Homemade Soap

EagerLearner

Hi GingerVamp thanks so much - I have apricot,macademia and jojoba oils at home, so just thought I'd rather use those up than buy new...
Do you think I should keep to 4 oils max?
So based on coconut beiing drying, was thinking pomace, apricot, jojoba and castor?

Cazzdevil

I'm wanting to have a go at this but obviously as cheap as possible, what's the best online shop to get oils and butters from?

BlimusOreilly

I'd like to make some nice herby soap - does anyone know if using fresh herbs in soap go mouldy or slimy?

Scoobs

If you use dired herbs in soap they will just gradually turn brown, but still be ok to use! There will not be a herb smell the lye will take all that away, you will have to add an essential or fragrance oil once traced for that. Oilve oil is a good oil to use, as sunflower 10%, Lard some might not like to use it but it does give a fabulous lather, I use it at 25%, plus it's cheap. PLay around with different oils on soap calc (google this )

Have fun!

nikki2804

OMG I know this is a kinda old thread but I just have to say that I'm inspired. I love cocoa and shea butter and normally spend a fortune on the stuff. Maybe i'll make my own a save a wee bit and at least ill know what stuffs in it with no junk or chemicals :j

EagerLearner

Hi everyone, it's been a while!

Can I use the following percentages for a 500g oil base?

50% pomace oilive oil (250g)
45% virgin olive oil (225g)
5% shea butter (25g)

Would this work? If so when would I add the shea - at trace stage in solid form, or already melted?

I wasn't sure from reading whether I would add the shea to the olive oil mix early on when heating, or wait to add the shea until trace.

If you believe castor oil would be better than shea also let me know, as this will be my first attempt...

Many thanks!

EagerLearner

Hi everyone just a bump to say I ended up making the 'Castille Dream' recipe in Melissa Coss book, it looked ok and has been cut and is now curing. I got 5 bars of soap, using a longlife milk carton as a square mould which worked very well (slightly diagonal as the carton shape changed with the contents, but no big deal).

There seems to be conflicting advice on curing - some say the soaps should all be together in a well ventilated room, but covered in a blanket. Others say covered but in a cupboard. Others say leave them all separate on a wire rack. Some say turn them occasionaly so they are 'exposed to the light' but if they are in a blanket, how can there be light?
I am confused - how do you all cure your soaps?
Many thanks
S

Angelina-M

As its a castille its gonna want a realllllly long time to cure. Olive oil soaps take ages to get rock hard. They are not my fave because they go very 'snotty' (technical term lol) if left in a moist area.

I leave mine to dry uncovered on a rack in my spare room. I rarely get problems with 'ash' so don't feel the need to cover them. After about a month to six weeks, I put them in a wooden box in the airing cupboard ready for use.

If i'm running low I make a batch of HP (hot process) soap to tide me over as that is ready pretty much straight away. I HP in my slow cooker, quite an easy way to do it, just google HP crock pot for details.

EagerLearner

Thanks Angelina-M - so I'll remove the blanket then and leave them on the shelf in a cupboard for longer. Shame about the 'snottiness' but I just wanted to use up the pomace I had already bought, so I wasn't spending lots on my first experiment. If it works, I'll palm them off to friends and then make another batch.

I also added goats milk as per her recipe - if you have used goats milk before, do you know if it should have gone orange when I mixed it with the lye?

The finished product smells fine though...

EagerLearner

Re: Hot process soap in a slow cooker, thanks so much - I found this tutorial which maybe of use to others:
http://gracefruit.blogspot.com/2006/01/crock-pot-hot-process-soap-tutorial.html