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Renascent Bath and Body FAQs

Got a question? We would love to assist you!

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Click HERE for Soap Instructor FAQ's

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GENERAL QUESTIONS:

Is it really that easy to make soap?

Yes, with MP Melt and pour it is, we have done all the hard work so you can be creative easily. Just melt, add colours and fragrances, pour into a mould, allow to set, enjoy your soap bar

Does it need curing time?
Not with MP, as soon as it is set, you are ready to use

What if I start selling my soap and maybe I sell a lot?

Fantastic, we are here for you, we love to see your small business grow. We can assist you every step of the way, making it cheap and easy for you to run your own business. We even offer discounts on bulk items, most products will have a sliding scale of prices if you wish to buy in bulk.

Can I onsell Renascent Bath and Body products / Be a distributor?

Yes, if you have a business selling natural health / craft supply items, you an contact us to set up a wholesale account for you. Some items eg the soap base, simply have a sliding scale based on quantity, others have RRP and WS pricings

We do have a few distributors, these are people who operate their own business and work collaboratively with Renascent Bath and Body to visit and supply wholesale products to stores / customers. Please contact us in you are interested in joining the Renascent Team.

When do you pack and post my order?

We pack and post most mornings before 11am.

Can I come and collect my order?
Certainly, we are in Clifton Springs, See SHIPPING AND RETURNS

Is Renascent Bath & Body a Large shop / Factory?
We like to keep it personal. We are a small home based business, run by Lesley Mitchell, We have a showroom next door to our house and warehouses for bulk storage and orders. We do not have a shop nor shop front.

Can I take a workshop / class to learn more?
We would love to share with you, Contact one of our friendly instructors HERE to find someone near you. *Note many other dates may exist that what is currently listed and private classes can also be organised.

I can't get to you in person, how can I study?
That's OK, we have YOUTUBE tutorials you can watch for free, in the circle at the bottom of this page and we also have a range of online classes and DVD's. Click HERE. We also offer downloadable recipes and we are here for personal assistance.

What's the difference in soap types?

CP = Cold Process simply means that no heat was added during the soaping process. You make up a mixture of lye water Sodium Hydroxide with various oils & butters of your choice, Then you let that mixture cool to the correct temperature. You then add it to the oils and/or butters at their correct temperatures. Your mixture (often known as a batter) will naturally generate heat through a chemical process.
There is no heat applied. After properly mixing the lye and oils and/or butters together you place the mixture into a mold. Then insulate with towels…. The chemical reaction (Saponification) will produce heat when in the mold. After 10 to 24 hours you unmold the soap. The Saponification (the chemical reaction that creates soap) is not complete for another 4 to 6 weeks. Those weeks are called the “curing” period.

CPOP = Cold Process Oven Process

This process is the same as Cold Process instead of insulating you place the mold into a preheated 170 degree oven for one hour. Then you shut the oven off, some people leave the soap in the oven overnight others take it out after a few hours. Some say there is no need for a “curing” period. I’ve never tried this method but I think I’d still cure it.

HP = Hot Process refers to making the soap in the same way except adding heat to the process to speed up saponification. This is the process where you “cook” the soap. You mix the Lye and water together. Then you add the lye solution to the oils and/or butters. In a pot or crock pot.
Hot process soaps work the same way as cold process, but hot process soaps have more of a rough texture usually. Cold process soap is similar to cake batter when it’s poured into moulds, whereas hot process is more like a really thick, clumpy pudding. Hot process gets the soap to a usable state faster, but cold process allows you to swirl colours and other creative flair.
When the entire mixture looks like Vaseline it’s time to add fragrance or other additives. Then pack it into molds. When it’s hard it’s done. Unlike CP this soap doesn’t have to cure.

Rebatch
Milled soap/French milled soap/rebatched soap is soap that was originally created through the hot or cold process. The soap is shredded, a little liquid added, and then it’s cooked and moulded. This is a great way to redo soap that didn’t turn out pretty and it’s a great way to add fragrance that sticks around since the saponification has already occurred.

Melt & Pour “Glycerine” Soap

Melt and pour is just that. You buy the base, melt it and pour it. Pretty simple that’s why it’s a great choice for the beginner.
Melt and pour soap is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s a base soap that you purchase pre-made. You don’t have to worry with mixing lye because the soap is already made. You can add colours and scents and easily melt and pour the mixture into moulds.
Melt and pour is great for hobbyists for ease and safety reasons, terrific to make cute kid soaps with embedded items or other fun shapes. Melt and pour is great if you want to make some soaps with your kids or you need to make soaps that will be immediately ready to use. Many elaborately designed soaps that you find in stores are melt and pour. These are often called glycerine soaps and many have a transparent look. Melt and pour soaps are a great way begin the soaping addiction.

Why do you specify that your soaps are vegan?
Often people don’t really think about what is in their soap. Many people equate vegan with meat which of course is not in soaps. However you may be surprised to know that most traditional soaps contain animal fats – lard, tallow. Renascent Bath & Body do not use any animal fats in our MP or Liquid Soap bases.

However, we do offer soaps with milk bases and honey soaps with vegetable oils and butters so those are vegetarian, but not vegan. All ingredients are listed enabling you to specify Vegan or Vegetarian.

Is there lye in your soap?
There is no lye in the finished soap, but you CAN’T have bar soap that didn’t have lye in the process. Lye is what makes the soap, soap. Lye reacts with the oils and butters through a chemical process called saponification and the end result is soap. Each oil and butter requires a specific amount of lye to saponify so measurements have to be very exact.

Some older people remember a time when soaps were marketed as “lye soap”. Typically those soaps were a basic lard soap or tallow soap. You may hear people saying they have bought soaps from elsewhere that didn’t have lye in them. Bar soap isn’t soap unless it was made with lye by the very definition of bar soap.

Liquid soap uses potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide. If you tried to make “soap” without lye, you would simply have a bunch of oils and butters mixed together. You wouldn’t have soap.

***Interesting lye fact – If you eat bagels or pretzels, you are eating a product that required lye. Lye is dangerous, but once it goes through the chemical reaction, as long as you used the correct amount of additions, the result is safe.

With Renascent Bath & Body Bases, all the dangerous and hard work has been done for you and you are free to comfortably be creative.

 

I have a question that is not listed here?
OK, float us a message through the CONTACT form and we will get back to you in the pop of a bubble.

 

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