Saponification: the act, process or result of making soap; conversion into soap - Websters dictionary
Saponification can be defined as a "hydration reaction where free hydroxide breaks the ester bonds between the fatty acids and glycerol of a triglyceride, resulting in free fatty acids and glycerol," which are each soluble in aqueous solutions. - Science Direct
I began making soap in 2012...it started with the idea of wanting a fun hobby to do with my mother in law. I signed us both up for a soapmaking class at LSU and I was hooked. We made hot process soap, learned the ins and outs of saponification (still one of my favorite words) and about how all the different oils had different properties to add to the finished soap. I still reference that binder today.
Hot process soap involves heating the oils and continuing to cook the soap after the lye solution is added. It usually takes about 2-3 hours to complete but once poured, the finished product is ready to use in a few days.
Cold process soap starts with heating the oils to melt them together then removing from heat and adding lye solution. After blending this mixture together, the soap is poured into a mold where it cures overnight then is cut and continues curing for 4-6 weeks.
With hot process, the heating after blending ensures that all the lye is cooked out and saponification has occured. Cold process on the other hand takes those extra weeks to fully saponify.
Fast forward to today, and I use the cold process method because the goats milk would be scorched in the cooking phase of hot process. Because of the fragility of milk, I freeze cubes of it to then sprinkle lye atop in order to get a low temp lye solution that retains all the active vitamins and nutrients for skin health.
Ok, all that science is cool, but what's the reason for goats milk in soap?
✨️The lactic acid in goats milk naturally exfoliates dead skin cells which helps prevent acne by keeping pores clear.
✨️The pH of goats milk is very similar to our skin making it a gentle, non-irritating cleanser so it's perfect for all types of skin.
✨️Goats milk is rich in vitamins and minerals, plus it's high in fatty acids and anti-inflammatory.
✨️P.s. adding tallow basically makes it a super powered soap. Read more about tallow here...
All of our goat milk soap contains tallow as the main oil. We use only pure essential oils or certified clean scents.