Real natural soap is a combination of water and oil (fats). Of course, we all probably learned at an early age, that oils and water do not mix. However, with a little help, they can join together and the result is “soap” and no trace of the little helper is left. So, what is the “helper” and how does all of this work?

Well, what is fairly widely accepted is that a form of soap existed from about 4,000 years ago. It was probably made up of Cassia oil (fats), water and an alkali such as wood ashes. Nowadays, the basic process remains the same. The alkali used, today, is usually manufactured in a factory and is often in flake or crystal form. It is either;

Sodium Hydroxide for hard soap (NaOH)

Potassium Hydroxide for soft or liquid soap (KOH)

(these can often be found in shops under various brand names and described as “Caustic Soda” which is primarily used as a drain cleaner. Some of these products may include additional ingredients which would not be appropriate if used in the making of natural soaps.)

Both are known as “Lye” (the “helper” I mentioned earlier.) Lye is necessary in the making of soap. It chemically reacts with first, the water and then the oils. (The lye / water mixture should always be poured into the oils, to reduce the possibility of splash injuries.) This reaction is called Saponification. I have stressed Sap because I will mention an important thing called “Sap values,” shortly.

Although it is not possible to make soap without Lye., it is possible to buy a pre-prepared soap “base” which has still used lye, but the dangerous process has already been done by someone else, probably at a factory. The resulting soap will, however, not quite be all your own work and you will have had no control over the ingredients forming the “base.” This method is known as “Melt and Pour” and is popular with folk who might dislike all the safety precautions necessary for the prevention of injury, involved with the use of Lye and simply wish to avoid them but, otherwise, still wish to follow the “natural” route.

Wikipedia says:

“Essential oils are volatile and liquid aroma compounds from natural sources, usually plants. They are not oils, in the strict sense, but often share with oils, a poor solubility in water. Essential oils often have an odour and are therefore used in food flavouring and perfumery. They are usually prepared by fragrance extraction techniques.” (details of some are included below)

You might notice that I stress the word “Natural” regarding soap making and later you will find that the recipes I use, are “Vegan” friendly, too. Well, the “vegan” is for the benefit of my daughter who is also my main tester and the “natural” because I simply want the best ingredients. I am usually able to assess the quality of what goes into my soaps because I forage locally for suitable plants, growing in their wild state. I also grow others organically in our home garden and greenhouse.

Living on the coast of North East England, means that we can also wander down to the beach and gather seaweed and even collect some “North Sea” sea water, to obtain the sea-salt, after distilling it. In my younger days, I could obtain sea salt from my island neighbours. There, on the shores of the Philippines Sea, they created a series of sand walled lagoons just like large sand-castle walls. The incoming sea-water became trapped there between tides, and the intense heat of the tropical sun, evaporated the water leaving the dried salt, which they harvested. These pools were known as “salt pans”. The weather here in the UK is, unfortunately, not quite as kind or predictable. In theory, there are four separate seasons but over the last thirty years, I have known June days when we have had all four of them in one afternoon.

Because it is not always possible for me to establish exactly, the origins of some ingredients, I now prefer, where possible, to process my plants and seeds, at home, to release their essential oils. (named because they contain the “essence” of the particular plant) I already have a home distiller which uses Steam Distillation to extract the essential oils and also creates aromatic waters (hydrosols) as a by-product. It is also possible to use the Cold Press Expression method which squeezes the oil out of the plant’s seeds, nuts and fruit peel, using a press, as basic as a hand-crank machine which clamps to a table edge or an electric domestic machine, the size of a home food mixer, fine for a hobbyist like me who just makes small handcrafted batches.

These two methods are the only ones I use. There is another seemingly very good one which I am presently investigating, although the cost of the machine appears to be too expensive for us, at the moment. This method is called Supercritical Fluid Extraction or sometimes “Co2 Extraction.” It is the stuff we all breathe out, called carbon dioxide. I understand that the process uses no nasties, does no harm to the plants or the environment and leaves no nasties behind. However, my research continues.

Some, usually large, commercial producers, use the Solvent Extraction method. This uses food grade solvents such as “hexane” and “ethanol” to isolate essential oils from plant material. Unfortunately the chemicals partly remain in the oil and the resulting liquid may appear in ingredient lists as “fragrance oil, absolute, concrete or perfume”. Apparently, this process produces a stronger and longer lasting fragrance but I will stay with “natural.” There are about ten further methods but I see no merit in using any of them for my soap making.

INCI names. There is an international covention which establishes unique names for the oils, waxes, etc. used in cosmetics so that they can be cleary identified. INCI is an abbreviation of “International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. Each commercial product is required to list it’s ingredients along with their INCI names. (eg. Coconut oil (Cocos nucifera) )

Despite what some good folk might think, making natural soap is not quite as easy as “baking a cake.” Although it is not particularly difficult, the process definitely does not allow the scope to add “a pinch of this, a drop of that and a little bit of the other.” For safety reasons, the ingredient amounts and weights have to be decided in advance, balanced against each other and the recipe then followed, precisely. Any proposed changes need to be made before the revised process begins, together with the appropriate adjustments to the formula. Don’t worry though. There are some very helpful websites which encourage free use of their on-line soap-calculators, to assist, and there’ll be more information, on that, later.

The artisan soap making community, I’ve found, is very supportive, welcoming and helpful to newcomers so don’t be frightened to subscribe to sites you like. It usually does not involve a payment, You can simply enter your email address and will probably receive some free recipes, e-books, tutorials and advice along with periodic newsletters and invitations to purchase books and on-line courses. They are rarely a nuisance and it is always easy to simply ignore the offers or even unsubscribe.