Demystifying cold process soaps
Why do I spend so much on a bar of soap? and that too the one that doesn't last any longer than...
Artisanal cold process soap - sounds a little gimmicky right? We are so used to the L***l's & L*x of the world that it's hard to imagine a soap doing anything more. If you want to indulge, you only think of fancy counterparts like shower gels and mousse.
Well, Hello! the times have changed, and today the most conscious and skin loving choice for your bath needs is the cold process soap.
So what exactly is the cold process soap?
It is the age old & time tested way of making soap, except now we have refined and made more sustainable choices when it comes to the ingredients. Traditionally, lard and lye were heated and mixed together at room temperature to make soaps, that were then cured for a few weeks. Lard being an animal fat is now replaced with vegetable oils and butters.
But is lye safe for skin?
There is no lye in a cold process soap. All the lye goes through a chemical reaction with the oils and butters to become soap. At Coral and Sky, our recipe also uses a 4-6% superfat - meaning all the lye changes to soap and even then there is 4-6% of oil and butter left in the bar of the soap so that the soap while cleaning does not strip your skin of the natural oils and make it dry.
Which oils and butters do you use to make cold process soap?
As we are a vegan and cruelty-free brand, we have stayed away from all animal fats and also the controversial palm oil in our recipes. Know more about the palm oil controversy here.
We experiment and use oils like the hemp oil, neem oil, wheatgerm, jojoba and rosehip oil but all our recipes do have virgin olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, sweet almond oil and cocoa butter .
Check out another video of cold process soap making! https://youtube.com/shorts/c-RfMX-Z-VI
Why are cold process soaps considered artisanal?
The cold process soaps while being good for your skin and using no nonsense ingredients (just the ones that actually add functionality) make it a good choice for people who are more conscious and want to buy honest products.
The icing on the cake is that when you pour this batter like mixture of oil and lye - you have a plethora of pouring techniques so the soap maker can get the creative juices flowing and make it their canvas of expression! Fancy, right? So you'll see the swirls, the landscapes, the layers and even the fancy icings on top.
What is the creative idea for Coral and Sky soaps?
Our brand is truly inspired by nature and its ability to heal and help us relax and calm down. And so we wanted our creative expression to come from the textures and landscapes of nature. A serene sunrise in the mountains, a sunset at the beach, the textures of the tree, sometimes nature has so much symmetry and sometimes its so abstract that we honestly have so many more designs to explore! Check out the designs explored so far here. And we also hope that each time you use our soap, you are transported back to that sweet memory by the beach or up on the hill and make your bath time a trip down the memory lane.
How can we increase the shelf life of cold process soaps?
Using cold process soap, you need to find a way to keep them dry so that they don't melt away very soon. My favorite one is alternating between 2 soaps or a soap and a scrub or shower gel/mousse so that the soap gets time to dry.
Also it works best and lasts longest if there is one person using the soap - it gets wet only once in the day and has enough time to dry.
And ofcourse keeping them upright after use to dry quickly and use a well-drained dish.
Have you switched to cold process soaps yet?
