Homemade Soap

j.e.j.

Thanks Stardrops42. Hand-made soap is very different to manufactured soap, which can be very drying for the skin, (they remove the glycerin from it and then sell that seperately).

I will look out for a soap-making course or workshop in the Eastbourne or Brighton area.

stardrops42

j.e.j. wrote: »

Thanks Stardrops42. Hand-made soap is very different to manufactured soap, which can be very drying for the skin, (they remove the glycerin from it and then sell that seperately).

I will look out for a soap-making course or workshop in the Eastbourne or Brighton area.

Yes you're right about manufactured soap. I ran out of my own soap a couple of months ago while waiting for a new batch to cure. I decided to use my old brand of soap (which is supposed to be pure with nothing added) and it stung my face:eek: I will never use shop bought again.

zippychick

ive merged this with our homemade soap thread - hope it helps

Zip

mmmsnow

I was intrigued when I saw this. I looked into soap making ages ago but when I looked at some websites, it seemed a very expensive hobby to get into (most of the recipes I saw involved several types of base oil, essential oils, caustic soda and a steel pot and a couple of thermometers).

I would like to try basic soap (with minimum expenditure). I can get a hold of lye pretty easily and I have loads of olive oil. What else would I need?

Angelina-M

mmmsnow wrote: »

I was intrigued when I saw this. I looked into soap making ages ago but when I looked at some websites, it seemed a very expensive hobby to get into (most of the recipes I saw involved several types of base oil, essential oils, caustic soda and a steel pot and a couple of thermometers).

I would like to try basic soap (with minimum expenditure). I can get a hold of lye pretty easily and I have loads of olive oil. What else would I need?

You could make a nice castile soap.... its ingredients are lye and olive oil! Although I do add 5% castor when I make castile.

Last weekend I made over 130 bars of soap because a few of my oils were going out of date. My spare bedroom smells amazing where they are drying out.

BitterAndTwisted

Rubber gloves, eye-protectors and a mask!

mmmsnow

Angelina-M wrote: »

You could make a nice castile soap.... its ingredients are lye and olive oil! Although I do add 5% castor when I make castile.

Last weekend I made over 130 bars of soap because a few of my oils were going out of date. My spare bedroom smells amazing where they are drying out.

Do you have a recipe? I looked up castile soap but most of the recipes have coconut oil and palm oil as well. I'm sure I can find castor oil somewhere in the supermarket or chemist next time I'm out.

This is quite exciting!

Angelina-M

mmmsnow wrote: »

Do you have a recipe? I looked up castile soap but most of the recipes have coconut oil and palm oil as well. I'm sure I can find castor oil somewhere in the supermarket or chemist next time I'm out.

This is quite exciting!

I just do 95% olive (pomace) to 5% castile. Type your amounts into the calculator http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcwp.asp and it will give you the recipe. You just input your finished weight ie 1000g.

I am not really a fan of castile as I find it a bit 'snotty' but its great in emergency when i'm running out of soap because its an easy one to HP (ready straight away) I chuck a bit of honey and oats in when it finishes cooking in the slow cooker and then next day I can use it!

Kevie192

mm snow you need to use the lye calculator mentioned earlier... Put in your amount of olive oil and it will tell you how much water and lye to use.

Castille is really nice soap but it really needs to cure for at least 6 months before you can use it, preferably a year.

I make and sell soap and have been right through the safety assessment processes so if anyone wants to ask anything let me know. Some of my soap is on my blog too.

I use the Hot Process method which cooks the soap in a crock pot, dramatically reducing the curing time. Soap is fine to use the day after making and is really good at 2 weeks old unlike cold process soap which takes 6-8 weeks minimum to cure.

I would urge anyone who wants to try this type of traditional soap making to try out melt and pour soap making first of all. This is an uncoloured, unfragranced base which you can melt in the microwave and add your own colour, scent and other additives to make soap. Strictly speaking, this is not really soap as it foams and cleans with synthetic detergent, normally SLS and SLES, but this would give you a feel for the fragrances and colours and enable you to create your first soap without the added complications and safety issues that lye brings to traditional soap.

As I said, feel free to ask any questions you have

Kevin

clare64

Hi Kevin,
I have been making my own soap for about a year but have left it unfragranced.
I am not sure what % of EO I should use in order to give the soap a noticeable fragrance without it costing a bomb!. I do not want to use synthetic fragrances
I am an aromatherapist and therefore can buy oils at a trade price, however, they are still expensive!
Please help!
Thanks
Clare