Lye and Oil Meet!

This is the critical stage where we actually begin to make soap. I always love to see a clear pot of oil become opacified, as the lye and water mixture, meets it at the precise temperature. This is actually the beginning of saponification. That is where the fatty acids in the oils/butters interact with a strong alkali(lye) = a salt(what we know as soap!)

The stir and wait period.

As the lye/water and oil/butter mixture become further acquainted, the mixture becomes thicker. It still has not reached the point where it's ready for the mold. There is still a lot more mixing to do to fully introduce each fat molecule to each molecule of alkali. Here we stir and wait.

We are getting there!

Notice how this mixture has become a lot thicker and heavy. Actually, this is where I am just about to add my "treats" to the soap. Each of our soaps have their special blends. Notice My hand is gloved because this mixture is far from being actual soap safe/mild enough to use on bare skin.

Going to the Mold!

After the mixture is thickened with stirring, after we have added our treats, we are ready to pour them into the mold. Here it will stay for 24-48 hours. During that time, it will harden a complete the saponification process.(Finish becoming soap). We keep it nice and warm during this critical period.

The Curing Time!

After the first day, or so, of the soap process. The soaps are taken out of the mold, cut, and set up to dry evenly. Although the soap can be cut into bars, they are in no way ready for use. Over the next month, or so, they will become milder and ready for use. There would be no more lye left in the final product of soap.

A view of a group of our Almonds!

A finished honey almond soap(which you saw poured in the previous photos) is "cured" and ready to use. It is shown here with our Almond Castile Wash(8oz.) and Almond Body Butter(4oz.)*best selling butter.