9 Safety Tips You Need to Know to Make Cold Process Soaps

Making cold process soap is a great thing to do at home or in your cosmetics lab. There are so many benefits to making your own soaps and you can read more about that in our article, 6 benefits of making cold process soaps.

However, before you get your oils, water and lye out (the core ingredients of cold process soaps), you need to be aware of some important safety considerations, most especially because of the ingredient used to make soap, lye, and the chemical reaction involved when dissolving lye in water.

In addition to that, formulating cold process soap is very different to formulating other cosmetic products, but you should not let any of this put you off from making your own cold process soaps at home, for yourself or to sell.

If this is something you might be interested in doing, you’ll want to make sure you have access to the right help, guidance and support and that’s exactly what our online course, Cold Process Soap Making, is designed to do – help you to safely make your own cold process soaps :-).

You’ll be able to access this course by being a member of the Natural Cosmetic Formulation Club.

Let’s take a look at the 9 Safety Tips You Need to Know to Make Cold Process Soaps.

1. Wear Gloves

Wear thick and long gloves to protect your hands. Medical-type latex gloves are short and will leave your wrists unprotected; they are also very thin and can tear, thus exposing your skin.

Cleaning-type rubber gloves are longer and thicker. Tuck your sleeves into the gloves so no skin is exposed.

Gloves need to be worn throughout the soaping process and during clean-up, since soap traces on the equipment can still contain unreacted lye.

2. Wear Goggles

Wear eye protection to prevent any damage to the eye (which can result in injury or blindness) in the case of lye and/or soap splashing, especially during the mixing process.

4. Wear Protective Clothing

Wear protective clothing during soapmaking. Lye and unsaponified soap can damage textiles so it is a good idea to use protective work clothing, not regular clothes. 

Protective clothing needs to include long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes, so no skin is exposed.

5. Use a Hairband for longer hair

If you have long hair, wear it tied back.

7. Use lye-resistant worktops

Hardwood worktops can get damaged if in contact with water. Regular kitchen countertops and stainless steel worktops are lye-resistant. 

It is still best to protect the area using paper (a couple of layers of old newspaper, or cardboard) and/or a plastic sheet.

8. No children or pets should be allowed in the work area

Make sure there are no children or pets in the soapmaking area throughout the duration of soapmaking.

9. Only use lye-resistant and heat-resistant mixing materials and bowls

Suitable materials for soapmaking and mixing lye solution include: polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), stainless steel and glass. Do not use aluminum containers or spoons.

If you don’t follow the safety advice and follow correct tuition, you not only run the risk of your batch of soap not working, but you also run the risk of damaging your equipment and work surfaces as well injuring yourself.

The trick to making your own soaps is to learn how to do it correctly, but fortunately this can easily be achieved.

Cold process soap needs to be made in a very specific way, and by following the correct methods and using accurate information, it is a straightforward process.

You just need to know how!

We’re delighted to say that all of this, plus the essential guidance for Lye First Aid and much more, can be found inside our Cold Process Soap Making online course!

In our online, multimedia course on Cold Process Soap Making, you’ll:

• Get an introduction to soapmaking
• Learn the theory of saponification
• Discover the mandatory safety information
• Receive accurate and up-to-date tuition on how to make cold process soaps
• Learn all about the ingredient used to make cold process soaps, how to select them to give you the results you seek
• Access a collection of basic soap recipes and advanced soap recipes
• Get troubleshooting tips

In the advanced modules you’ll:

• Learn how to use mineral and plant-derived colorants to create beautiful effects in your soap bars. 
• Discover how to add more advanced ingredients such as milk, sugar, salt or even alcohol to your soaps.
• Be able to pipe your soap: this technique can be used to create soaps that look like cupcakes!
• Learn about a variety of different soap swirling techniques in detail – what recipes to use when swirling, which soap molds and tools are suitable for different swirls, and how to cut finished soap to reveal the swirl. 
• Follow our step-by-step video demonstrations so you have the confidence to carry out these techniques yourself.

This 5 module, multimedia, online course can be accessed by being a member of the Natural Cosmetic Formulation Club.

Click here to find out about the Club now

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