Och Vegan Handmade Natural Soap
Och Vegan Handmade Natural Soap 160g

Soap comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as different types: surgical, industrial, artisanal, organic, and natural. Because of the plastic containers, soap in liquid form generates waste. It also contains ingredients that, at best, do not cleanse the skin and, at worst, are toxic. We explain everything about this cosmetic that isn’t always clean, from palm oil soaps to those containing petroleum-based ingredients.

 

Optional ingredients

 

Dyes

 

Naturally, the soap will have a colour ranging from pale yellow to light green depending on the fats used. Avocado oil will thus tend to colour the soap green and wheat germ will give an orange-yellow.

Dyes are classified according to the INCI standard which lists all the substances authorized in cosmetics. Dyes are identified by the letters CI (for Color Index) followed by numbers.

The dyes are mostly from the petrochemical industry (except CI75 which is natural and CI77 which are oxidized metals). They are extremely effective and give very bright colours to soaps. 

Synthetic dyes are unfortunately not known to be healthy or environmentally friendly.

However, it is possible to opt for natural alternatives:

  • Spices (like turmeric for example),
  • Cocoa,
  • Flowers (madder, alkanet…),
  • Infusions of tea, coffee,
  • Etc.

These dyes are natural and biodegradable but it will be more difficult or even impossible to obtain colours as bright and clean as synthetic dyes.

Still, the colour of the organic soap does not condition the proper cleansing of the body. The function of colourants is only to make the product more attractive.

 

The perfumes

 

Adding perfume is completely optional, otherwise, the soaps will simply smell like soap. The addition of fragrance does not condition the functional quality of the product. In other words, the smell has no impact on the cleaning potential of the soap.

If you still want to add perfume to the soaps, it is possible to opt for 100% natural perfumes developed by perfumers.

To personalize the cosmetic, even more, a house blend of essential oils is also a possibility. However, they are little used for cold saponifications because they are expensive and liable to be degraded by soda.

A total of 2 to 5% of fragrant substances is generally sufficient to perfume soaps. 

Some precautions should be observed concerning essential oils, they should not be used for products intended for pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children.

It is necessary to check before buying perfume or essential oils that these fragrances are stable with saponification. This is not always the case and it is advisable to ask the supplier how the product is likely to react.

 

Manufacturing steps

 

Step 1: Choose fats

 

In addition to determining the properties and benefits of the final och vegan soap, it is the choice of fats that will determine the content of the soda solution necessary for saponification.

Refer to the tables below relating to the benefits of fatty substances and the table on the functional aspects of oils.

 

Step 2: Calculate the soda content and work out the solution

 

The soda content of the mixture must be very precisely calculated because, in excess, all the soda will not be transformed by saponification. On the contrary, if the mixture does not contain enough soda, there is a risk of obtaining a soap that is too soft.

Online calculators are allowing, depending on the fats used, to determine the concentration of soda necessary for saponification.

Simply select the fats and weights used in the recipe and these tools automatically calculate the soda and water weights to use. 

 

Step 3: Mix fat and soda solution.

 

Once the fats have been selected and the soda solution is at room temperature, the two components can be mixed carefully.

It is necessary to work little by little with delicacy. From a translucent mixture, an opaque paste will form. When a trace remains visible on the surface of the dough after letting the mixture trickle out, it means that the preparation is ready for the optional step or moulding.

 

Optional Step: Adding Color or Oil for Surges

It is after the mixing step that it is possible to add the colourants, the perfume(s) or the fat of your choice.

Gently mix everything before pouring (quickly enough to avoid solidification) into the moulds.

  • Step 4: Casting
  • Step 5: Saponification

It is a step during which only patience is required since it takes at least 24 hours for the saponification to take place completely.

It is advisable to cover the moulds with cling film and place them in a room away from light and at room temperature.

At this stage, it is possible to observe a “gel phase” on the soaps. Depending on the temperature of the room, in particular, the soap can start to heat up, or even become boiling. This is a phenomenon known to soap makers who can choose to use it to accentuate or block certain colours. 

The gel phase does not influence the final quality of the soap.

 

Step 6: Drying

Once the saponification is complete, it is time to unmold the soaps and place them in a ventilated room, away from light, humidity and at constant room temperature. This step allows the soaps to dry and harden and lasts between 4 to 6 weeks.

 

Receipts

 

Ingredients for about 1kg of soap

  • 450g olive oil
  • 250g coconut oil
  • 100g sunflower oil
  • 108g soda
  • 302g of water
  • Optional: essential oils (10-15ml)

Do not put the soda in contact with zinc, aluminium, or tin, favor the porous material.

 

 Pour the soda into the water and never the other way around!

 Pour the soda solution into the oil and never the other way around!

  1. Protect the work plan (newspapers work very well),
  2. Melt the coconut oil in a double boiler,
  3. Bring the protective equipment and place yourself in a room where the air circulates Prepare the water/soda mixture, you need a heat-resistant container since the solution will rise in temperature! Pour the soda into the water then stir very gently with a spatula (risk of splashing!). 

Watch the temperature: it should drop to 29°C.

  1. While the solution is cooling, add the vegetable oils into the melted 
  2.   Off the heat, slowly pour the soda solution into the oil,
  3. The mixture thus made, mix with an immersion blender. Stop it regularly so that the motor does not overheat.
  4. Optional: add essential oils, 
  5. Pour the batter into the chosen moulds,
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 24 hours. If after 24 hours, the soap is still soft, it is possible to wait another 24 hours, 
  7. Unmold the soaps and let them dry for 4 weeks on racks away from light, in a ventilated and temperate room,

 

How to choose your natural soap?

 

Skin types

For each skin type, some fats are more suitable than others. Below is a table showing vegetable oils and vegetable butter according to skin type.

This list is not exhaustive, there is a multitude of combinations of fats.

Choose oils and butter produced near you to limit the carbon impact of transport and support local trade. Unfortunately, in the case of vegetable butter, the choice in local, European and French production seems limited.

 

Use and Functional Aspects

In addition to the benefits on the skin, the fats chosen for the recipe will have functional aspects. That is to say that they condition the texture of the soap, its application, its foaming properties, its hardness…

Here is an overview of the oils and butter seen in these aspects.

 

Oxidative potential refers to the susceptibility of fat to rancidity. Some oils and butter oxidize faster than others. Thus, “Little resistant” designates a fatty substance which will tend to oxidize quickly, while “resistant” demonstrates resistance to time (a product which goes rancid less quickly).

In all cases, soaps can be kept for the duration of their use.

Small bonus: it is possible to make your homemade vegetable butter. To do this, you just need to mix 300 g of the chosen food (almonds for example). Mixing can last up to 15 minutes and should bring out a fairly homogeneous paste. It is possible to add water or another vegetable oil to adapt the texture.

 

Quality labels

 

  • Safe

The “safe” logo identifies soaps produced using the cold saponification method. However, it is not necessarily affixed to the packaging. Although it is becoming more and more widespread, some products simply include the words “cold soap” or “cold saponification”.  

In any case, this method is indicated on the packaging since it is a criterion of know-how and quality.

  • ASSAF

The “Association of soap makers by cold saponification” brings together professionals whose vocation is to promote the know-how of cold saponification. A colour code of the logo classifies the product according to several levels:

  • Blue and black logo: attests to compliance with the official cold saponification charter,
  • Green logo: In addition to the cold soap charter, the product follows the “Nature and Progress” specifications

 

  • slow cosmetic

This mention rewards free of charge brands that respect not a set of specifications but certain essential criteria. 

Among these are:

  • The absence of ingredients from the petrochemical industry, 
  • Under the precautionary principle, no suspect ingredient enters the recipe,
  • The composition of the product contains ONLY substances beneficial to the skin,
  • No greenwashing, only achievable promises.

If you have questions about soap, it is possible to contact an association of soap makers such as ADNS (Association des Nouveaux Savonniers).

 

Advantages / Disadvantages of natural soaps

 

Advantages

  • Better transparency,
  • Fewer ingredients in the recipe,
  • Possibility of opting for a zero-waste alternative thanks to solid soap,
  • Many alternatives of natural soaps,
  • More respectful of the skin,
  • They last longer
  • Zero-waste because little packaging,
  • Adapt to skin types.

 

Disadvantages

  • It is necessary to keep a minimum of vigilance on the composition,
  • Risk of greenwashing,
  • More expensive to buy
  • Homemade, more technical than other cosmetics.

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