Double boiler and oven hot process soapmaking methods

Deciding whether Cold Process is better than Hot Process, or viceversa, is just a matter of personal preference and soapmaking "culture" - a bit like deciding whether holidaying at the beach is better than mountain trekking, or whether black tea is better than white tea!

Both methods offer specifical advantages and disadvantages, and in our experience, the best way to choose is for you to read through the instructions and warnings for both basic soapmaking methods (Cold Process, or CP, and Hot Process, or HP), evaluate pros and cons, make up your mind based on your expectations and skills, and then apply the "golden rule": try for yourself, and see if you're happy with the results!

The advantages of Hot Process soap are, by general agreement, basically three:

1. Soap is completely saponified quicker than in Cold Process soap.
2. Essential and fragrance oils, superfatting oils, and other additives are added at the end of the cook and are not affected by the saponification reaction.
3. Hot Process soaps are easier to slice and do not crumble. For this reason, they offer a better alternative for those soapmakers who prefer to cut their soaps "on request".

There are however a few disadvantages, including the following:

• At the end of the cook, the soap paste is less fluid than with Cold Process, and not as easy to work with for moulds designed for larger batches (such as divider soap moulds, for instance).
• Soapmakers disagree on the effects that cooking might have on the base oils, and some argue that cooking will reduce or destroy altogether the "live" properties of the oils. If it's true that even Cold Process soap must undergo an exothermic reaction, the difference between the highest temperatures reached by Hot Process and Cold Process is approximately 30ºC, which appears to justify these concerns.
• Although it's true that Hot Process soap can be used as early as a few hours after the end of the cook (and this is because the saponification process has been completed during this phase), no handmade soap can be considered truly ready to use in less than 4 weeks. As a matter of fact, because it uses a larger amount of water than Cold Process , Hot Process soap tends to require longer curing (drying) times than Cold Process soap.
• Cooking represents an energy waste, which can be avoided with Cold Process soap.

Ingredients and amounts are the same as with Cold Process, with the following differences:

• No matter how much water you choose to use for Cold Process soap, Hot Process requires a water ratio of 0.35-0.375 parts of water for each part of oils. The MMS saponification calculator gives the safest water amount for Hot Process soap.
• Additives (including fragrances and essential oils) are always added at the end of the cook. "Luxury" oils are also added at the end of the cook if you want to protect their live qualities.
• Cosmetic grade oxides and ultramarines must be added before cooking if you want to obtain a uniform colour for the finished soap.
• Milks, sugars and honey tend to burn when added before cooking, and will give brown to dark brown soaps. In general, recipes using milks, sugars or honey give best results with the Cold Process method.
• Mixing temperatures are not crucial for the success of the soap, but it's important to keep in mind that, if the soap mix is hotter than 50ºC (122ºF) at trace, the soap will most likely raise and "volcano" out of the pot during the cook.

Refer to the sections on soap safety and Cold Process soap for the initial step-by-step instructions.

Double check and make notes!

Saponification calculators, pen and paper are a soaper's best friends. Whichever the source of your recipe, always run the amounts through a SAP calculator and make sure the amount of caustic soda is within the safety threshold (from 3% to 10% superfatting, 0% superfatting for laundry and cleaning soaps only).
Also.... don't forget to make notes. Troubleshooting a problem batch is impossible, unless we know exactly what we did, how we did it and in which order. No notes also mean replicating a successful batch might be very difficult. So don't be afraid... and write :-)

Double Boiler Hot Process
The Double Boiler Hot Process soapmaking method is described here.

Source : aquasapone.com.au

How to make soap : Basic soap formula