Soap Alchemy FAQ

Saponification is the chemical reaction created by combining oils or fats with an alkali and water. Today, most handcrafted soap makers use the Cold Process method. Aside from the heat used to melt the solid fats to their liquid state, the heat produced by combining the precisely weighed oils or fats, alkali and water is sufficient to initiate the chemical reaction.

We use the Cold Process method to make our Soap Alchemy Soaps.

Saponification is complete after the soap mixture has been poured into molds, cut into bars, and allowed to cure for several weeks. Hot Process Soap is actually cooked at a high temperature for an extended period of time to accelerate the saponification process.

Transparent Soap is a kind of Hot Process Soap. In this method the soap has been cooked with other ingredients to create a ‘see-through’ soap. Melt and Pour Soap, however, is previously manufactured Transparent Soap that has been melted, colored, scented, and then poured into molds.

In a nutshell, soap contains 3 things, an alkali, water and oils or fats... Our Soap Alchemy Soap uses only natural, vegetable based oils in our base. We do not use animal fat or tallow as a base oil, though you will find that our Goat Milk Soap does contain naturally occurring animal fat from the milk of the goat. We use olive, coconut, palm and other vegetable oils for our base oils.

We do not add any coloring to our Soap Alchemy Soaps. What you see is what it was made with. The natural color of the oils is the only color you will see in our soap, though you will find that the color of the same kind of soap varies from batch to batch. This is due to the harvest from which the oils came from, the time of year they were harvested, etc.

Our scented soaps are scented with only pure essential oils. We add no chemically produced synthetic fragrances to our products. Many people find that even if they are sensitive to the fragrances of commercially produced soaps, they can indeed use our scented soaps without the same negative reactions that they may have to a commercial bar.

Essential oils are derived from plant extracts and can be very strong to those who are unused to natural fragrance oils. You will find that the scent of our soaps will be more prevalent while you are using it, but the scent does not linger on your skin as would a commercially produced bar.

For those who still prefer an unscented bar, Soap Alchemy produces a variety of bars with no fragrances added. These bars may still have a scent, but the scent of these bars is simply the scent of whatever oils have been used to make the soap.

Adding oils or fats after saponification has begun will superfat soap. These additional oils may be of seed, nut or fruit extraction.

Glycerin is a humectant. One molecule of glycerin is created for every three molecules of soap. Commercial soap makers remove the glycerin from their soap and then sell it to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. With Soap Alchemy's All Natural, Hand Crafted Soap, however, all of the naturally occurring glycerin remains intact.

Our Soap Alchemy Soap is naturally softer as well. You may be able to “dent” the soap with your finger. You will also notice that when our soap is fresh it will draw moisture from the air into small beads that will make the soap bar’s surface wet. Both of these traits indicate that the soap has a high glycerin content.

No. When Handcrafted Soap is properly made and cured, the soap no longer contains lye, as the chemical reaction has converted the alkali (lye), water, and oils and fats into saponified oils and fats and glycerin. The end result is mild, pure Handcrafted Soap.