*SPECIAL FULL DAY WORKSHOP*
~with soap book author Alicia Grosso~
Pushing the Envelope: Cold Process Soap
Energy Exchange & Water Discounting

   

** PREREQUISITE: Our Cold Process 101 Class OR Equivalent Experience Required **

Boost your confidence in your soap making skills/ability as you learn to push the boundaries of traditional cold process soap making. By manipulating temperature and amount of water, you can speed up work and cure time, and enjoy the fruits of your labor sooner!

You’ll learn the “energy exchange” technique (also known as room-temperature cold process) in which the oils are warmed and melted using the energy generated by the lye-water solution. This time-saving technique works beautifully in many cases, but can cause a soaping disaster in others. This class will help you discern how best to employ it in your own work.

You’ll also learn how to reduce the amount of water you use to make the lye solution so that you can speed up drying and cure times. Reducing the water, sometimes called “water discount” creates a more concentrated lye solution, which can present a number of challenges. Acceleration, over heating, and scent morphing are some of these, and through hands-on experience we will address them in a series of experimental batches.

Techniques This Class Will Cover:

• Energy Exchange Cold Process and how to use it to your advantage.
• Water Discount / Reduction and how to use it effectively & safely.
• Combining both techniques for optimum processing speed and shorter dry/cure time.
  

In additional to all the knowledge/experience gained in class, all students will take home helpful handouts, class workbook with tips on taking useful lab notes and bars of the experimental soaps created in class.

Come Learn How to Safely Push the Limits of Your Cold Process Soap!

NOTE:
This class has a pre-requisite of our Cold Process 101 Class or experience making soap on your own. This is an age 18+ class since making soap from scratch involves working with lye (aka sodium hydroxide). To take part in stirring the soap, please wear or bring a long-sleeved shirt. You'll also need rubber gloves and safety goggles. There will be several pairs of goggles and gloves to share, but if you prefer your own please bring them to class.

ABOUT THE TEACHER:
Alicia Grosso lives in Southern California and is the owner of Annabella and Company Creativity Collective. She recently came out with a fully updated 2007 version of her comprehensive book, The Everything Soapmaking Book" and made a special appearance at our 4-year anniversary party, doing a book signing and melt & pour demonstration. She is making another special trip to The Nova Studio to further share her knowledge and passion about soap making. We are absolutely thrilled to have Alicia teaching 2 unique full-day sessions designed for students of The Nova Studio: Pushing the Envelope: Cold Process and Pushing the Envelope: Melt & Pour. If you take both sessions that are offered that weekend, you will get to see the result of all of the soaps in Day 1 (cold process) and the end of Day 2 (melt & pour).