I have been making soap for more than 20 years. New techniques are constantly being created, and I’m always learning something from others in the soapmaking community. While progressive techniques are fun, I like to revisit the basics of soapmaking with simple recipes and techniques. Practicing the basics is key to mastering the advanced! For the past few weeks, I have been focusing on basic tutorials and techniques for both beginner soap makers and advanced soapers who want to hone their craft. This series features four tutorials, along with the Back to Basics Soapmaking Kit, which includes all the ingredients necessary to make the four projects.
In addition, I’ve created a fun quiz to test your soaping knowledge. The quiz does require an email, but don’t worry! We will not give your email to anyone; pinky promise. The quiz will be available for one month, and you’ll receive a Soap Queen Soap Master Certificate once you pass. Then, you can share your certificate on Facebook or other social media outlets. I love to see your success so post your accomplishments proudly! I’ll send out a free copy of the Making Milk Soap E-Book to each person who participates in the quiz (and presto, that’s why I need your email address).
These recipes were specifically designed for somebody who has never made cold process soap before. If you’re new to soap making, lye safety is the most important part. Much like driving a car, lye is safe when handled properly. When it is not, it can be extremely dangerous. To learn more about lye safety, check out the Back to Basics: Lye Safety Guide. This post teaches you how to properly store, handle and mix your lye solution for cold process soap. In addition, check out the How to Make Cold Process Soap: Lye Safety & Ingredients video on Soap Queen TV.
Once you understand how to handle lye safely, it’s time to start soaping! Many beginners want to dive right into complex soap techniques with milk soap, swirls and other additives. While I truly love the enthusiasm, I recommend starting with an extremely simple recipe. The Simple & Gentle Cold Process Recipe uses three oils, no fragrance and a recycled mold to create a basic bar of soap. This project gives beginners practice with mixing lye, lining a mold, measuring oils and emulsifying the soap batter.
Once you have a basic recipe under your belt, it’s time to experiment with butters and fragrance. The Creamy Orange Cold Process Tutorial introduces cocoa butter to practice with medium/thick trace. It also uses 10x Orange Essential Oil, which gives the soap a lovely, natural orange color. To give the soap a little extra flair, the Back to Basics Kit includes a free PDF for cute multi-colored soap bands. Simply download the template, print, cut and wrap the band around the bars.
Both the Simple & Gentle Cold Process Soap and the Creamy Orange Cold Process Soap use a recycled USPS Flat Rate Box for the mold. Recycled molds are a great way to try cold process soap without investing in a mold. Once you fall in love with the process, it’s time to choose a mold. The Back to Basics Kit comes with the 10″ Silicone Loaf Mold, which is easy to clean and does not require lining. Check out the Back to Basics: How to Choose a Soap Mold post to learn about the various mold options, including the pros and cons of each type.
The third tutorial in the Back to Basics series is the Layered Lavender Cold Process Soap. It’s perfect for beginners who are looking to take the next step with color! This project features ombre layers created with Periwinkle High pH LabColor for soft lavender hues. In order to keep the layers separate, each layer is stick blended into a thick trace. When using LabColors, it’s important to keep the soap insulated to help promote gel phase. Gel phase helps the LabColors become incredibly bright and vibrant! Click here to learn more.
The Layered Lavender Cold Process Tutorial is a great example of how temperature affects cold process soap. Soaping temperature refers to the temperature of the oils, lye solution and ambient temperature. Crafters soap at a wide range of temperatures depending on personal preference. For most soapers, the preferred temperature of soaping lye and oils are 120-130 ° F. Check out the Back to Basics: How Temperature Affects Cold Process Soap post to learn more about temperature and soap.
Once you’ve tried a project with thick trace, it’s time to experiment with thin trace! The Crisp Cotton Swirl Cold Process Soap uses thin trace to create a drop swirl within the soap. This type of swirl is great for beginners because it does not involve precise movements; simply drop the colors of soap into the mold and allow them to swirl together! To give the design extra movement, the Hanger Swirl Tool is used as well. The top of the soap is then swirled into a thin zig-zag pattern using a dowel. When creating swirls with cold process soap, be sure to use a well behaving fragrance oil and plenty of slow moving oils such as olive or canola.
Now that you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to test your knowledge! The quiz below includes soaping concepts includes in the Back to Basics Series. In order to “pass,” you must answer 7 out of the 10 questions correct. Then, you’ll receive a certificate so you can show off your soapy knowledge =)
Hi! Just wondering when you are going to send out the promised e-book?
Hi Debbie!
Thanks so much for your patience! We wanted to let lots of people take the quiz before sending the book, so more people would be able to receive it. We will be sending it out next week 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Yay, got them all! I even tested my spouse to see how much he listens to me, and he only missed one question! I guess he really does listen when I babble about soap.
Great job Mindy! Also, great job to your spouse! Glad to hear your soapy knowledge is sinking in. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What a fun quiz! I passed and received my certificate but did not receive my Making Milk ebook that I was so looking forward to! I had put down my email address–is that something you are waiting to send out when the month is over?
Thanks,
Nancy
So glad you like the quiz Nancy, and congrats on passing! We will be sending the e-books out when the quiz is closed, so another couple of weeks. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you for the tutorials. I enjoyed the quiz, (passed). This helps me a great deal when I want to learn something new and need to troubleshoot. Thank you Bramble Berry!
You’re very welcome Suzette! So glad you enjoy the quiz, and congrats on passing. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
I liked the quiz very much. It is nice to do this after the back to basics tutorials. The tutorials were very helpfull as well. There is always something in them you did not know yet or that you have forgotten.
With kind regards,
Annemieke
So glad to hear you like the quiz, and the tutorials! We had fun creating the series, so that means a lot to us. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I enjoyed the Back to Basics series. Really great info. I took the quiz yesterday but did not receive the e-book. I’ve checked my spam folder. Could you please send. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the series Debbie! We will start sending the e-books out when the quiz closes in about a month. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
The quiz was a lot of fun! I have really enjoyed the Back to Basics Series and I have learned so much. Thank you!
So glad to hear that Heidi! That means a lot to us. Thank you for reading and giving the quiz a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, not sure what’s going wrong with my computer, but I entered my email address a couple of times and didn’t get to the quiz – was really looking forward to it!! Have really enjoyed the tutorials!!
Cheers, Sarah : )
Hi Sarah!
Oh no, I’m sorry about that! I know some people have been having trouble accessing the quiz on their mobile device. If you’re using a phone or tablet, you may try taking the quiz on a computer to see if that works better. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Took the quiz, got 100% shared it on two of the facebook soap groups I belong to several of us have taken it and none of us have gotten the ebook and yes I checked my spam folder. I get the daily emails so that shouldn’t be it.
Hi Nadine!
That’s awesome, congratulations! We will start sending out the books when the quiz is closed, so in about a month. Thanks for participating. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Love doing quizzes! Agree with Olivia, should do this more often. Looking forward to receiving link to e-book as never tried one before and interested to see what it’s like. Thank you for adding it as a ‘prize’.
So glad you enjoy the quiz Carol! We had fun thinking of which questions to ask, so more quizzes is something we will keep in mind. Also, you’re welcome! The book has a lots of great information about working with milk. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
hi Soap Queen,
yay I passed, and I haven’t ever made cold process 😉 but I want to, I’ve actually been doing melt and pour for a couple years and want to get into cold process but the lye scares me 🙁
Hey Jasmyn!
Congratulations! Thanks for taking the quiz. 🙂
Also, I totally understand – I was very nervous the first time I made cold process soap. When working with lye, it is very important to take the correct safety precautions. However, with the correct precautions, cold process soap making is a safe process!
Learn more about lye safety here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/back-to-basics-lye-safety-guide/
The great thing about melt and pour is that you don’t have to handle lye, and you can make gorgeous bars. Definitely do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Some soapers prefer sticking with melt and pour, and that’s just fine. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I really look forward to reading your blogpost each day, and save many of your posts for future reference.
Thank you so much Dale, that really means a lot to us! Thanks for reading. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Passed it! Just missed one! This was fun, you should do quizzes more often!
Congratulations Olivia, and thanks so much for taking the quiz! We will definitely keep more quizzes in mind for future posts. We had a lot of fun making it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I never did receive an email with the Making Milk Soap E-Book. Are you still sending that out?
Thanks!
Hi Olivia!
Yes, we will be sending that out very soon! We wanted to make sure that lots of people were able to take the fun quiz first. That way, as many people as possible will receive the book. Look for it in your inbox soon, and thanks so much for your patience!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks Amanda! I just received the e-book today in my inbox, actually! Thanks again for the fun quiz! 🙂
You’re welcome! Thanks for participating. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
How do I submit the quiz? I completed it and then ended up at a screen to “review answers and make fina
l submission”, with question one showing. There is no link or any instructions about how to proceed or submit.
I tried to post a message earlier but for some reason it wouldn’t let me. My message being – nevermind. I had tried doing this quiz on my tablet but it didn’t seem to be properly displaying for that app. I later did it on my computer and worked out fine. Thanks.
So glad to hear that quiz is working for you Michael! Thanks so much for taking it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry