Homemade Soap

Gigervamp

Welcome to the slippery slope! Now you can do the HSD (Happy Soapers Dance).

Angelina-M

Sounds good to me, although I haven't put your recipe through a lye calculator. The method is good.

I'm just making some nettle soap at the moment. I'm really low on soap so I've done a couple of batches of (HP) hot process so I can use it straight away.

I made lavender and shea butter yesterday which is hardening up nicely. I shall try and do some CP soap in the next few days to see me over Christmas. I must get organised!

hampshirebabe

Hi, I've got 2 questions for you, sorry if they've been covered already, I'm limited for time so only got as far as page 3 of the thread. I read an idea of making bath crayons out of soap, sorry to all you purist's, with added food colouring. Do you think it would work, although possibly could use carrot juice for an orange one and anyone tried beetroot for a purple one and possibly spinach juice for a green one? Would they be coloured enough, or would it be more suptle? Would food colouring, if used, stain hands, and possibly bath grout?
2nd question, sorry if this shows my complete ignorance, but is liquid soap anything like the soaps suggested here, can you make liquid soap?
Thanks
Mary

hannoja

I checked my soap the other day and it's still really soft... _pale_

It's still wrapped up in the cereal/greaseproof paper, box and towel in the boiler cupboard.. I'm thinking it needs to breathe? If the moisture is trapped in can't dry out and harden..

How should it be stored after it's been cut..?

Thanks in advance.

Gigervamp

hampshirebabe wrote: »

Hi, I've got 2 questions for you, sorry if they've been covered already, I'm limited for time so only got as far as page 3 of the thread. I read an idea of making bath crayons out of soap, sorry to all you purist's, with added food colouring. Do you think it would work, although possibly could use carrot juice for an orange one and anyone tried beetroot for a purple one and possibly spinach juice for a green one? Would they be coloured enough, or would it be more suptle? Would food colouring, if used, stain hands, and possibly bath grout?
2nd question, sorry if this shows my complete ignorance, but is liquid soap anything like the soaps suggested here, can you make liquid soap?
Thanks
Mary

Hi, the problem with using juices to colour, is that the lye changes the colour. For instance, it's very hard to get a green that stays green and other colours will just turn brown!

The liquid soaps that you can buy are not actually soap but detergents usually. You can make liquid soap, but you use KOH (potassium hydroxide) instead of NaOH (sodium hydroxide-lye). I've never made liquid soap so I don't know the process.

Grimbo_Green

Hi :wave:

The question im about to ask is probably very stupid and I expect it would have already been thought of!

I am interested in making my own soaps and once ive got really confident making them, id like to give them away as presents and eventually sell them.

I have no experience so far but have found this thread very interesting.

From what I can gather from reading this thread (im probably totally wrong here!:embarasse) is that with the 'CP' soap making method, it is very difficult to get any colour other than brown. But with the 'heat and pour' method my understanding from reading this thread is that you use ready made soap, melt it, and add in perfumes and colours (??)
Is there a way you could make a nice natural soap to begin with using the CP method, then melt that soap down and add the colours and scents in to it??
Then that way it would be the best of both worlds: a natural soap with no chemicals.
I'm probably being really stupid here, but im curious - would that work?

I would really like to make some fruity smelling soaps in a nice variety of colours but with no nasty chemicals added.

Is it possible?

Many Thanks:p:p

Gigervamp

Grimbo_Green wrote: »

Hi :wave:


Is there a way you could make a nice natural soap to begin with using the CP method, then melt that soap down and add the colours and scents in to it??
Then that way it would be the best of both worlds: a natural soap with no chemicals.
I'm probably being really stupid here, but im curious - would that work?

Short answer is yes! It's called HP (hot process). If you join the yahoo group UKSoaping, there are instructions for HP in the files on the site.

When you decide you want to sell your soaps, you'll need to get safety assessments done for your recipes before you can sell them. UKSoaping also has information about the legalities of selling soap and bath/body products.

HTH.

Edited to add, it's not HP, but rebatching. (I had a brain f*rt!)

Topaz_3

Angelina_M - spent ages earlier trying to find this thread!
I would very much like to make some body butter. Could you advise where to buy the shea and cocoa butter please. I have some sweet almond oil so could use that instead of jojoba.

Pollycat

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Saw this thread and was just about to tell you about the delicious potato & Leek SOUP that I made in my slow cooker yesterday - when I realised that I probabley should have gone to SpecSavers. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Gigervamp

Lol Pollycat!

Topaz, you can buy shea and cocoa butter from http://www.justasoap.co.uk/catalog/index.php