The Art of Perfumery Part 20

Some of the soap "houses" endeavored to use Mirabane or artificial essence of almonds (see ALMOND) for perfuming soap, it being far cheaper than the true otto of almonds; but the application has proved so unsatisfactory in practice, that it has been abandoned by Messrs. Gibbs, Pineau (of Paris), Gosnell, and others who used it.

CAMPHOR SOAP.

Curd soap, 28 lbs.

Otto of rosemary, 1-1/4 lb.

Camphor, 1-1/4 lb.

Reduce the camphor to powder by rubbing it in a mortar with the addition of an ounce or more of almond oil, then sift it. When the soap is melted and ready to turn out, add the camphor and rosemary, using the crutch for mixing.

HONEY SOAP.

Best yellow soap, 1 cwt.

Fig soft soap, 14 lbs.

Otto of citronella, 1-1/2 lb.

WHITE WINDSOR SOAP.

Curd soap, 1 cwt.

Marine soap, 21 lbs.

Oil soap, 14 lbs.

Otto of caraway, 1-1/2 lbs.

" thyme, } " rosemary, } of each 1/2 lb.

" ca.s.sia,} " cloves,} of each 1/4 lb.

BROWN WINDSOR SOAP.

Curd soap, 3/4 cwt.

Marine soap, 1/4 "

Yellow soap, 1/4 "

Oil soap, 1/4 "

Brown coloring (caramel), 1/2 pint.

Otto of caraway, } " cloves, } " thyme, } each, 1/2 lb.

" ca.s.sia, } " pet.i.t grain, } " French lavender, }

SAND SOAP.

Curd soap, 7 lbs.

Marine soap, 7 lbs.

Sifted silver sand, 28 lbs.

Otto of thyme, } " ca.s.sia, } " caraway, } each, 2 oz.

" French lavender, }

FULLER'S EARTH SOAP.

Curd soap, 10-1/2 lbs.

Marine soap, 3-1/2 lbs.

Fuller's earth (baked), 14 lbs.

Otto of French lavender, 2 oz.

" origanum, 1 oz.

The above forms are indicative of the method adopted for perfuming soaps while hot or melted.

All the very highly scented soaps are, however, perfumed cold, in order to avoid the loss of scent, 20 per cent. of perfume being evaporated by the hot process.

The variously named soaps, from the sublime "Sultana" to the ridiculous "Turtle's Marrow," we cannot of course be expected to notice; the reader may, however, rest a.s.sured that he has lost nothing by their omission.

The receipts given produce only the finest quality of the article named. Where cheap soaps are required, not much ac.u.men is necessary to discern that by omitting the expensive perfumes, or lessening the quant.i.ty, the object desired is attained. Still lower qualities of scented soap are made by using greater proportions of yellow soap, and employing a very common curd, omitting the oil soap altogether.

SCENTING SOAPS HOT.

In the previous remarks, the methods explained of scenting soap involved the necessity of melting it. The high temperature of the soap under these circ.u.mstances involves the obvious loss of a great deal of perfume by evaporation. With very highly scented soaps, and with perfume of an expensive character, the loss of ottos is too great to be borne in a commercial sense; hence the adoption of the plan of

SCENTING SOAPS COLD.

This method is exceedingly convenient and economical for scenting small batches, involving merely mechanical labor, the tools required being simply an ordinary carpenter's plane, and a good marble mortar, and lignum vitae pestle.

The woodwork of the plane must be fas.h.i.+oned at each end, so that when placed over the mortar it remains firm and not easily moved by the parallel pressure of the soap against its projecting blade.

To commence operations, we take first 7 lbs., 14 lbs., or 21 lbs. of the bars of the soap that it is intended to perfume. The plane is now laid upside down across the top of the mortar.

Things being thus arranged, the whole of the soap is to be pushed across the plane until it is all reduced into fine shavings. Like the French "Charbonnier," who does not saw the wood, but woods the saw, so it will be perceived that in this process we do not plane the soap, but that we soap the plane, the shavings of which fall lightly into the mortar as quickly as produced.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Soaping the Plane.]

Soap, as generally received from the maker, is the proper condition for thus working; but if it has been in stock any time it becomes too hard, and must have from one to three ounces of distilled water sprinkled in the shaving for every pound of soap employed, and must lay for at least twenty-four hours to be absorbed before the perfume is added.

When it is determined what size the cakes of soap are to be, what they are to sell for, and what it is intended they should cost, then the maker can measure out his perfume.

In a general way, soaps scented in this way retail from 4_s._ to 10_s._ per pound, bearing about 100 per cent. profit, which is not too much considering their limited sale. The soap being in a proper physical condition with regard to moisture, &c., is now to have the perfume well stirred into it. The pestle is then set to work for the process of incorporation. After a couple of hours of "warm exercise," the soap is generally expected to be free from streaks, and to be of one uniform consistency.

For perfuming soap in large portions by the cold process, instead of using the pestle and mortar as an incorporator, it is more convenient and economical to employ a mill similar in construction to a cake chocolate-mill, or a flake cocoa-mill; any mechanical apparatus that answers for mixing paste and crus.h.i.+ng lumps will serve pretty well for blending soap together.

Before going into the mill, the soap is to be reduced to shavings, and have the scent and color stirred in; after leaving it, the flakes or ribands of soap are to be finally bound together by the pestle and mortar into one solid ma.s.s; it is then weighed out in quant.i.ties for the tablets required, and moulded by the hand into egg-shaped ma.s.ses; each piece being left in this condition, separately laid in rows on a sheet of white paper, dries sufficiently in a day or so to be fit for the press, which is the same as that previously mentioned. It is usual, before placing the cakes of soap in the press, to dust them over with a little starch-powder, or else to very slightly oil the mould; either of these plans prevents the soap from adhering to the letters or embossed work of the mould--a condition essential for turning out a clean well-struck tablet.

The body of all the fine soaps mentioned below should consist of the finest and whitest curd soap, or of a soap previously melted and colored to the required shade, thus:--

ROSE-COLORED SOAP is curd soap stained with vermilion, ground in water, thoroughly incorporated when the soap is melted, and not very hot.

GREEN SOAP is a mixture of palm oil soap and curd soap, to which is added powdered smalt ground with water.

BLUE SOAP, curd soap colored with smalt.

BROWN SOAP, curd soap with caramel, _i.e._ burnt sugar.

The intensity of color varies, of course, with the quant.i.ty of coloring.

Some kinds of soap become colored or tinted to a sufficient extent by the mere addition of the ottos used for scenting, such as "spermaceti soap," "lemon soap," &c., which become of a beautiful pale lemon color by the mere mixing of the perfume with the curd soap.