Cold Process Soap Making Class Yields 24 Litsea and Rosemary Mint Loaves!

This weekend's cold process soap class marked the 29th class I've taught in less than three months. It's been a whirlwind last few months - from teaching a Beauty Business Bootcamp in San Francisco, to New York City Bath & Body University and then back in the Boston area for more classes.

Typical of our classes, students this weekend came from all over the U.S., as well as from different walks of life and professions. But over and over they all have at least one thing in common: the desire to learn to make natural skincare products.

Above are the 24 loaves, getting packed up and heading home with students to be given as gifts to family and friends around the world (or kept for themselves!). We scented the 20 lb. batch of Groovy Hemp Soap with Litsea (May Chang) and Patchouli essential oils. The Moisturizing Cocoa Butter Soap recipe was scented with Rosemary and Peppermint essential oils.

Check out our calendar for upcoming Boston Soap Making Classes and New York City Soap Making Classes, as well as Natural Skincare Business Consultations. If you would rather learn from home, you can always purchase our DVDs and class handouts.

October Cold Process Soap Making Graduates at Back Porch Soap Company!

This month 11 energetic students graduated from our cold process soap making class in our Boston area studio. They learned to whip up two, 20 lb. batches of soaps using organic oils and butters.


Here, one of the students is blending in the essential oils we chose for class: lavender, rosemary and patchouli.



Talk about teamwork! It's no easy feat transferring 40 lbs. of soap into 2 lb. loaf molds, but they made it look easy.

Want to learn to make cold process soap? Join us for our monthly soap making and natural skincare classes in the Boston area (Duxbury, MA) or quarterly classes in New York City. Want to host our natural skincare classes in your city? Email us for more information.

Our studio is located 30 minutes from Boston, and only 45 minutes from Providence, Rhode Island. With beautiful Duxbury Beach, Cape Cod and Plymouth (Plymouth Rock and Plimoth Plantation) only minutes away, this is a perfect family destination! Your family will have plenty to enjoy in the area while you take soap making class or two.

About Your Instructor
My name is Marla Bosworth, and I'm the founder and owner of Back Porch Soap Company. I've been making soaps and teaching soapmaking for 12 years. My wholesale clients include Whole Foods and upscale boutiques around the world. I teach classes because I love sharing my passion for soap making, natural skincare products, and entrepreneurship.

My credentials include a B.A. in English/Journalism from the University of New Hampshire in 1987. I have an extensive background in marketing, market research and manufacturer consulting as a Market Research Analyst for the company now known as Forrester Research. Clients included Hewlett-Packard, Canon, Xerox and IBM to name a few.

My true calling is creating beautiful soap luxuries and inspiring other entrepreneurs how to do the same.

(Marla is a contributing author for The Saponifier Magazine, a moderator on Indie Beauty Network, and a speaker at the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild Conference in 2009, 2010 and is scheduled to speak at the 2011 conference in Miami, FL. She teaches natural skincare and business classes throughout the U.S. and Europe.)

Ideal for those looking for Maine Soap Making Classes, New Hampshire Soap Making Classes, Vermont Soap Making Classes, Rhode Island Soap Making Classes, Connecticut Soap Making Classes, New York Soap Making Classes, New York City Soap Making Classes

How to Choose Oils & Butters for Soap Making

"How do I choose oils and butters for soap making?" is one of the most frequent questions I hear from want-to-be soapmakers. Whether you are making natural skincare products, cosmetics, or cold process soap, you'll want to choose liquid oils as well as solid oils and butters based on their respective properties. What will the oils you choose bring to your recipe and to your customer's skin? What I emphasize in my soap making classes and private natural skincare consulting is that the more you know about the oils you are using, the more results your products will offer.

Most plant oils are available in organic and non-organic. In addition, there are refined, bleach and deodorized (RBD) solid oils and butters. I personally am not a fan of RBD oils and butters as the processes (high heat, bleaching, etc.) often strip the natural ingredients of their valuable properties. In addition, some of the oil processors use chemical solvents to extract all the oils for higher yield for their company.

Fatty acids play an important part in cold process soap making. Let's take a look at some of the fatty acids and the properties they lend:

Lauric Acid: Creates a hard bar, is cleansing, and has a light and fluffy lather
Linoleic Acid: Moisturizing/Conditioning
Myristic Acid: Creates a hard bar, is cleansing, and has a light and fluffy lather
Oleic Acid: Moisturizing/Conditioning
Palmitic Acid: Creates a hard bar and a stable lather
Ricinoleic Acid: Conditioning/Moisturizing, and has a fluffy, stable lather
Stearic Acid: Creates a hard bar and has a stable lather

One of the reasons I like the lye calculator over at Soap Calc is the valuable information it gives on the fatty acids in the oils/butters you choose for your recipes.

If you're looking for the quick low-down on which oils I recommend for soapmaking, then here is my list. It's hard to narrow down to these, but here are my top five tried-and-true choices for soapmaking oils and butters:

Coconut Oil: Creates a hard soap with a fluffy lather. It boasts vitamin E, K and minerals such as iron. Use up to 30% in recipes.

Palm Oil: Creates a hard bar with a creamy lather and contains antioxidants and vitamin E. Use up to 30% in recipes. If you are looking to create a sustainable product, you may wish to eliminate palm or find a sustainable palm resource. (There is valid concern about the palm oil farming in Malaysia and the affect it has on the environment and living beings.) I have been working on a palm-free soap recipe for several months.

Olive Oil (Grade A or Extra Virgin): Besides being moisturizing, olive oil contains vitamin E, A, betacarotene and vitamin K, cholorophyll, phenols, oleocanthal and squalane. Use as much as you'd like in soap recipes, just know that if you use more than 30 percent your soap will be softer and take longer to cure. Too much olive oil (40 percent or more) creates a bit of a slimy lather, in my opinion.

Soybean Oil: Mild, moisturizing and creates a low, creamy lather. Use at 20 percent or less. I suggest that you purchase only non-genetically modified (GMO) soybean oil. (It is a sustainable oil produced in the U.S. and by purchasing it you are supporting American farmers.)

Shea Butter: Creates a moisturizing, soothing, nourishing soap that softens skin. Wonderful for damaged skin and full of Vitamin E. Use at 15 percent or less.

There are many other wonderful oils and butters from which to choose. In a recent poll on our Back Porch Soap Co. Facebook Fan Page, many soapmakers chimed in their favorites ranging from sweet almond oil to mango butter.

If you're looking for a reliable supplier for soap making oils and butters, Jedwards (Quincy, MA) is a family-owned business located just outside of Boston. For a minimum $100 order, you can pick up your order and save on shipping. Just call a day or two ahead and prepay, as they do not have a showroom at this time. One of the reasons I purchase all my oils and butters from them (besides offering high-quality ingredients and being able to pick up my order), is that their products are extremely consistent from order to order.

Which butters and oils do you use for soap making?

Newbury Street Soap Tour in Boston

If you're a New England soapmaker and/or bath and body company owner, you're invited to join the New England Soapmaker's Meetup Group on Friday, September 17 starting at 4 p.m. for a Soap Tour of Boston's Newbury Street.

I'll take you to some of my favorite places on Newbury Street: Lush, Sabon, and Fresh, just to name a few. We'll take a look at bath and body products up and down one of the trendiest streets in Boston. While there, besides smelling soaps and trying creams and lotions galore, we'll check out packaging ideas, trends, displays, etc. We are planning to grab dinner and drinks afterward.

We'll start at 4 p.m. outside of Sabon, located at 129 Newbury Street (the east end of Newbury Street closest to Boston Common).

If you plan to join us, please RSVP on our New England Soap Makers Meetup page. There is no cost, except for parking and dinner/drinks.

Can't wait to see all of your new and familiar faces.

~Marla

New York City Soap Making classes Announced for October 27-30!

Join us in the Big Apple for Cold Process Soapmaking, Advanced Cold Process Soapmaking, Creams & Lotions, Body Butters and Body Scrubs, as well as our popular How to Run a Successful Bath & Body Business seminar. Our New York City Soap Making classes are only held four times per year.

New York City classes are running this fall from October 27-30, 2010. Classes are held in Manhattan at a convenient Upper West Side location (94th and Amsterdam). Sign up soon for the early-bird discount. Hurry, we expect all of our classes to sell out this session!

If you're looking to take all five of our classes in NYC this October, save when you sign up for NYC Bath & Body University.

This is an all-inclusive four-day bath and body intensive program that will get your current business or the one you've dreamed about owning off of the ground. You will receive four full days of training - and a course completion certificate - exclusively from Marla Bosworth, founder and owner of Back Porch Soap Company. With 12 years of bath and body industry experience, she also will share her 30 years of retail, market research, and entreprenurial and business experience. You'll learn how Marla landed more than 200 wholesale accounts, including Whole Foods, and how you can have the business of your dreams too.

Students have travelled all the way from Ghana, South Africa, Germany, Chile, Guatemala, Ireland, Venezuela, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, Israel & and from around the United States to participate in our programs.

This specialized program is perfect for entrepreneurs who own a business as well as for budding entrepreneurs who are seeking training in the field of bath and beauty. (Remember to check with your tax accountant, as this class fee, your travel and accommodation expenses and more could be tax deductible.)

Hope to see you in NYC!
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Learn to Make Salon-Quality Haircare Class Returning in November!

Boston beauty expert Rick Spina will return to our studio on November 7, 2010 to teach the popular class on How to Make Natural Haircare Products. Students will make three products while Rick shares his wealth of knowledge of haircare products. He will share how to customize product based on various hair types.

This class is intended for individuals wanting to learn how to make their own haircare products and also for bath, beauty and salon professionals who would like to develop their own product line.

The class is hands-on in our studio located near Boston. Rick will instruct the group as we make three products as a team. Students will take home one of each of the following products:

1. Colorsafe Shampoo - Low pH cleaner that is gentle to colored hair. Says Rick, "About 90% of my clients have a lot of money invested in their haircolour and this is the basis for the individual shampoos I make for them."

2. Leave in Conditioning Gel - Attracts and holds natural moisture, neutralizes static electricity to eliminate frizzies, and increases natural shine.

3. Hair detangeler - Non-Greasy, spray-on detageler that allows the comb to slide through the hair, eliminating snapping and breakage. This product is also used as a pre-shampoo spray, for clients with color corrections, chemically drained hair conditions and unstable color clients (the color is unstable, not the client).

To register and for more information visit the registration page on our website.

Summer Soap Class Students Create Beautiful Calendula and Cocoa Butter Soaps

What a wonderful, energetic soap class this summer! Students made two, 20 lb. batches of cold process soap. Here is our batch made with calendula - one of my favorite herbs. It's known for its antibacterial and immunostimulant properties. We infused the calendula in organic, extra virgin olive oil.



To make pouring easier, students transfer the 20 lb. raw soap into an easier-to-manage container before distributing into loaves.


Here students are distributing the 20 lbs. of raw calendula soap into containers to take home. They wait 24-48 hours, unmold the soap, slice it and wait 4-6 weeks to cure.

Want to learn how to make soap from scratch? Curious about the cold process process? Join us in New York City or Boston for our cold process soap class. You will learn safety guidelines and reach a level of comfort so that you can finally make soap by hand. We discuss how to properly use and store lye, mixing lye and water, oils for soap making, fragrance oils, essential oils, superfatting, additives and exfoliants, coloring, molding, curing and much more. Students receive soap recipes and a list of my favorite places to buy soap making supplies and equipment.

If you prefer private classes, contact us for consulting information. We've taught students from Ghana, South Africa, Germany, Chile, Guatemala, Ireland, Venezuela, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, Israel & and from around the United States how to start their own soap and natural skincare businesses.

Unable to travel? Let us come to you through our Learn At Home DVDs and online webinars.

For those of you experienced soapmakers looking for a new recipe, try our Moisturizing Cocoa Butter Soap with Calendula and let me know what you think!

16% Cocoa Butter
28% Coconut Oil
28% Olive Oil (infused with calendula)
28% Palm Oil

I like to superfat around 7% for this recipe.

Try this essential oil blend:
4% Vetiver essential oil (one of my favorite "anchor" essential oils)
96% Litsea essential oil

Do you have a favorite essential oil blend that you'd like to share?
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