THE ART OF DONKEY MILK SOAP MAKING! PART 1
THE ART OF DONKEY MILK SOAP MAKING! PART 1
The art of Donkey milk soap making article is divided in two parts.
In the first part (this article) is discussed what is soap, what is Donkey milk soap and what do you need (equipment and ingredients) to make Donkey milk soap.
In the second part (Don’t miss it) is discussed how to make Donkey milk soap step by step and a number of tips of how to make a perfect Donkey milk soap.
Donkey milk soap is a combination of Donkey milk and vegetable oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil and castor oil.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a chemist to start making your own Donkey milk soap, even though it requires some minimum knowledge of basic chemistry; don’t worry, I will explain everything in the simplest way.
If you are really careful and prepared, the process of creating a Donkey milk soap bar can be really fun and allow you to use your imagination. But if you don’t follow the instructions it can also be quite dangerous. This is why you need to fully understand what soap actually means and make sure you have everything you need.
WHAT IS THE ART OF DONKEY MILK SOAP MAKING?
WHAT IS SOAP, ACTUALLY?
As you have seen everywhere in history, soap is a mixture between some alkali salts (or lye) and vegetable or animal oils. And this is actually what soap is and it represents the basis of our soap industry nowadays.
The chemical reaction between lye (sodium hydroxide) and oils is called saponification. From this reaction the glycerol or glycerin results, and, of course, the solid soap is the final product. Basically you just need two ingredients lye (sodium hydroxide and Donkey milk) and oils.
But isn’t glycerin dangerous and explosive?
Well actually glycerin is used for producing the nitroglycerine which is used in general for dynamite and other explosives, but the glycerin in Donkey milk soaps is as safe as it can be and has the role of a softening agent.
WHAT ABOUT THE SODIUM HYDROXIDE, ISN’T THAT TOXIC TO YOUR SKIN?
Oh well, the answer is: YES it is, but after the reaction between the lye and the oils is finished you won’t even have a drop of sodium hydroxide in your soap bar, otherwise the reaction won’t fully take place and it wouldn’t transform into Donkey milk soap.
The sodium hydroxide itself it is very dangerous for the skin (it can actually cause serious burns and injuries if it is not properly used) and it’s usually used for cleaning the pipes, some pottery, and sometimes even in the food industry.
Now we know what Donkey milk soap is let’s see a little bit of the history of soap making.
HISTORY OF SOAP MAKING
This hygiene product is so common nowadays that we don’t even imagine life without it. But who invented it?
The first evidence of soap usage dates from 2800 BC, in Babylon, where they used a combination of alkali salts and cassia oil (or Chinese cinnamon tree) for cleaning usage. The ancient Egyptians were also using a mixture between animal or vegetable oils and alkali salts, to bathe themselves.
In some other parts of the world, like the Middle East, they were mixing ash and vegetable oils in order to clean their clothes while in Europe the soap-making industry flourished in the Medieval times, when Spanish and French soap makers were the leaders back then in this “industry”.
WHAT ARE THE SOAP MAKING PROCESSES?
There are three ways you can make your own soap:
- Hot process method
- Cold process method
- Melt and pour process method
- Hot process is the most used one for ages because it is a very simple way of making soap and you don’t really have to worry about the amount of ingredients.
It is named “hot process” because you use heat in order to finish the reaction between the ingredients.
The soap can be used the day after it was made, but it is recommended to let it settle down for about one week before using it, for safety reasons.
- Cold process is also preferred by many home-made soap makers because it’s actually faster and the smells and scents of your soap won’t be affected as much as they would when you use high temperatures.
It’s called “cold process” because you don’t need heat to finish the reaction. With the cold process you have to be really careful with the amount of ingredients such as Donkey milk as key ingredient, olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, castor oil and temperatures you use (chemistry) and the soap that results should be used only after a month or two depending on the ingredients you’ve used.
- Melt and pour is also a process preferred by many because of its simplicity.
For this process you have to buy a soap base, or make it your own, which usually has no scents or colour. What you have to do is melt the soap bar, add some colourants and scents, and you have a soap half-made by you actually.
Remember there is no soap without lye!
Because it is the most complex and it is the basis of all processes, we will discuss the cold process in most detail..
WHAT ARE THE SOAP MAKING EQUIPMENT AND INGREDIENTS?
Equipment
Before making your own homemade Donkey milk soap, be sure you have everything you need in order to start the process.
The most important equipment is the safety gear. You need protection goggles, face/mouth mask, latex/rubber gloves, an overall to protect your clothes, and some boots.
Yes you will look like someone that went to Chernobyl, but this way you will keep yourself away from some unwanted burns and other accidents.
The next step is to prepare the equipment needed for the soap making.
1.Stick blender.
The most useful thing is the stick blender. It is like the one you use for the food. You don’t need a very powerful one, a cheap one can do the job you need.
2.Accurate weighing scale.
You will also need an accurate weighing scale (a small kitchen one would be great). You have to be really careful with your quantities of the ingredients.
- Thermometer.
The thermometer will help you know when to mix the two solutions (Donkey milk – lye and oils).
4.Stainless steel containers.
You need two Stainless steel containers. One for the mixture of the oils and one for the mixture of Donkey milk and lye (sodium hydroxide). They can be like a pot or a big bowl, but be sure they are stainless steel otherwise you will create unwanted reactions.
- Rubber/silicone spatula.
A rubber/silicone spatula, which will be used to pour the soap into your molds.
- Stainless steel/wood spatula.
The stainless steel/wood spatula will help you mix the ingredients at first.
7.Silicone or wood molds.
You can use the silicone molds that are usually used for cupcakes or just cakes in general (it is wiser not to use them for both soap and cookies).
Ingredients
The most important ingredient is of course the safety ingredient that you will have to keep close to yourself in case of anything happens: a bottle of vinegar. The quality doesn’t matter, you just need something that is acidic to neutralise the lye if it gets on your skin. DON’T USE WATER if the lye ends up on your skin, because you will only exacerbate the reaction and you’ll get serious skin damage and burns.
- Mixture of Donkey milk and Sodium Hydroxide.
Because there is no soap without lye, the first ingredient needed in order to make your Donkey milk soap is the mixture between pre-measured quantities of frozen Donkey milk and Sodium Hydroxide.
- Mixture of Vegetable oils or fats.
Because without them we won’t have a soap bar, we need Vegetable oils or fats. You can actually use every type of fat you want (not those used for cars or engines); from the most common vegetable oils like olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil etc. to vegetable natural butters, like cocoa butter, shea butter, etc. For the cold process it is very important to use very good quality oils otherwise you won’t get that pleasant fresh soap smell.
- Essential oils.
You need essential oils. The variety is so large here, from lavender and orange essential oil to eucalyptus and tea tree, you can choose whatever you want your soap to smell like!
As an extra, you can use some natural scrubbing agents like coffee grounds, or bran, and you can add colouring agents. It is usually safer to use alimentary ones in small quantities or mineral colouring powders . And of course, you can put some small dried plants for a scrubbing effect or just because it looks nice.
WARNING! The soap-making process can be a very fun science experiment to try at home, but be really careful with children, if they are involved and also be sure that you have all the safety equipment for them. Also for kids maybe is better to use the melt and pour method which is much more safer.
Here is the end of the article: The art of Donkey milk soap making! Part 1
The art of Donkey milk soap making article is divided in two parts.
In the first part (this article) is discussed what is soap, what is Donkey milk soap and what do you need (equipment and ingredients) to make Donkey milk soap.
In the second part (Don’t miss it) is discussed how to make Donkey milk soap step by step and a number of tips of how to make a perfect Donkey milk soap.
And because we are here not only making Donkey milk soaps but selling them also….
WHY EL GRECO NATURAL DONKEY MILK SOAPS?
We handcraft our Natural organic donkey milk soaps using the slow cold process method, which means no external heat is used so the goodness of the natural ingredients are preserved for you as much as possible.
Each bar of Natural Organic Donkey’s milk soap begins with Donkey milk as key ingredient, a high percentage of nutrient rich organic extra virgin olive oil, for its well-known superior skin care properties, to which we add organic coconut oil for fluffy lather, sustainable organic palm oil to increase longevity, and organic castor oil for a dense creamy lather that conditions and moisturizes.
Get relaxed and tension free by using El Greco Cosmetic’s Donkey milk soaps.
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The only thing you need to do to get started is to visit our website and buy some straight from our web shop.
Using a Natural Organic Donkey milk soap is a convenient way to treat your skin to all of its miraculous benefits.
Our donkey milk soaps are handcrafted using fresh milk from the donkey’s of our farm.
Great for all skin types, sensitive skin, dry skin, including people that have eczema or psoriasis.
How can you use Donkey’s milk soap? …Lather soap onto hands or a washcloth and apply to your face and body.
For centuries the wonderful properties of natural organic donkey milk soap have been known, praised, experienced and enjoyed.
So that’s it! If you haven’t already – do yourself a huge favour and give El Greco handmade natural soaps a try.
Purchase some bars of our handmade natural organic oatmeal donkey milk soaps, or Curcuma Natural organic donkey milk soaps, or lavender Natural organic donkey milk soaps or Honey Natural organic donkey milk soaps or our pure natural organic Donkey milk soaps, which are all with coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil and castor oil, from our e-shop of our website and give them a try.
I can assure you, the experience will be well worth it.
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READ MORE ABOUT Donkey’s milk soaps
What Soap is?
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