Hot Process Soap
As a soap maker, I make exclusively hot process soaps. I adore the process of watching the lye and oils transform from liquid to solid to liquid to solid. I'm impatient and I like to use my soap NOW instead of waiting 4-6 weeks that cold process soap takes to cure. I like not worrying if my fragrance will make my soap seize up or rice or result in soap on a stick. I love the convenience of having no caustic products hanging around my house when I finish a soaping session. And I love playing with the texture of my hot process soap to get swirls and textures. Here are some examples of the soaps I've created.
This bar is a 100% coconut formula with a superfat of 20% I love the translucent quality of the color. This bar just looks and smells minty and refreshing. It's my favorite bar to use after a hot, sweaty grass cutting session.
I love heavy floral scents and floral Fragrance oils are notorious for accelerating soap's trace. Hot processing allows me to use these scents and create swirls and designs with no fear of seizing.
Here is a quick overview of my hot process procedures. I start with my melted oils. In the below example I'm using all olive oil to make a Castille bar. Then I weigh out my water and lye and combine them adding the lye to the water never adding the water to the lye.