Additives
There are a wide variety of additives used in cold process soapmaking that offer specific qualities to homemade soaps.
An appealing scent, gentle texture, beautiful color, and extra moisturizing properties are among the qualities we strive for that can greatly improve your finished product.
Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe vera gel is a substance expressed from the leaf of the aloe plant and is said to have potent anti-inflammatory, healing, hydrating, and soothing properties. You can add Aloe Vera to the water portion of your formula/recipe.
Benzoin Absolute
This is used as a fixative for fragrances in soaps. Follow manufacturer’s instructions and use use sparingly as some people may react to this.
Borax
Borax is a white crystalline mineral that is composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water. It has fungicide, preservative, insecticide, herbicide and disinfecting properties and is used as a water softener and laundry product.
Butters
While butters can be added to total base oils in cold process soapmaking, they are often added to a formulation at trace for emolliency (moisturizing) properties.
Calendula Flowers
This is added to help soften dry skin. Infuse calendula flowers into olive oil or water before using it in your CP soap formula, or add the flowers at trace – they hold up quite well.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is an additive commonly used as a natural deodorizer that also has antiseptic properties. Cinnamon is used in it’s grounded form to makes for a dark and spicy soap. Large amounts can cause skin irritation.
Clay
There are a variety of clays to choose from, Bentonite, Rose, Sea, Rhassoul and Glacial to name a few. They are commonly added to draw out excess oil from the skin. Please visit my Clays and Muds page on our Spa Subsite for more detailed information about clays. When I use clay in cold-process soaps for color and other benefits, I generally add clays in various amounts at trace.
Colors
Spices, herbs, liquid colors, clays and pigments are among additives that are used to color soaps. FD&C colors are approved for use in food, drugs and cosmetics and D&C colors are only approved for use in drugs and cosmetics. When added to toiletry products, most colors are true, but in products like cold-process soaps, the effects may vary.
Essential Oils
Also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, essences and absolutes; essential oils are highly concentrated extracts of the flowers, leaves, petals or berries of fragrant botanicals. Essential oils have superior scent retention and are very powerful. Many are beneficial, but some can be extremely harmful. When using essential oils in cold-process soap, conduct some research on the internet to ensure they are not harmful and that they work in cold process soapmaking. Supplier sites are great at sharing information. See the links page for a large variety of links to supplier sites.
Problems may occur in soapmaking when using citrus essential oils, so it is recommended that they be added sparingly. Again, always conduct research on an essential oil you are considering for your cosmetic or toiletry products.
Exfoliants
Exfoliants added to cold process soapmaking include oatmeal, almond meal, yellow cornmeal, wheat germ, cranberry seeds, and brans, among others. Exfoliants are a substance of texture used to slough off dirt and dead cells from the surface of the skin. Visit our glossary page for more information.
Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils are man-made fragrances and are usually less expensive than essential oils. Essential oils are sometimes included in fragrance formulations, but fragrance oils offer greater options by creating scents that are unavailable in essential oils. Fragrance oils are often more successfully used in the soap rebatching or melt and pour process, but some can also be used successfully in cold process soaps. Often, suppliers will test the fragrances they offer for compatibility in soapmaking. Pine Meadows is a fragrance supplier who offers this information. You can find a link to Pine Meadows on our links page. Conduct the proper research before purchasing fragrance oils. Various fragrance oils may also affect saponification and can actually ruin what would otherwise have been a perfectly good batch of soap.
Herbs
An herb is a plant or plant part that is valued for its medicinal, aromatic, or savory properties. Most often, dried herbs are added to melt and pour soaps as the chemical reaction in cold process soapmaking can compromise the properties of herbs including color, scent, and texture. Check with your soapmaking supplier if you have any questions as to the effectiveness of a dried herb in cold process soapmaking.
Picture: I have just ground Chamomile flowers in my Mortar and Pestle to add to my Chamomile Rose herbal soap batch.
Kelp
This is best added in powdered form. Adding kelp to CP soap creates a slippery soap with a mildly “fishy” scent. This additive is rich in iodine, vitamins and minerals.
Lemons
Lemons can be added in liquid form as in fresh or reconstituted juice, or the peel can be grated and used as an abrasive. Fresh lemon peels or lemon peel powder have antibacterial properties and vitamin C.
Milk
Milk is often added at trace in many forms including powdered, fresh, or canned and adds to a milder bar of soap. Caprylic acid in goats milk helps to adjust the pH in soaps by reducing the alkalinity. You can also replace the water in your formula with milk. See my instructions page for the method I use. Others freeze their milk before adding lye. Again, you can search the internet for a variety of methods that soapmakers use to add milk to their soaps. It has been my experience that it does not matter how it is added, the benefits are the same – wonderful!
Natural Colorants
Alkanet root provides a range in color of blue and purple shades, coffee and cinnamon add brown shades, ground rosehips add reddish shades and sea clay adds green shades. Herbal additives that will not lose their color include sunflower petals, rosemary and calendula. Natural colorants provide earthy tones, so don’t expect bright colors in your finished product. These can be obtained using synthetic pigments and dyes for almost any color you can imagine.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a common additive in cold process soapmaking. Oatmeal is most often added at trace after it has been ground and blended with olive or another base oil. It is used to exfoliate and soothe sensitive or irritated skin.
Rosemary Extract
Rosemary extract is also known as nature’s best antioxidant and is a good choice for treating oils that are prone to spoilage. This is a powerful oil-soluble antioxidant used at only 0.1 percent of total ingredients. Like other antioxidants, it inhibits and fights free radicals. Recent studies show that rosemary extract, and its constituents “carnosol and ursollic acid”, enhance the activity of enzymes that can detoxify carcinogens.
Rosemary Oil
The oil of rosemary is not to be confused with rosemary extract. Rosemary oil possesses powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties that includes antimicrobial activity against many molds and bacteria. Used in soaps to help in the treatment of comedones (pimples, whiteheads, blackheads) and acne.
Sugar and Salt
I generally add about a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar to my batches at trace. The salt works to make a hard bar faster and the other adds to lathering capabilities. Make sure you stir it well.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea Tree Oil is a powerful antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-viral, insect repellant that is used to treat a variety of skin and other conditions. It has remarkable soothing and antibacterial properties, but may irritate the skin in some people.
Natural Deodorizers
Coffee, cinnamon, and lemon essential oil are among the additives commonly used as natural deodorizers.
Emollients
Glycerin, aloe vera, honey, cocoa butter, mango butter, and olive butter are among the additive and ingredients used to add emolliency in cold-process soapmaking.