How We Make Our Soap at The Great Canadian Soap Company
Not all Soap is really Soap
At The Great Canadian Soap Company, we want you to feel comfortable in your skin! Today, many people don't. That's because the soap sold in stores today is more likely to be a
synthetic detergent than a true soap.
"The [US FDA] regulatory definition of "soap" is different from the way in
which people commonly use the word.[...] FDA interprets the term "soap" to apply
only when --The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an
alkali salt of fatty acids and the product's detergent properties are due to the
alkali-fatty acid compounds, and The product is labeled, sold, and represented
solely as soap". http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/ucm074201.htm
Our soap is, by this definition, a true soap. It is not a "beauty bar",
a "bath bar" a "deodorant bar" or any other non-soap bar that is likely just a
synthetic detergent. Our true soap is safe enough for your whole family, from
babies to elders, unlike some other "soap" out there, and it is gentle to even
the most sensitive skin.
How we make our Goat's Milk Soap
Cold Process Soap Making is an exercise in exact measuring of both
ingredients and temperatures. In chemical terms, soap is a salt, made by combining
an acid (fat or oil) and a base (lye). This process is known as saponification.
The resulting foaming salt is what we know as Soap.
Our soap is made with a mixture of Olive Oil and Coconut Oil. Olive Oil is a
mild oil, high in antioxidants, including vitamin E. Coconut Oil helps to make
the soap lather and makes the bar harder. These oils are carefully measured,
mixed together and then gently heated to just the right temperature.
Next we add our own farm fresh goat's milk.
Again, the milk is carefully measured and the temperature must be just right
before adding it to the warm oil mixture. Our soap is 26.5% goat's milk. Goat's
milk has a Ph very close to our own skin's Ph and is full of protein, lactic
acid and vitamins A, Bs and D. It's rich in beneficial nutrients and is easily
absorbed into your skin where it goes right to work as a natural moisturizer.
Once added and mixed in well, the mixture thickens to a consistency much
like butter.
Next the lye is added. It is mixed with just enough water to
dissolve it. Again this ingredient must be carefully measured. The
saponification process depends on exact amounts of acid (the oils and the milk
fat) and base (the lye) in order to produce the salt that is Soap. This is where
the safety glasses and heavy gloves come into play; lye can cause a nasty
chemical burn! The saponification process will convert the lye over the next 48
hours and the resulting soap will be a gentle, moisturizing product that is as
kind to your skin as can possibly be!
After the lye is added and blended in, the mixture returns to a thick liquid.
Now is the time, depending on the soap we're making, to add essential oils,
herbs, spices, flowers, oatmeal etc.
As well, now is when our extra butters; cocoa butter and shea butter are added. These have, among other good things, great skin softening and moisturizing properties.
Another good mix and the blend goes into the molds.
We have 15 minutes to get it poured whether it's going into one big 100lb
mold like the one pictured or many smaller individual soap molds.
The molds are then insulated and for the next 48 hours they sit quietly
as chemistry takes over and saponification happens.
Two days later they are ready to unmold and cut.
Once they are cut into bars (or individual soaps are popped from their
molds) they are put on drying racks and left to dry for 6 weeks.
This ensures you get a good hard bar that, if left to dry on a
well-draining soap dish after use, will last comparitively longer than store
bought "soap".
Our Unscented Rectangular Bar
This totally fragrance free soap is guaranteed to please those with even
the most sensitive of skin or severe allergies.
