Читать книгу Natural Soap - Melinda Coss - Страница 8
Ingredients
ОглавлениеSOAP IS THE RESULT OF COMBINING AN alkali with an acid. The alkali used to make bar soap is sodium hydroxide (also known as caustic soda, NaOH and lye) and the alkali used to make liquid and soft soaps is potassium hydroxide. The acid can be any kind of oil or fat, be it animal or vegetable. If you think of all the wonderful plant derived oils and fats that are available you will realise what a huge palette this gives you to play with. In the following section I will explain the virtues of various oils and additives and hopefully help you to make your ideal product.
Creams and lotions are a combination of oils/fats/butters, water additives and an emulsifier to hold them together. They contain no harsh chemicals and making them is a similar experience to that of making mayonnaise. Reserve the use of your finest grade base and essential oils for making creams and lotions – here the benefits will really come through.
Once you have your basic product formula there are many ingredients you can use to add colour, texture and fragrance and this section should give you plenty of ideas.
If you think sensibly about the fact that oils are mixed with a caustic solution to create soap, you must also realise that the caustic element will, certainly to some degree, destroy the natural benefits of any chosen oil. For this reason, and for reasons of economy (oils are becoming very costly), it is wise not to invest in top grade refined oils when making soap. Many companies boast the use of ‘virgin olive oil’ in their products, but in reality ‘pomace’ (the roughest grade of olive oil produced from the third pressing of the fruit) creates far better soap. Some olive oils sold as ‘pomace’ are in fact blended so take care to read labels before you buy as you need a 100 per cent olive pomace oil. Essential oils need not be top grade but they should be 100 per cent pure and not blended with alcohol or enhancers. Always buy your ingredients from a reputable supplier (the stockist list on page 143 should help you to find one).