Record Keeping: Soap Saturdays

Elizabeth

I know it is now Sunday, but I started this yesterday, so that still counts as a Saturday post, right?

Now that you've made your homemade soap, and waited out the long 4-6 week curing period, you are ready to try your soap out. This is exciting because you can figure out if your creation turned out just the way you wanted, or if you're going to need to tweak the recipe a bit to get it right. Sometimes it takes me several batches to get the appropriate amount of essential oils or extra nutrients (oatmeal, clays, pumice, herbs, etc.), and sometimes the batch turns out exactly as I was hoping it would.

how to cure soapEither way, you want to be sure to keep records of the soap you make. Keep track of every batch. That way you can know exactly what you did when you made the soap, and you can know what you did to make that perfect bar, or know what you'd like to change for a future recipe.

Keeping track of soap batches

When I make a batch of soap (even if I've perfected the recipe) I always write down the date in my notebook when it was made and the ingredients I used. Then, a few days later when I cut the soap, I record two dates. I write down when the soap will be ready 4 weeks into the future from the date that I cut the soap, and I also write down a 6 week date from the day it was cut. That way, if the soap feels like it needs a little more curing time, it reminds me when I need to check it again. Even though soaps are ready at 4 weeks for use, I find that the bars last longer if you wait an extra two weeks.

To keep track of the soap as it cures, I put a slip of paper under the brown paper that the soap cures on. On that piece of paper I record what kind of soap was made. Then next to the name of the soap, I write the number of batches I've made of that kind to date. Under this, I write the date the soap batch was cut. Then at the bottom of the piece of paper I write down a date 2 weeks from the cutting date, so I know when to flip the soaps over to cure evenly. To the right of the 2 week flip date, I record the 4 week ready date and the six week ready date.

Curing Patchouli Soap

All this information has been extremely helpful to let me know everything I need to know about the soaps I've made. I've kept records of every batch of soap from the very first batch, and as Nick and I have begun to track our progress with the help of graph charts, we've been able to pull the information from every year to see how we're doing.

I cannot stress how important it is to keep records of your soap batches. It isn't the most exciting part of making soap, but it will keep you up to date on your  own progress, help you know what you want to change, and let you know how it turned out. My method may not make sense to you, so choose whatever way to keep records that helps you the most. Just make sure you do it!  

To read the previous Soap Saturdays posts: