Okay, in this thread , the idea of giving handcrafted soap as a Christmas gift was raised. Since I make my own soap, I volunteered to give a lesson or to in how to do it.
Since it’s an arts/crafts type thing, I thought Cafe Society was a good home. Mods, if I’m wrong, move it to where it needs to go.
So let’s get started. Ask your questions, and I’ll answer them. I’m a pretty experieced soap maker, and I do actually make money off it it, so I suppose I’ve got a fair amount of knowledge on the subject. I’ll try to check in often and add some tips, recipes, etc., as well as answer questions.
Just wanted to chime in - I’ve been making homemade soap for 2+ years - it does make wonderful Christmas gifts, but I just love making it period!
One resource that I find invaluable is http://www.soapnuts.com - they also have a mailing list, but I think that it is closed to new members for now - it will probably open again in the future.
Soap is wonderful to make - but the first thing I would suggest is to read the safety precautions. Once I forgot to wear a mask when stirring lye - owie! My lungs may never forgive me.
One warning - once you start, you may find it hard to stop - it’s addicting!
Susan! I know you from soapnuts…back when I actually used to post there! Good to see you!
Susan’s link has a recipe for a simple castille soap that I’d highly recommend for first-batchers. All you need is olive oil and lye, and fragrance if you want it. Look around under CP Recipes until you find it…I think it’s called Camille’s No Fail Castille or something along those lines.
Do not–I cannot emphasize this enough–do NOT use a recipe called Tony’s No Fail, or one that calls for you to measure your ingredients in cups and spoons rather than by weight. Trust me–it’s not worth the effort.
Would-be soapers, dash off to soapnuts.com, and then come back with questions, and we’ll help you out, okay?
Also, if you don’t wanna fool with actually making the stuff, www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com has soap logs–you just slice them, cure them a bit, and wrap them. Can’t beat that for quick and easy!
What about molds? I’m thinking that by making my own molds, I could easily personalise the soap-eg for the SCAdians, soap ith their coat of arms embossed on it.
What about putting toys in the soap for kids? I know it can be done, but how can I do it?
[sub]Cheez, I cook, sew(clothing, stuffed animals, and decorative pillows), have tried my hand at candle making, and now this. I'm gonna go use some power tools and look at Playboy to reaffirm my manliness now. Maybe I can find something to powersand.[/sub]
Regarding ventilation, I usually mix the lye and water in my garage with the door up. Then I leave it there until I’m ready to use it. That way, the fumes aren’t wafting about the house and bothering pets and kids. I also try to stir the mixture with a super long handled spoon, so I can keep my face away from it.
When I make small batches (under 10 pounds, say), I just mix my lye under the hood on my stove. You can always take it outside and mix it–just stay upwind of the fumes.
Molds…for cold-processed soap, you can line a box with waxed paper or a white garbage bag. Wooden tray molds will work, as will downspouts, pvc (pcv? I never can remember) pipe, and of course, expensive molds from the soap supply places.
If you want to make soaps with designs on them, you can either stamp them or use a designed mold. I haven’t had much luck with making fancy designs in cp soap, although I know others have.
However, if you make melt & pour glycerin soap, you can use all kinds of intricate molds, and you can embed toys in your soaps. There are lots of sites that sell mp base, but I like www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com. They also have a site that has lots of neat ideas/instructions: www.soapteacher.com.
My mother has multiple chemical sensitivity, and is allergic to common ingrediants in health & beauty products, such as triethylnolamine and EDTA. Is the homemade soap free of all that stuff? Is it nice to skin? Can shampoo be made?
OK I followed the link provided by Susan_foster and I have a couple of questions.
What is trace and how much stirring does it take.
I also note that there is a roughly 3:1 ratio of lye to water, and you use approx 2 times as much oil as lye/water mix. Does this hold true usually, or am I reading more into it than I should?
Also what are the basic steps. Most say something like mix lye and water, cool, stir in warm oil, stir, add scent, stir, pour into mold. Does that sound like a reasonable set of steps?
I was always curious about this. It’s not something that I will probably ever do, as I already have enough “Do It Yourself” hobbies, but is home made soap better than store bought? I can’t imagine it would be significantly cheaper. Or is it just something fun to do that gives that home made pride and satisfaction?
Ooops. I forgot to check back in. I’m going to field these as well as I can, and of course the other soapers will pop in when they get a break from stirring, stirring the lye and oil.
StGermain, handcrafted soap should be perfect for your mom. If you can, find a local soaper, or email one of the soapers here. Explain your mom’s situation, and ask for an unscented, nothing-added soap. I’d recommend castile for her first bar. Many soapers don’t use preservatives or any additional chemicals, so with a bit of checking, you should be able to find a very good, gentle castile soap…and it will contain nothing except for saponified olive oil. (Saponification being the process that turns oil and lye into soap.) No lye, no preservatives, no chemicals. It’s wonderful stuff–gentle, moisturizing, non-irritating.
Etherman, trace is a stage of saponification. You stir and stir and stir–it may take 15 minutes to several hours, depending on temps and your recipe–and eventually you’ll notice, if you watch closely, that your soap is beginning to look different. I’d compare it to a very thin batter. When you dribble a bit of soap across the surface of the batch, it will leave a very light ridge, mark, or, well, trace. When you get to that point, I’d advise letting it sit for a few minutes to make sure it doesn’t separate. If it doesn’t separate after 10 minutes or so, it’s ready to mold.
I haven’t really documented the water/lye ratio. It may vary according to recipe, and I’d recommend following good recipes for your first few batches. If you aren’t sure about the amount of water, www.the-sage.com has a very good lye calculator–you just enter the amount of each oil you use, and it will give you a range of lye and water amounts. Use an excess oil % of between 5-8% for best results.
The basic steps you’ve listed here are correct, although it may take several hours to complete the batch. Give yourself a full afternoon to get your first batch put to bed. I’ve been soaping for 9 years now, and it’s still a bit unpredictable for me.
Let me post this and then answer the other questions.
tlw, Nope. But you can buy glycerin (aka melt & pour) soap base that only requires melting and molding, or you can buy handcrafted soap base that is basically a finished soap. All you have to do with that is sort of melt it (heat with a bit of water), mush it til it’s soft, and mold it. If you want quick and easy and fun: glycerin/melt & pour. If you want the benefits of handcrafted (cold processed) soap without the lye: handcrafted soap base. Several soap companies carry these items; I can post links if anyone wants them.
And if someone tells you s/he that you should buy a particular soap because it doesn’t contain lye, run the other direction. All soap is made with lye (or some other caustic base), but there is NO LYE LEFT in the final product.
Turbo Dog, Homemade soap is lovely, lovely, lovely. I’ve never found a soap to compare to it, and I’ve had several customers who swore by expensive (Clinique, for instance) soap who, after testing a bar of mine, have become complete and devoted converts. Pricewise, if you make it yourself and don’t go wild with fragrances, it can cost under $2.00/bar, which is a better deal than some of the more expensive brand-name or prescription soaps. Generally, though, it seems that most people get into soaping for the skin care benefits. Of course, the fun and pride factor is very high too, as is the addictive/shelf-building/spare-room-taking factor.
I have a whole essay somewhere about the emotionally therapeutic benefits of soaping. Aside from having a baby girl, it’s been one of the strongest healing elements in my life.
I’m happy to answer more questions, if anyone has them. One final note: if you want to try a batch, see if one of the soapers here will agree to be online that day, to talk you through the process is necessary. It can be kind of freaky the first time you do it!
