Corn Oil used in Kenyan Soapmaking Class
If you have made cold process soap before, you know that a lot of care is given to matching the temperature of the mixtures when the lye solution is added to the oils. I always thought that was an absolute, but found out, by necessity in Kenya, that soap can be made at room temperature. Meaning, the oils do not have to be heated, the lye solution does not need to be cooled, and the temperatures do not need to match.
This is a great way to go because it eliminates unnecessary steps and saves time.
Here are the conditions :
- Most oils you will be using in a 3rd World country will be in a liquid state already, thus eliminating the need to melt. The most common being Palm, Coconut and Corn Oils that come in liquid form from the markets or are liquid in warmer climates. That is good because you may not always have ideal means to melt a pot of oils.
- The Sodium Hydroxide (also known as lye or caustic soda) solution will only need to be mixed and left until it becomes clear and stops giving off fumes. As long as it is fully dissolved the solution can be mixed into the room temperature oils. Do not add a hot lye solution into heated oils or your mixture may harden too quickly leaving caustic, unmixed pockets of solution.
This worked for me and upon doing some research back at home I found some helpful links on making soap at room temperature.
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