We all probably know what soaps are, right? Well, let’s take a quick dive. A soap is a substance made for cleaning purposes that can be in a solid bar or liquid or even powdery form. Then, what does “artisanal soap” mean?
But first, who is an artisan?
An artisan is a skilled artificer that creates crafts. They are manually dependent.
They produce works of fine art, accurately made to a degree of high quality produced in small batches.
This makes it clear to us that an “Artisanal soap” is one manually made as a work of fine art to a degree of high quality. These soaps are made with natural ingredients; vegetable oils and butter which are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients that contribute a great deal to healthy skin, then, pure lye is a must-ingredient.
Optional ingredients include; Colorants and fragrant oils. They are free of toxins and preservatives. No chemicals or unnecessary ingredients are added to an artisan soap.
These soaps go through saponification where fats, oils, lye, and water are converted to soap and glycerin. Glycerin, which is an important feature of Artisan soap, softens, gives a silky feel, and moisturizes the skin by maintaining the skin’s water balance.
They improve the skin and relieve it of dryness, itchiness, and redness, including Skin conditions such as pimples, acne, eczema, psoriasis e.t.c.
There are different methods for making an artisan soap; Melt and pour, Cold process, Hot process, Milk soap, and re-batching.
Artisan cold process soap is said to be a noteworthy part of artisan soaps. It comes in through the combination of oils and Sodium hydroxide lye (Saponification), fragranced with natural essential oils like Lavender, Rosehip, Jasmine, and lots more which gain intensity over time.
It is absolutely a suitable choice for sensitive skin. Unlike other processes of artisan soap-making, the cold process method retains the natural benefits of soap-making which could be lost in the hot process method through the heating process.
The cold process soap births a luxurious lather that penetrates deep into the skin to provide deep moisturization which helps in relieving dry skin. It makes your bath-time wondrous and enjoyable with its fragrance seeping into your skin. It is definitely a good choice.
Steps to making artisan cold process soap
Mix temperature – 115°F
Ingredients used
- Oils
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Lye mixture
- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
- Filtered water
- Weigh the ingredients precisely. It is safe to wear gloves.
- Heat the natural oils
- Mix the lye ingredients with room-temperature distilled water.
- Add the lye to the water and not otherwise. Mix slowly.
- Thicken the mixture
- Essential oils and Colorants can now be added.
- Pour the mixture into a mold and cover tightly. Wrap in a large cloth that can give heat and place somewhere warm for 48hours.
- Unmold and cut into sizes.
- Place the soap bars in a cool and dark place for six weeks.
After six weeks, you can wrap it in a cotton cloth and use it.
Shelf life of an artisan soap
Artisan soap gets better with time. But, it expires soon compared to commercial soaps. The common expiry date for an artisan soap is a year. Due to the natural ingredients getting rancid and moldy.
