Soap Making 101

[glenolam]

Here's a little list of stuff I use when making soap - NUTSHELL VERSION

a stainless steel pot from my kitchen to mix the lye in
a big bowl/pot to melt/put the oils in
a spatula
the ingredients in that basic recipe
a mold
a bowl/cup to weigh the oils in
a scale
gloves
a stick blender

Then I just measure out the oils and heat them up in the big oil bowl. Then I put my frozen milk in the stainless steel pot in my kitchen sink that's filled with ice. Then I weight out the lye, slowly add it to the milk and stir stir stir.

Add that to the oils and stick blend away until it reaches trace.

Dump into molds and voila - soap.

Now, don't forget about temps and stuff like that. That's for lesson 2.

 

[savingdogs]

I'd be happy to help you too Katie, I'm a beginner but have made about five or six batches of soap now. I really like it. I'm still doing really simple recipes but my last batch I added goats milk and I'm so pleased with it.....

 

[glenolam]

SD - I believe you have a much easier recipe to follow, too, with stuff you're more likely to get at the local store. If you haven't posted it already on here, maybe you can? Or if you have, link us back to that page?

My stuff is most easily found on-line.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thanks everyone!! Hopefully come spring I'll be ready to start my own soap!

 

[savingdogs]

Mine, too. I found the same recipe over and over, it is called the Easy Crisco recipe.

Here is a link to one version
http://www.pureandnaturalsoaps.com/recipe-easy-crisco-soap.html

Someone must have run it through soapcalc because it always reads the same. It is very easy to find these ingredients. I purchased the fragrance, molds and sodium hydroxide all online. I bought the soapmaking hardware all at the Goodwill, very cheap, and just keep it in a box in the closet until soapmaking time.

We borrow a scale from someone each time is the only issue, but they don't mind. I do not use a thermometer and would probably need to start in order to make a more difficult recipe.

I have added things to this recipe with a successful batch every time I tried this.....even the first batch was great soap. My bars are not pretty yet but they work great. I love the last batch so much, I will have a hard time not doing it exactly the same forevermore now. I used that recipe above, but changed out 8 oz of water for 8 oz of goats milk, added a tablespoon of honey and 1/2 cup of oatmeal, ground up in the coffee grinder. I did not add scent but it has a nice smell, kindy oaty.

I was told that making goats milk soap is trickier and that you should make regular soap first. I did it that way and it seemed to be a good choice. I did notice that I reached trace much faster when I added the milk so it was good I was more confident about how to get it into the molds since I had to move faster.

I actually make soap as a team with Hubby. I think he finds the chemical process fascinating.

 

[glenolam]

FWIW, I've never made a different kind of soap.

Just Goat Milk Soap. Never used water in a batch yet.

I think the "hard part" of it is learning not to scortch the milk is all, but that's my opinion.

 

[LovinLife]

I'm with ya aggieterpkatie it IS overwhelming but this thread has helped A LOT! I can't wait to get started!

SD- That idea of grinding your oats down before added them is good thinking! I got a bar from Lush one time that had wheat berries (or something) in it and it was too rough and scratchy....and I love oatmeal! Also, thanks for the link.

glenolam- I'm saving all the info you are posting and will let you know when I give it a try.

 

[glenolam]

SD's got it as far as the ground oatmeal. It's also the only way I do it, too.

I will, though, keep some full oats to sprinkle on the top for veiwing purposes, but I've figured out that the more fine it is the better it feels on your skin

I've got several bars of a botched batch I'm using on myself. It's Oatmeal Milk & Honey and didn't want to come out of the mold so I had to cut it out in chunks. It's perfectly usable, just not pretty in any way. But in this batch I also didn't grind up the oatmeal enough AND I added way too much oatmeal so the darn soap does nothing but scratch the crap out of my skin......I call it my exfoliating bar.

 

[savingdogs]

Glenolam my first attempt with the oatmeal I did just the same thing, but only put it in half the batch.

Hubby said the "scratchy" batch was the best soap he ever used. I chopped up the oatmeal this last time and he likes it too, but that scratchy batch was exactly his style.

I considered leaving oatmeal out of my last batch and I thought he was going to POUT.

I tried covering a loofa with soap this last time for him to have the scratchiness he desired, but the results were kind of laughable.

 

[freemotion]

SD's got it as far as the ground oatmeal. It's also the only way I do it, too.

I will, though, keep some full oats to sprinkle on the top for veiwing purposes, but I've figured out that the more fine it is the better it feels on your skin

I've got several bars of a botched batch I'm using on myself. It's Oatmeal Milk & Honey and didn't want to come out of the mold so I had to cut it out in chunks. It's perfectly usable, just not pretty in any way. But in this batch I also didn't grind up the oatmeal enough AND I added way too much oatmeal so the darn soap does nothing but scratch the crap out of my skin......I call it my exfoliating bar.

Shoot....I call that "homestead-style" and charge more!!!