The vast majority of molds for soap making are nowadays made from either plastic or Silicone.
Silicone is the favoured material because it is flexible, hard-wearing and the soap comes away without sticking.
It is possible to use something as simple as a cardboard box lined with food wrap but of course in doing this you are limited to basic squares and oblongs.
Soaps once made need to be purified, this involves boiling up the crude curds with water and then using salt to re-precipitate the soap.
This will get rid of the common impurities and also remove the glycerol and Sodium Hydroxide.
Water is then removed either in a vacuum or spray dryer or even in a chill roll, which is the more traditional method which is still used by many soap making artisans.
Or for the home based hobbyist the soap can simply be left on a drying rack until it is ready.
This "dry Soap" can be shaped and squeezed into pellets ready to be made into whatever type or shape of soap is required, bars or blocks or even specialised shapes.
Some soap making recipes suggest the addition of very small particles of metals such as Silver, Nickel, Aluminium or Titanium to the soap.
This can be for a couple of reasons, for the anti-bacterial properties or purely to change the colour of the soap.
When the metals come into contact with bacteria they have a profound effect on them.
The metals actually kill the bacteria by stripping electrons from their surface which has the effect once they have lost a large number of electrons of stopping the bacteria from being able to function properly.
Odours are caused by bacteria as well and the fact that some of the metal in the soap is left behind on the skin and even in the pores, stops this bacteria from growing and helps to keep the hands fresh smelling.
This effect also helps to fight contamination from bacteria getting onto the skin.
If you want a harsher soap or to use one for scouring, then sand or even pumice can be added to the soap to achieve this.
I am sure you have heard of exfoliation, this is where the sand or pumice helps to remove any dead skin from the body or hands.
The only drawback from using pumice is that the particles are of an uneven size and they are often too rough for anywhere other than your hands.
There are also some newer products used that are much gentler and some can even be used on the most delicate body parts.
The small pellets of soap can also at this stage be mixed with fragranced oils or other materials and then blended together.
This is then refined and milled.
A vacuum chamber can be used to remove any air or excess water still present.
The soap is now ready to be sold or used.
In future articles I will talk about individual soap making recipes and maybe discuss some of the history of soap making.
Silicone is the favoured material because it is flexible, hard-wearing and the soap comes away without sticking.
It is possible to use something as simple as a cardboard box lined with food wrap but of course in doing this you are limited to basic squares and oblongs.
Soaps once made need to be purified, this involves boiling up the crude curds with water and then using salt to re-precipitate the soap.
This will get rid of the common impurities and also remove the glycerol and Sodium Hydroxide.
Water is then removed either in a vacuum or spray dryer or even in a chill roll, which is the more traditional method which is still used by many soap making artisans.
Or for the home based hobbyist the soap can simply be left on a drying rack until it is ready.
This "dry Soap" can be shaped and squeezed into pellets ready to be made into whatever type or shape of soap is required, bars or blocks or even specialised shapes.
Some soap making recipes suggest the addition of very small particles of metals such as Silver, Nickel, Aluminium or Titanium to the soap.
This can be for a couple of reasons, for the anti-bacterial properties or purely to change the colour of the soap.
When the metals come into contact with bacteria they have a profound effect on them.
The metals actually kill the bacteria by stripping electrons from their surface which has the effect once they have lost a large number of electrons of stopping the bacteria from being able to function properly.
Odours are caused by bacteria as well and the fact that some of the metal in the soap is left behind on the skin and even in the pores, stops this bacteria from growing and helps to keep the hands fresh smelling.
This effect also helps to fight contamination from bacteria getting onto the skin.
If you want a harsher soap or to use one for scouring, then sand or even pumice can be added to the soap to achieve this.
I am sure you have heard of exfoliation, this is where the sand or pumice helps to remove any dead skin from the body or hands.
The only drawback from using pumice is that the particles are of an uneven size and they are often too rough for anywhere other than your hands.
There are also some newer products used that are much gentler and some can even be used on the most delicate body parts.
The small pellets of soap can also at this stage be mixed with fragranced oils or other materials and then blended together.
This is then refined and milled.
A vacuum chamber can be used to remove any air or excess water still present.
The soap is now ready to be sold or used.
In future articles I will talk about individual soap making recipes and maybe discuss some of the history of soap making.