making your own soap

[smom1976]

I have been watching youtube videos, searching online, and reading as much as I can..

I am about to dive into the hobby of making soap..

For anyone out there that does make their own soap for self and selling localy..

I would like some tips..

Where to get lye, how much to charge, where to sell, how to begin to find places to sell to, neat things to put into it, how to get started, how to do lots of batches if things work out,

 

[hoosier]

I would like to make my own soap, but haven't yet.
They no longer sell lye at our grocery store, but I have found it at the local hardware store.
It usually sells for about $4/bar.
Try selling at local festivals if the booth rent isn't very expensive.
good luck in your new venture!

 

[Farmfresh]

I have been making my own soap for some time now. I would use only lye from a soap making supplier to ensure a good grade product. Some commercial lye has metal filings and other things in it.

The company I most heartily recommend is Summer Bee Meadow (http://www.summerbeemeadow.com/).

They have quality oils, lye and even a great beginners kit. They have always provided good reliable service and are reasonably priced. What more could you ask for.

For more soaping information, check out my blog.

"A Day in the Life" (http://www.ubuilderplans.com/?q=node/19)

Soaping is a fun, frugal and fascinating hobby! Good luck and be safe!

Farmfresh

 

[ticks]

I think most people who sell it and make a good profit have to make and sell a lot of soap! The process seems hard too. I don't really think it will save money, JMO.

 

[Farmfresh]

Actually the process is quite easy!

Sure you need to follow directions, measure very carefully and use some caution, but I generally soap only 2 or 3 days a year and make more than enough to give as gifts, supply soap (both personal bars and LAUNDRY soap) for my whole extended family AND I have sold some as well in a local shop.

To make quality bars you do spend some money on some of the ingredients. I actually barter for some of the more expensive ones! (BARTER is ALIVE!) The shop keeper where my soap is sold pays me in shea butter. I also trade finished soaps for Vitamin E oil and herbs with another shop keeper in my area. He barters for my soap for personal use. Some other exotic oils (Almond oil for example) I simply must buy. Many of the base oils (lard and tallow) are products of this lifestyle, and so are free! My meat processor provides me with rendered lard in pails when I get the meat from our hog. I freeze it until I am ready to soap to keep it fresh. Beef suet, which is the fat from the back around the kidneys of a cow, is free for the asking at the butcher shop as well and we always keep what comes from our families processed beef. The suet is then ground and rendered into tallow which is base ingredient in many, many soaps including my laundry soap.

Following an easy recipe, which includes washing soda, borax and a homemade bar of lye soap, I make 5 gallons of laundry liquid. Have you priced 5 gallons of laundry soap lately? Plus our personal soap is rich and gentle with lots of natural ingredients that leaves our skin clean and soft. I even make a medicated acne soap.

So with a little practice and a day of your time you can not only save a lot of money for your family - you can have a blast doing it!

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

I too have been interested in learning this process. I must do more research before I purchase any supplies, but I am glad to hear it is not a complicated process. I would like to make personal soap for my family. I already make my own powered laundry detergent.

 

[ticks]

I made soap with my mom once and I found it kind of hard. nut it was a while back, I was little, so what did I know.

 

[Farmfresh]

A nugget of advice = POWER TOOLS!

I use a hand held mixer - the kind you use for mixing a drink in the glass. It really helps with the time to trace and the stirring time which is probably the hardest part. Other people use a stand mixer. Both methods ensure a through mix, and shorten time to trace - when the chemical reaction turns the acid in the fat and the base in the lye into a salt which is what soap is.

 

[smom1976]

Ok so I got my Lye.. I got all my oils. I have my recipe..

I need the mixer and I would like to do this in glas containers. Like large pickle jars.. I need to get one more..


I herd that using pringles containers for molds work .. but has anyone tried this.. how would I get it out? they mentioned covering the container with wax paper??? HOW>???

I am getting excited...

 

[Farmfresh]

What I use:

For Making Cold Process Soap

*Be sure you have an accurate scale to WEIGH ALL ingredients (even the water)

*A Rubbermaid pitcher (no other kind) will take more than enough heat to mix the water and lye solution and has a great pour spout to lessen splashes and a lid to help keep it safe till it cools.

*I bought a cheap stainless steel stock pot for about $20 to do the stirring in. You will be MUCH happier with that than a pickle jar or other glass container.

*I use a blend stick - the kind they mix drinks with to stir.


For soap molds:

*For the flat mold I use a Glad ware 9 x 13 Baking Pan. Black plastic suited to go in an oven so it takes heat. Easy to get soap out to cut. Has a lid to aid in insulation. CHEAP. Easily replaceable.

*For round soaps I use a foot long piece of 3 inch diameter PVC pipe with fittings and a screw off drain plug on one end. (Grease it with petroleum jelly before filling). This will just stand nicely inside of a 44 oz insulated refill mug from your local gas station and add another to the top. TA-DA insulated! When the holding period is done freeze the mold for about 12 hours then remove the plug from the bottom. The soap shrinks slightly when frozen and the tube sweats. You can push the soap out easy!

*For insulation I use the foil backed bubble wrap that you get at the hardware store for insulation. It just takes a yard or so and keeps the mold warm to make a better milder soap for the first 24 hours after the
pour.

For cutting:

*I got some stainless steel wire that was plastic coated for making jewelry (very thin). I secured a long strip of it at each end to a small sturdy piece of dowel to make handles, then rolled the extra wire on both handles (like a scroll). To cut simply wrap wire under the soap completely encircling it cross the wires at the top and gently pull. Works like a wire cheese slicer - very easy and COOL!

Hope it helps. PM me if you need more!