Soap making workshop using the cold process 'one pot' method

This morning our Simple Living Toowoomba group held the first workshop of the year and once again it was very informative. Racheal showed us how she makes her soap which she calls the 'One Pot' method and it is the same method you may have read about in my post Learning a new method of soap making. 

This is a very quick way of making cold process soap and Racheal had it made in no time. It is also called the room temperature method. If you are short of time I would recommend you give this method a try. It is a little different if you are used to heating up the oils first like I learned to do when I first started making soap so it might seem a little strange at first.  However, I am sure that once you have tried it you will be surprised at how quick and easy it is.

 Racheal used the same recipe today that I mentioned in Learning a new method of soap making.
She just used one pot to make her soap so there is minimal cleaning up to do afterwards. Firstly she added the lye/caustic soda to the water and stirred it then quickly added the coconut oil to melt it while the lye was hot before adding the olive oil.

This was then beaten with the stick blender until it got to trace which is like a thick custard. She then added some peppermint essential oil.

Then Racheal put some of the mixture into a jug and added poppy seeds. She poured the rest of the soap mixture into the silicone mould and then added the poppy seed layer. On the top of the poured soap she added a few more poppy seeds.

That's it! Quick and easy! It is certainly less work than the way I make my soap but then again Racheal is very unflappable unlike me. LOL! I tend to stress a little when I am handling the lye but as long as you take sensible precautions all should be well.

 She also brought along a few samples of soaps she has made. She adds natural colours to her soaps and I think this one was a mix of cinnamon and other spices.

Comfrey-Anise soap

I think this one is Nettle Mint soap which has macadamia oil in it. 

So once again, we had a lovely morning which was well spent. Our next workshop will be held on the 12th March and Racheal's husband will be doing a demonstration on sausage making which should also be very interesting. The April workshop will be on bee keeping for those who are interested. Do come along if you live in the region as everyone is welcome. 

I am pleased to report that it rained and rained last night which brought the temperatures down a lot for which I am very grateful. I think the plants in the garden were too :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!