Making Natural Traditional Soap

Course review:

A CPD accredited course, available for anyone, anywhere in the world who wishes to learn to make soap in the good old traditional fashion using caustic soda (lye) and fats (butters and oils). This accredited distance learning course is broken down into four manageable modules, each of which guide you through the steps you need to take in order to produce the most beautiful handmade soap.

Course Objectives - By the end of this course you will have made batches of cold processed soap using a different recipe for each module and be able to recognise the purpose, benefits and properties of each of the ingredients.

You will be taught how to make different coloured soaps and learn a variety of techniques for marbling and layering soap. The properties and behaviour of essential and fragrance oils will be explained and you will have the opportunity to experiment making different essential oil blends. The course will also introduce you to a range of botanicals for experiment with during this distance learning programme.

Your tutor will assist you throughout the course and will offer email support during the programme which will enable you to ask questions as and when they arise. Full written explanations, exercises, examples and other supporting documentation will be provided as part of the course material.

Ingredients including olive, palm, coconut, avocado and almond oils, cocoa and shea butters, essential oils, clay, seeds, herbs, colours and equipment are supplied for your use on this course allowing you to experiment with a huge range of products.

This course enables you to study at home and there is no time limit to pressure you. The course can take as little as 6 weeks and up to 12 months depending on the time you can set aside for learning.

At the end of each module there will be a short test and throughout the course you will be working on an assignment to complete and return to your instructor so that she may assess the level of your understanding of the topics covered.

As part of our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, we no longer automatically supply you with paper copes of the course notes. The course notes, tests and assignments are downloadable via our members area for you to access at home. If you prefer us to print and post you a paper version of the notes, there is a £24 handling charge for this service. Please remember to select this option if you wish to us to print and send you the coursenotes and assignments.

Module One
What is cold processed soap?
A short history of soap and how it has evolved
Safety and precautionary advice
Oils, butters and other ingredients and how they affect our finished soap
Recipe 1 - Making your first batch of soap using what you’ve learnt so far

Module Two
Saponification process explained
Ph testing
Storing and curing your soap
Essential oils, fragrance oils and blending
Recipe 2 - Making your second batch of soap using what you’ve learnt so far

Module Three
Superfatting
Colour and different colouring techniques
Recipe 3 - Making your third batch of soap using what you’ve learnt so far

Module Four
Rebatching and hot process soap
Wrapping your soap
Selling your soap
Botanicals and adding other natural ingredients to your soap
Recipe 4 - Making your fourth batch of soap using what you’ve learnt so far

Appendices
Useful contacts and weblinks
Troubleshooting
Essential Oil information and blend chart
Ingredients and their properties
Supplier information

What Plush Folly will provide -
We will provide you with all the raw materials you need for this course (with two exceptions, explained below). The ingredients we send you include a variety of oils and butters, colours, botanicals, and essential oils. We will also provide you with a reusable soap mould, mould liner, a ph testing kit, essential oil measuring pipettes, full instructions, safety information and course notes, hints and tips.

What you will need to provide -
You will need to provide all the equipment needed for ‘cooking’ your soap. These include saucepans, glass jugs, thermometers, heat source (gas or electric cooker), metric scales, spoons, protective clothing (rubber gloves and eye protection), old blankets or towels and anything you need to clear up before and after making your soap.

Please see our accessories pack which contains items you may find useful.

As mentioned above, you will need to provide the two ingredients needed to make the lye. These ingredients are water (plain tap water will be fine, although distilled or deionised waters are perfectly acceptable to use instead) and sodium hydroxide. We will give you all the information you need to ensure you know how and where you can buy sodium hydroxide and what you should be looking for when purchasing it. Safety and handling advice are included in the course notes.

A printed certificate is issued to those who have successfully completed this course in line with the CPD Certification Service requirements.

This home study course is also available as a learning kit. We send you the ingredients* and provide you with the coursware, but you do not receive tutor support or have to take the assignments or tests. No certificate or CPD accreditation not included as part of the learning kit.

Other Plush Folly products you may like...

Making Natural Traditional Soap - Big Learning Kit (with CD)