The Magic Ingredients
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Let me tell you about this beautiful useful artform I create. It's a combination of Science + Nature + a little bit of Magic.
I've put together this little 3 part series to explore the parts of my work and my world.
The Science
Soap is created through an exothermic reaction where fatty acids from carefully chosen oils and butters are transformed into salts during a molten hot tryst with lye. The lye is completely used up during this chemical reaction called saponification, there is none left in the final product. In fact, the careful calculations allow extra fats from the oils, butters and goat milk to be leftover in the soap after the lye is all used up and that is what helps my soap feel so rich and creamy. These extra fats are called "superfat".
If anyone tells you they use a soap that isn't made with lye they AREN'T using soap (They may be using a cleanser that uses synthetic detergents or they just might not understand the process of soapmaking)
If anyone tells you they use a soap that isn't made with lye they AREN'T using soap (They may be using a cleanser that uses synthetic detergents or they just might not understand the process of soapmaking)
During the soapmaking process I use which is called "cold process" (a bit of a misnomer if you ask me) the reaction itself takes several days to complete. After that the soap continues to cure for 4 - 6 weeks, evaporating additional moisture content which creates a longer lasting and harder bar of soap.
The resulting soap molecules are both hydrophilic (attracted to water) and hydrophobic (not a fan of water) and work together to bind oil, grease, and dirt on your skin to water and lift them with lather to be rinsed away.
Cool. Right?!