Hot processed Soap

Over the past two years I've been experimenting with "hot processed" soapmaking. Hot processed soap is made by adding extra heat via the microwave, double broiler, crock pot, oven, or whatever else you can think of, to the soap making process. By adding heat you speed up the saponification process there by turning oils and lye into soap faster than when using the traditional "cold pour" method. With hot processed soap you can go from a raw soap mixture to a completely saponified soap within an hour. The traditional cold pour method can take up to 2 days for the oils and lye mixture to completely turn into soap. Both methods still require cure time on a shelf before they are at their best IMO. Check out the pics below of some soap I made recently using the hot process method.



Here's the raw soap (melted oils, lye and water) ready to go. I chose to use the oven, set on warm, to "cook" the soap.




As the soap begins to heat up and "cook" you can see around the edges of the bowl how it changes texture.




In this picture the soap if fully saponified, no lye remains. The texture is like that of soft mashed potatoes.



Here I'm adding the goat milk after the cook in order to keep the sugars in the milk from burning and turning brown and stinky. For hot processed soap I'm using a food grade, spray dried, whole fat goat milk that has been reconstituted into a concentrated slurry.



The soap has now been scented, colored and plopped into a wooden mold. After it cools I'll take it out and cut it.



And here's the soap out of the mold and cut. It needs to cure another months to 6 weeks to be at it's best. I scented it with an energizing orange, mint and lavender blend and colored with bright sunny colors! When this soap is ready, I'll make it available online as a limited edition.