# Soapmaking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639 "2011-07-28T16:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/1 "2011-07-28T16:50:09Z")
Yes, ‘soap’, not ‘soup’. I went to a soapmaking class last night, which was very interesting. Not much to the stuff: fat, oil, lye and fragrance. We’re anxious to see how it comes out, but it apparently takes about two months to cure. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/2 "2011-07-28T17:34:13Z")
I got very interested in it for a while, but my skin hates bar soap! I have a book on liquid soapmaking - much the same, but requires potassium hydroxide rather than sodium hydroxide - so maybe I’ll give that a try at some point. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/3 "2011-07-28T18:11:25Z")
I made some soap once from crisco, coconut oil and lye, with some orange oil for fragrance. Worked fine… didn’t seem any better or worse than commercial soap though. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/4 "2011-07-28T18:27:08Z")
I started making my own soap a few years ago, I use a lard/olive oil combo for the base. Lard makes a firm bar that lasts longer, olive oil is stupid good for your skin. add oatmeal for some scrubby stuff, and you can use all sorts of stuff for the scents. being sensitive to a lot of chemical smells I use natural scents. Cinnamon and orange peel are 2 of my faves. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/5 "2011-07-28T18:28:13Z")
I saw a movie about this once… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/6 "2011-07-28T18:49:35Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I saw a movie about this once… I think it was called, “the Guys Who Made Soap and Punched Each Other.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/7 "2011-07-28T18:54:07Z")
That’s cool! Be sure to tell us how it turns out. My lab partner and I made (or rather tried to make) soap in chemistry class in high school. It did not turn out well. There was a fire. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/8 "2011-07-28T19:02:49Z")
We’ve been making our own soap for years. I recommend a book: “The Soapmaker’s Companion” by Susan Miller Cavitch. Lots of good tips, formulas, etc. in there. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/9 "2011-07-28T19:52:44Z")
I’ve made plain Castille soap lots of times (that’s just olive oil and lye) - it’s very good for the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/10 "2011-07-28T19:59:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I made some soap once from crisco, coconut oil and lye, with some orange oil for fragrance. > > Worked fine… didn’t seem any better or worse than commercial soap though. That’s exactly what went into this stuff. I used cedar oil, my wife used orange. I’m not sure it’s all that economical to do, but it’s sure easy. She wants to try putting herbs like mint or lemon balm in it. I guess the cure time is to avoid lye burns on one’s wiener. **Critical1** : thanks for the tip on the lard vs crisco. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/11 "2011-07-28T20:02:51Z")
In my experience, the soap is basically usable within a week or two after pouring it, but if you use it before the full cure time is up, it might be a little harsh on your skin. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/12 "2011-07-28T21:28:26Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > It did not turn out well. There was a fire. First, this deadpan phrasing tickles me so much that I must ask if I may appropriate it for future use regarding situations where failure is highly unlikely to result in a fire. “How was your whitewater canoe trip?” “It did not turn out well. There was a fire.” May I? Second, how exactly did your soapmaking attempt end in an inferno? Was there an unrelated fire that caused it to fail, or did your experiment actually produce the blaze? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/13 "2011-07-28T21:52:59Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > First, this deadpan phrasing tickles me so much that I must ask if I may appropriate it for future use regarding situations where failure is highly unlikely to result in a fire. > > “How was your whitewater canoe trip?” > “It did not turn out well. There was a fire.” > > May I? > > Second, how exactly did your soapmaking attempt end in an inferno? Was there an unrelated fire that caused it to fail, or did your experiment actually produce the blaze? Well, you’re heating crisco, coconut oil and olive oil, so I can see how things could get out of hand. Also, if you add the water to the NaOH instead of the other way around, you’re going to generate a lot of heat very fast. It won’t catch fire, but you could certainly have a rather violent reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/14 "2011-07-28T22:37:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, you’re heating crisco, coconut oil and olive oil, so I can see how things could get out of hand. Also, if you add the water to the NaOH instead of the other way around, you’re going to generate a lot of heat very fast. It won’t catch fire, but you could certainly have a rather violent reaction. Oh, I can certainly imagine ways that a fire could have started, particularly if they were heating oil over an open flame (like a Bunsen burner). My own soapmaking efforts have never resulted in a fire, but I have always used carefully controlled electric heat sources. **Rhiannon** didn’t give any details, though, and it made me curious about the incident. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/15 "2011-07-28T23:18:33Z")
My ex-wife works with one of the soap makers who sells out at the MN Renfest. Consequently I now buy from one of the other two. Cool stuff though. I like spicy soap. I have a bar I bought last week sitting in front of the fan in my bedroom. Kind of a very low intensity fragrance dispenser after all this time. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/16 "2011-07-29T02:06:07Z")
I used to be a soapmaker! Part-time for about 8 years, full-time-plus for another 2. I cannot even begin to imagine how many pounds and pounds of soap I made over the years. For a good while I was making over 200 pounds a week. It’s a lot of fun if you don’t try to do it for a living. 🙂 And I highly, highly recommend The Soapmaker’s Companion as mentioned upthread. It’s the soapmaker’s Bible, and you don’t need any other book (unless you want the author’s first book as well). I never understood chemistry until I began making soap. Now…I _sorta_ understand chemistry. At least as it applies to soap. Enjoy your new addiction! Hobby! I mean, enjoy your new hobby! Okay, wanna hear a soap joke? “I’m not overweight–I’m just superfatted to 30%!” That one gets me every time! ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/17 "2011-07-29T03:25:59Z")
Where do you get the various scents/oils? Do you have to mix some of them to make more exotic scents? ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/18 "2011-07-29T09:01:49Z")
I would love to make soap, but I’m accident prone and allergic to a zillion things. What really intrigues me is “shampoo bars.” I looked into them once, and couldn’t see how they were very different from other homemade soap. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/19 "2011-07-29T12:40:56Z")
I made a few bars in high school chemistry class when we studied organic chemistry. I learned to make soap and that I have some resistance to lye as I used it without gloves, having to be out of the classroom during the safety lecture. It looked and smelled like stale lard. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639/20 "2011-07-29T14:36:21Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Where do you get the various scents/oils? Do you have to mix some of them to make more exotic scents? Probably at craft shops, but I haven’t looked into it at all. I have my doubts that we’ll persue this seriously. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soapmaking/590639.md?page=2)