In today’s post, I am going to talk about making your own “Saddle Soap” or leather conditioner. The shoe polish producer, Kiwi, makes a saddle soap which I have tried. Their saddle soap is probably the best known product of its type on the market. Saddle soap is supposed to serve two purposes. It is for cleaning and conditioning leather products. We all understand what cleaning means–removing excess soil. But conditioning? What is that about? Being an organic product, leather needs to be cared for. If neglected, leather will dry out and become stiff or even brittle. To maintain leather’s pliability, it is necessary to find a way to maintain some level of moisture in the leather.
One product that is used for maintaining leather is Neatsfoot oil. Neatsfoot oil is an oil derived from the knee and hoof joints of cattle. It reportedly is a great leather conditioner but is getting harder to find these days. I mention it because in my research I found someone who suggested reconstituting a bar of Ivory soap and adding Neatsfoot oil. I think the project I will be offering is a little more interesting.
So, if you think about it, the demands of this project are twofold. First, our final product will need to be or have a mild soap in it. Mildness is important. We don’t want a deep cleaning soap because that could remove oils and moisture that is inside the leather. No, we just need something mild that will cleanse the surface of the leather. Furthermore, the soap needs to be somewhat soft so that we can work it with our hands. And finally, the soap needs to contain some kind of moisturizer that can penetrate the leather and stay there without drying out.
For this project, we will make a very basic simple soap from scratch. (for more information on soap making, see my post on Hand-crafted Soap). The soap we make will be close to Castile soap, but not exactly. If you didn’t know, Castile soap is made 100% from olive oil (not including the lye). For a few centuries, Castile was considered the gold standard in soap. Its main benefit is exactly that it is mild and is believed to have skin-conditioning properties. Artisan soap makers know that Castile soap is notoriously soft. For a bar of Castile to become hard, it must be allowed to dry out for 6 months. So our saddle soap should be pliable enough, at least for several months. And if kept in a sealed container, perhaps much longer.
Now, we do not want a soap that is too weak; it must have some ability to cleanse. And so, we make our recipe 10% coconut oil. Coconut oil is high in Lauric acid. Because of this, when converted into soap, the result is a good-lathering, cleansing soap. But with coconut oil at only 10% of the overall mix, the outcome should slightly cleansing, but still relatively mild.
And finally, the moisturizing ingredient we will add will be Glycerin. Glycerin is an alcohol. It has the ability to penetrate leather and once penetrated, it will not dry out or evaporate.
Things You Will Need
90 grams Olive oil (any grade)
10 grams Coconut oil
13.5 grams Sodium Hydroxide
40 grams distilled water
10 grams Glycerin
soap mold (purchased or home made)
plastic container with tight lid
digital scale
SAFETY WARNING:
Sodium Hydroxide is a dangerous, caustic substance that can cause harm or serious injury. To avoid contact with the eyes or skin, it is necessary to wear proper safety apparel such as gloves and safety glasses. Please read the safety information that is included with the product you buy.
Please keep in mind that it is very dangerous to have sodium hydroxide come in contact with aluminum. Such contact produces a strong chemical reaction that releases hydrogen gas. Therefore, it is very important that you do not use any aluminum utensils when making soap.
You will mix sodium hydroxide with water and this creates a heat-producing reaction. When mixing sodium hydroxide with water, you must not pour water on to a container of sodium hydroxide. When the two are mixed in this way, the heat of the reaction is not contained and can result in an explosion of the substances. Instead, the sodium hydroxide should be gradually added to a non-aluminum container of water.
Procedure
We will be using the Cold-process Oven-process (CPOP) method of making soap. This is not commonly used by soap makers because it has drawbacks and can be tricky. But we are going to make a small 110 gram piece of soap and our recipe is very simple, so this shouldn’t be a problem. I find that CPOP is useful for cases like this when I want to make a single experimental bar of soap.
First you will need a mold. Let me make a few simple suggestions. If you have a stainless steel tin that you want to be the container, then you can pour the soap directly in that during the process. But you must be sure it is stainless steel and not aluminum. As noted above, it is very dangerous to have sodium hydroxide come in contact with aluminum. If you would like to use a short glass jar, that would be a perfectly safe option. If you do not have a container in mind, then you need something for a mold. I like to use a short piece of 3″ diameter PVC pipe with a rubber cap and preferably a hose clamp. To use this, you need to cut a round disc of parchment paper to cover the inside of the cap. Then you need to cut a strip of parchment paper that will line the cylinder wall. Now, pre-heat the oven to 200°F.
Measure the oils with a digital scale. Warm the oils gradually until the coconut oil melts. Keep the oils in the temperature range of 90-110°F. Measure out 40 grams of distilled water in a glass or stainless steel container. If the water weighs a little more than 40 grams, that is okay because water will evaporate anyway. Measure out 13.5 grams of sodium hydroxide and slowly add it to the water. Stir with a stainless steel spoon. Monitor the temperature, as it will rise. Give the water-Sodium Hydroxide solution 10-15 minutes to react and cool down a little.
Now, pour the oil int the plastic or glass container with a tight lid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide solution to the oil. Close the lid tight and shake the container up and down vigorously 15-30 seconds to create an emulsion. If necessary, open the lid to let out pressure, close the lid tightly and repeat again. Open the lid and add 10 grams of Glycerin. Close lid tightly and shake vigorously. Pour the mixture into the mold. The mold will go into the oven for 4 hours. But first a word of caution. Sometimes, cooking soap will bubble and overflow, so your mold needs something underneath it. A cookie sheet may be dangerous as it may be contain aluminum. If a cookie sheet is all you have, then at least cover it with a few layers of parchment paper. But, if possible, it is preferable to put your mold on a small piece of hardwood or plywood. Cook for 4 hours; allow to cool. Your saddle soap is ready for use.
EXTRA STEPS
Considering all the effort that you need to make for this one cake of saddle soap, you may consider scaling the recipe up and making several at once. Or, alternatively, you may consider running an experiment by making variations of the original recipe.
For example, you could make 3 bars at the same time but make them different by varying how much Glycerin you use. To do this you need 3 shaker containers, 3 containers for the sodium hydroxide solution and 3 molds. When you prepare the oils and sodium hydroxide, measure enough for 3 bars. You can take that mixture and mix it up as 1 large batch. But then pour the batch into 3 separate shakers. In one of the shakers, you might add 5 grams of Glycerin. In another, use the original 10 grams of Glycerin. And in the last one, you might add 12 or 15 grams of Glycerin. Then put them in 3 marked molds and heat for 4 hours. After testing them you can decide which works best.