of advice that any experienced soap maker would advise about hot process soap making is that it is not something for a beginner to try.

If you have never made soap before it is advisable to at least have tried cold process soap making before trying a hot process soap batch. The ingredients are similar but the methods are different and when dealing with chemicals such as lye then it is best to have completed a good handful of cold process soap batches before trying the hot process just till you get use to how the lye can react