Making Soap

If you have ever considered making soap, I am here to tell you, DO IT! I was scared to death to start making it. I asked many people. Got many opinions… and the common theme, it is worth it. So, let me back up. You are smearing stuff all over your body, which is being absorbed into your body… how much "junk" is in it?  Once I realized how little I put into my soap, I began freaking out about how much stuff is in packaged soap (and stuff I can't even read or pronounce). 

So my fear of starting to make soap was the unknown… I was afraid of lye. I was afraid of getting chemicals on me. I was afraid that it would not be natural because of adding lye. I was afraid to have lye in my house because of my children. I was afraid to make it around my children. Long story short, I was afraid for nothing. I needed to face my fears head on and just be careful.  So, I started… I studied, I read, I asked other soaping people, I learned that lye can be made from running water thru ashes (um, how natural is that?!?) I always do soap when John is able to watch our children. When I started, I did it after they were asleep. Now I start it when they are winding down for the night and can watch the oil mixing stage.  I keep my boxes of supplies out in the shed and on my soap nights I bring everything in. That was a choice I made because of my inquisitive little girl. I did not want to worry about her getting into the lye, so for my benefit, I keep all my soaping ingredients out in the shed.

 

I studied. I read a book called The Natural Soapmaking Book For Beginners on kindle and then purchased it so I could take notes and have a hard copy for referencing while I work.  I highly recommend it for starting out. It tells you techniques, natural color additives, recipes, supplies needed to get started and explain all the ins and outs of soaping. You can find it here: https://amzn.to/2qiq00v

I asked many questions. I talked to people. I got their opinion on lye. I watched many videos on it. I have been making a decent amount of soap and would be lying if I said I loved working with lye, however I have learned a healthy respect for it so it doesn’t scare me, but I am not careless with it.  I do not allow my children to be around when I work with it. I take precaution by going out on the porch when working with it. I put the dogs away. I put glasses on. I wear gloves. I don’t mix things or drip when lye has been introduced. I am cautious. I have gotten lye water on me, IT BURNS!  Lol… but I ran in and rinsed it off and all was good, not a continual burn like hot peppers!  It is recommended that you wear a mask so you don’t inhale the fumes. I did that once too, it sucks, but it wasn’t the end of the world. I absolutely do not allow my children around during that part as I would not want any of those things happening to them.  So develop a healthy respect of the supplies you are working with, exercise caution, and you will be fine.

A quick summary of it all, step by step. What it looks like for me. My soap nights are Tuesday nights. Tuesday night I carry all my boxes in and line them up on the counter. For me, start, carrying stuff in to finish, cleaned up and carrying stuff out is two hours. Once I have everything out, Cole hops up on the counter and helps me weigh out all my oils. I like to use basic recipes. Some of the ones I am starting into have some more fancy oils, but start simple, coconut oil, tallow, lard, olive oil. I weigh out the oils and pour or dump into a pot on the stove to melt down all together. Once that stage is done, I let it cool down (this can be rushed by placing in cold water sink).  I now head outside with my lye and water, glasses, and gloves  (also can be rushed by using one- half to two-thirds ice vs all water) always pour the lye into the water, not the other way around. It will heat up very fast! Keep stirring till it is all mixed in.  It is at this point you need to get your oil mixture and lye water mixture to 100-110 degrees. Once they are both within that temperature, mix the lye water into the oils. Then I am comfortable with bringing the pan inside to mix or you can mix on the porch. I use a handheld little mixer (https://amzn.to/2VHxaXA). Mix off and on till you reach trace, which is a pudding consistency. Pending if you need it light or thick trace, your recipe will tell you. Now is the fun part!

I started with just pouring it into the mold and being so excited! After a few batches I began playing around… adding flowers on top.  Adding lavender throughout and or essential oil mixed in.  Making layered soap. The possibilities are endless! Then wrap and let it set overnight. The next day we cut it. This is where my children get involved again 😊 I start with cutting a loaf into 12 pieces. It was not perfect, but that was ok, it was for my family. I since was asked to start selling it at a local store, so I purchased a cutting mold so I slide the slicer in 1" slats to make them all even 😊   I now get nine bars per loaf, which I am ok with because who doesn’t like to get a big bar of soap! My children always decide if I use a crinkle cut or straight. This is a fun thing we do together, they love to watch as I cut the soap slices. You are not done yet!  Now, the soap has to be set up so it can dry for four weeks. After that, enjoy!

If you have ever considered making your own soap or getting into it, DO IT! you will not regret it. you will love the feel of homemade soap on your skin. You will love knowing what is in your soap. You will love the moisture of it! you will not look back. We take ours with us when we travel we are so spoiled by it now, lol.

I will eventually do a YouTube video on soapmaking. I am working on setting up an Esty shop for soap sales, so please stay tuned and I will post more about that as it progresses. 😊