Soap Making 101

[me&thegals]

I love the idea of honey soap- but we go through so much honey eating it it seems like a waste to put it in soap! We don't have hives- yet.

I know, but it's only about 1 tablespoon or so for a couple lb of soap--not much at all! Leaves lots for tea and cornbread

I unmolded my lemongrass/sage scented today- I LOVE the smell. So clean smelling and light! I do hope it dries a bit harder, though. This is only my second batch with coconut oil in it, and they are both sort of soft. (the other oils are olive, crisco, and canola). I used 20% coconut to try to get some sudsing action since the batches I made before this have a hard, thin lather rather than suds. Is that too much? Does coconut soften the bar that much? I use soapcalc to try to see if my oils will make a harder/softer bar, and try to aim for harder.

I'm pretty sure coconut actually hardens it. The softer oil would be olive. That scent sounds wonderful! Did you use EOs? If so, how much per pound of oil? I would love to try that with dried sage sprinkled in or crusted on top

Grandma Goldie "I have never made soap but I have read this entire thread and there is a lot of good information here. I just have a question (one for now) Which is easier to start with a cp soap or a hp soap? Or does it make a difference?"

I think CP is really pretty easy. I hear that HP is a little more dangerous with possible eruptions due to hot soap Not sure, though.

 

[me&thegals]

I'm having fun with food-inspired soap recipes! It started with my favorite soap of all with honey, beeswax and egg yolks. I added carrot juice. It has a beautiful color and amazing smell, even 2 months later.

Now I have a whole list of soaps I have tried or want to try with food in them An * indicates those tried and loved already:

*Sippin' sisters (my sis and I love honey-lemon-ginger tea)
Banana muffins for my SIL (yogurt, bananas and ground walnuts)
Tomato soup with dried basil, tomato juice but a citrus? scent
*Choc-mint-coffee kitchen soap
Soy milk/green tea/honey/cinnamon--another favorite drink
*Carrot-oatmeal
Tzatziki with cukes and yogurt
Breakfast cereal with oatmeal, goat's milk, honey and cinnamon

What recipes are you dying to make?

 

[Morgaine]

I'm having fun with food-inspired soap recipes! It started with my favorite soap of all with honey, beeswax and egg yolks. I added carrot juice. It has a beautiful color and amazing smell, even 2 months later.

Now I have a whole list of soaps I have tried or want to try with food in them An * indicates those tried and loved already:

*Sippin' sisters (my sis and I love honey-lemon-ginger tea)
Banana muffins for my SIL (yogurt, bananas and ground walnuts)
Tomato soup with dried basil, tomato juice but a citrus? scent
*Choc-mint-coffee kitchen soap
Soy milk/green tea/honey/cinnamon--another favorite drink
*Carrot-oatmeal
Tzatziki with cukes and yogurt
Breakfast cereal with oatmeal, goat's milk, honey and cinnamon

What recipes are you dying to make?

From your list I have used: Honey, tea (not ginger), yogurt, bananas, coffee, cinnamon, carrots, cucumbers, oatmeal and goats milk. Others I have also used: Avocados, buttermilk, lemon and orange peel, pumkin, coconut milk, salt, paprika, tumeric, apple cider, cocopowder and seems like something else but I can't remember off the top of my head. I'll look in my soaping notebook later and see.

Pretty much you can use anything so long as it in small enough pieces that it won't go bad because the soap becomes a salt basically and acts as presevative. Just becareful using anything that would neutralize the lye like lemon juice.

 

[Morgaine]

Yes, coconut will harden then soap. It has a lot of Lauric acid in it. So does Palm Kernal Oil and Babaussa. Stearic will also harden your bars, but can make soap trace faster if you have a LOT of it. Look around on soapcalc, you will see a tab that says learn, click it down and go to soap qualities. It's very useful info. HTH

I love the idea of honey soap- but we go through so much honey eating it it seems like a waste to put it in soap! We don't have hives- yet.

I know, but it's only about 1 tablespoon or so for a couple lb of soap--not much at all! Leaves lots for tea and cornbread

I unmolded my lemongrass/sage scented today- I LOVE the smell. So clean smelling and light! I do hope it dries a bit harder, though. This is only my second batch with coconut oil in it, and they are both sort of soft. (the other oils are olive, crisco, and canola). I used 20% coconut to try to get some sudsing action since the batches I made before this have a hard, thin lather rather than suds. Is that too much? Does coconut soften the bar that much? I use soapcalc to try to see if my oils will make a harder/softer bar, and try to aim for harder.

I'm pretty sure coconut actually hardens it. The softer oil would be olive. That scent sounds wonderful! Did you use EOs? If so, how much per pound of oil? I would love to try that with dried sage sprinkled in or crusted on top

Grandma Goldie "I have never made soap but I have read this entire thread and there is a lot of good information here. I just have a question (one for now) Which is easier to start with a cp soap or a hp soap? Or does it make a difference?"

I think CP is really pretty easy. I hear that HP is a little more dangerous with possible eruptions due to hot soap Not sure, though.

 

[savingdogs]

I'm dying to make a sandalwood soap that could be used for shaving for men. My husband buys shave cream and I'd like to make soap for that instead. I think it would be better for his skin as my homemade soap has already been helpful for him. But I'd like a bar specifically for shaving.

Does anyone have a recipe suggestion for me? I'm a beginner. I was thinking of ordering "sensuous sandalwood" from Brambleberry.

I also want to make a "baby soap" bar for my granddaughter. I was thinking of using an olive oil recipe and Baby Rose as the fragrance but again I am not sure what recipe would be baby friendly. Our family has alot of allergies including the mother of babe, so non-allergenic would be a goal.

I'm also dying to try a goats milk soap after I get the practice. I was thinking of practicing with a cream bar (possibly for the baby or shaving batches) so I could practice with that. But we bought baby dairy goats so I could make soap, so when they are old enough to milk I want to be all worked up to making goats milk soap.

Morgaine, I find you incredibly interesting, can we all hear more about you? Do you make soap as your sole profession? You are such a fountain of knowledge on the soapmaking, what would we all do without you?

 

[Morgaine]

I'm still working on perfecting my shaving recipe. It's ok right now, but I know it can be better. Here are somethings I have had reccomended to me and what I have found to help in a shaving bar.

High Olive oil- I know that OO soaps suck as far as lather, but because of the high Oleic acid it gives bars really great slip and imo make for a closer shave. I like it 40-60% of the recipe
Stearic Acid- Stearic acid helps make a stable, longer lasting lather and makes bars harder. Down side is it can accelerate trace a bit and even seize if used at too high a percent. I'm using 4%.
Benonite Clay- This also helps with the slip
Silk- I use double the amount silk as I would in my normal bars. This makes a really silky lather and boosts it too imo.
Cream- I use cream as 25% of my liquids.

But I'm still working on mine.

As far as baby soaps go, I personally don't reccomend my soaps for babies when people ask. THe Ph of handmade soaps are so high that they will always sting the eye, no matter how gentle, and because of that I don't feel comfortable marketing them to babies. But that is me.

Goat's milk soaps can be a little tricky, but here is what I do because it's easier and cheaper for me since I do not have my own goats. I make a 50% lye solution ( equal parts lye and water) let that cool and then once your oils are ready, add your goat's milk to the lye and then add to the oils. Make sure the Gm is cold, but for me this way is much easier than freezing the milk and all that jazz. But if you do want to all milk soaps, Mueller Lane Farms is the one to talk too on BYC.

I've been making soap for about 2 years and I opened my little biz in March of last year. It was kinda spur of the moment thing, but I'm doing better than everyone thought I would, lol.

 

[me&thegals]

So much great advice, Morgaine--Thank you!! I'm going to use your tip on adding GM to lye-water rather than lye to frozen GM.

I can't believe I forgot pumpkin and sweet potatoes in "foodie" soaps. I have a sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie soap with cinnamon and other pie spices mixed in. It's a nice subtle scent and beautiful brown/rust color.

Tonight I think I'm going for banana muffins with bananas, yogurt and ground walnuts with maybe a dab of cinnamon and honey.

Think I'll also try green tea, cinnamon, goat's milk and honey. Happy soaping, everybody!

 

[Morgaine]

So much great advice, Morgaine--Thank you!! I'm going to use your tip on adding GM to lye-water rather than lye to frozen GM.

I can't believe I forgot pumpkin and sweet potatoes in "foodie" soaps. I have a sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie soap with cinnamon and other pie spices mixed in. It's a nice subtle scent and beautiful brown/rust color.

Tonight I think I'm going for banana muffins with bananas, yogurt and ground walnuts with maybe a dab of cinnamon and honey.

Think I'll also try green tea, cinnamon, goat's milk and honey. Happy soaping, everybody!

I really like pumpkin in soap! The texture becomes thicker and creamier. General rule for adding stuff like pumkin or sweet potatoes is one oz per pound of oil. So if you have a 5 pound (oils only) recipe, you would use 5 oz of pumkin. And discount the 5 oz from your water.

Just make sure that your lye water is cool (no higher than 100) and after you add the milk, add right away to your oils because it is going to heat up as the lye reacts to the milk. I do it this way because it's cheaper, easier and I get a whiter bar of soap.

 

[hennypenny9]

Okay, I just looked through a bunch of pages and gave up, so if this is posted already could you tell me the page number?

How do you wrap your cured soap? Paper, fabric, plastic?? Does this keep the scent better? I've used only EOs.

Also, as far as goat's milk soap, here's how I did mine. I put the milk in the freezer until it was just thicker than a slushy. Put the container with the milk in a sink of ice water. Then added the lye to it slowly! I found this way to be simple and easy, especially after reading online horror stories of scorched milk! It stayed at a very reasonable temp, and the soap turned out great. I'll post a pic sometime. So I used ALL goat's milk, no water. Edit: Oh I see the freezing option was already mentioned. Ha, sorry.

 

[Morgaine]

I put my soaps in muslin bags. They allow the soaps still breath. I wrap some of half sized bars in glassine envelopes. But prefer muslin.

Mystic Mountain Sage has shrink wrap bands that are open ended and also allow the soaps to breath. For Crafts Sake has shrink wrap bands and boxes also. And Scent Works has boxes and a bunch of other places. I have a reference thread for a bunch of suppliers over at BYC.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=155832