Soap Making 101

[Blackbird]

I buy my Palm Oil from Mountain Rose Herbs by the gallon but am looking for a cheaper place to buy.

If you do purchase Palm oil, make sure it is Palm KERNEL oil, not palm fruit. The palm fruit will make your soap a rusty orange colour. Been there done that.

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks for the clarification on the palm oil. Blackbird, do you know if it is sold as a food oil anywhere? Can I ask what you pay to have some sort of comparison if I find it? And, is your source and online company or local MN company?

 

[Blackbird]

I believe both kernel and fruit are sold safe for food and cosmetic use from their website here;

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

The fruit oil is more commonly used in foods though, think generic brands of canned ravioli and spaghetti.

Just don't buy herbs from them, they include a lot of useless fillers in them.

 

[Farmfresh]

I buy my palm oil and coconut oil from Summer Bee Meadow. You can often buy soaping oils from health food stores as well. I buy almond oil, and avocado oil from my local store. I get Vitamin E oil in barter for soap from my local herbalist were I buy some of the sage and the lavender that I use as well as tea tree oil.

Another friend has an import shop and there I swap soaps for her to sell in return for shea butter in bulk and she also sells essential oils.

As far as the other two questions above are concerned...

1. It IS possible to use a counter top mixer and some do, but the splashing is a BIG issue. I much prefer a stick blender.

2. I have dedicated equipment especially for the lye blending BUT in a pinch you can clean it up to use for other things IF you make sure the soap actually traces in the container. You are making SOAP after all not poison. A note to that is that the raw un-aged soap is still very caustic so rinse EXTRA EXTRA well and wear gloves while cleaning.

 

[me&thegals]

Thanks for all the help!

I am in the process of finding oils at the stores, and lard, plus online with local pick up. My latest question: Where do you find lye? I can get 1 lb at 2 local stores, but nothing more. I cannot find bulk online at any local stores. Do you soapers have any suggestions?

Just found a really neat site: fromnaturewithlove.com (not the prices, just the recipes )
Actually, another one, too: saratogascents.com (or did someone here recommend that one?)

 

[Farmfresh]

I usually buy my lye from Summer Bee Meadow. It is sold as sodium hydroxide.

 

[punkin]

Thanks for all the help!

I am in the process of finding oils at the stores, and lard, plus online with local pick up. My latest question: Where do you find lye? I can get 1 lb at 2 local stores, but nothing more. I cannot find bulk online at any local stores. Do you soapers have any suggestions?

Just found a really neat site: fromnaturewithlove.com (not the prices, just the recipes )
Actually, another one, too: saratogascents.com (or did someone here recommend that one?)

Do you have any chemical companies in your area? That's where I found mine. It was about $64 for a 55 lb bag. Overkill, I know, but that's the only way they sold it. Plus, I didn't have to pay the ridiculous shipping prices.

 

[freemotion]

I'm curious about a bag of lye. Doesn't it harden? Spill?

 

[me&thegals]

Do you have any chemical companies in your area? That's where I found mine. It was about $64 for a 55 lb bag. Overkill, I know, but that's the only way they sold it. Plus, I didn't have to pay the ridiculous shipping prices.

Do you mean companies who manufacture and sell chemicals? I don't think so. A printing factory, a metal factory and a couple other industries. Maybe they use lye in their processes, but it's hard to imagine them selling me lye on the side.

Sorry to be dense, but is lye used in any illegal activities? It seems like someone does not want it to be sold very easily or in bulk amounts. Or is it just not a very commonly used product?

 

[Farmfresh]

Lye can result in a very nasty burn. There HAVE been instances of people mixing up lye and throwing it into someones face, but as long as they sell drain cleaner they can do that.

Most of the problems are with shipping these days. They don't want a postal employee or other bystander injured with a damp broken package of lye. That is why it usually goes UPS and is REALLY packaged well.