Have you ever made soap?

[grams]

How many of us have ever made soap. *Was it a craft that you enjoyed? Or is it in your tired it someone will always be selling it and I have other skills that I will use to pay for it column.LOL
Why do you feel this way?
Me, I like making soap, but tend to make it in spruts, for one thing I make it outside and it just gets to hot in Arkansas alot of times to make soap outside.

[lsg]

I just started making soap this year. I really enjoy soap making; but I have found that you can soon build up quite a supply, even though the batches are small. :)

[FloridaWyld]

I've been making soap for years..I love it!

[pergammano]

I can remember my grandmother making soap using lye...and suet! Does anyone know that process???

[lostinthewoods]

someone will always be selling it and I have other skills that I will use to pay for it column.LOL



Never have tried it but I have flirted with the idea in the past. I will eventually get around to doing it but as of right now I differ to your original statement.. ;D

Someone mentioned amassing quite a supply, how does the price to make such a supply compare to what it would cost to buy it in the store? How does homemade soap compare to store bought soap? I'm kinda partial to DIAL..lol


lost

[sher]

I make all my soap, love the hobby and the product. I make lye soap, but out of all vegetable ingred., lye soap has a bad rap sometimes. If you use a "bar" of soap you have purchased, you are using lye soap. I also make my own laundry and dishwasher soap. It costs pennies a load and workes fine.

[crepemyrtle44]

I started making soap last year. I ordered food grade lye just in case I ever get around to doing traditional bagels. I also got the other kind of lye for the liquid soap.

For bar soap I weigh out whatever is neccessary and when I think I will have a little break, just make it. Liquid soap takes a lot longer so need more thought as to scheduling time.

The fact that I KNOW for sure what is in my end product, is the main reason I do it, plus can leave out all the un-natural smelly stuff.

I am convinced that the faux scents cause allergy problems.

[theresehirko]

I've made my own soap and other cleaners for years now.

[theresehirko]

Yesterday, with all of my studying for my final exam today finished, I decided to make up a batch of cold process soap. I got it in the mold and covered it with the intention of unmolding it this morning. Well this morning, the five pound block of soap would not release from the mold, so I popped it in my freezer for a few minutes. Then the phone rang, the dog was going crazy over something in the yard, etc. I rushed out of the house to get to the hospital to take my final exam and didn't realize that I had left the soap in the freezer until 6pm tonight when I opened the freezer to get some ice. The good news is that it released from the mold right away. I now have a five pound solidly frozen bar of soap! I'm going to let it defrost overnight and see if it will cut into bars tomorrow. If not , then I will grind it up and make liquid soap out of it.

[theresehirko]

Well I sliced it up this morning with no problems. Except for the snafu with the freezer, I much prefer the texture of the cold process soap bars to the hot process soap bars.

[quietH2O]

Nice save!

I'm new to this forum so perhaps you've already shared favorite recipes. I've made my own soap in the past, and loved it! But about two years ago I ordered about $60 worth of supplies online and the next day the company disappeared with my money. I haven't made soap since then.

Do you have a good RELIABLE source for your supplies?

Does anyone make shampoo? Have any shampoo recipes or advice for making it?

[theresehirko]

Here are my suppliers:
Sam's club: big bottles of olive oil, cheapest ones they have.
grocery store: coconut oil, cheapest brand they have.
Lowe's: sodium hydroxide from the plumbing dept.

You have to be careful with the Lowe's purchase. I buy a 2# bottle every time we're there, which is about once a week. It's by the plumbing supplies, not the household cleaners. The brand name is Roebic and it is crystal drain opener. it's a white bottle with a yellow, red and black label. The reason you have to be careful is because of the crystal meth manufacturing. If you buy a lot at one time, they get suspicious. Other than the essential oils, which I get a local coop to order for me, those are my suppliers. We used to have a lebanese store in town that would order me pomace olive oil in a drum, but they closed.

I make all of our cleaners, both personal and household. My shampoo recipe is nothing more than grinding up a bar of my olive oil soap, melting it with enough water to make shampoo and voila! That's also my liquid dish soap and laundry soap recipe. Good luck!

[homesteaderbelle]

Yes, I make soap! I just recently learned how! I really enjoy making soap! I think it is a lot of fun to try new recipes and to see how different ingredients do different things to soap. For an example: I just learned that coconut oil make lots of bubbles, but it can make the soap a bit drying. Olive oil makes snooth silky bubbles and I beleive it is really moisturizing?

I love to see how each batch of soap turns out! I made Goat milk soap yesterday and the soap was a orange-brown color. I think it looks so pretty!

Belle

[homesteaderbelle]

Nice save!

I'm new to this forum so perhaps you've already shared favorite recipes. *I've made my own soap in the past, and loved it! *But about two years ago I ordered about $60 worth of supplies online and the next day the company disappeared with my money. *I haven't made soap since then. *

Do you have a good RELIABLE source for your supplies? *

Does anyone make shampoo? *Have any shampoo recipes or advice for making it?
Hi,
I have been trying differnt things to make homemade shampoo. I have tried egg white shampoo and many other things. The best thing I have found so far to use on my hair is a little bit of my lavender lye soap. I think it is working so far, but not for sure yet. I tried using this really moisturizing homemade soap that I made and it didn't rinse off of my hair.

If you do use soap on your hair, you should be very careful. You could get a build-up and have a gooey mess. I will not recommend using soap to anyone, until I first find out how it is working on myself.
Belle

[FloridaWyld]

I don't know where I got this recipe (it isn't mine), but this is the shampoo bar I've been using. Obviously, all soapmaking precautions should be followed as well as warnings for the oils.

19oz of Mid-Grade Olive Oil (Don't use Virgin or Pomace, it changes the soap)
12oz Coconut Oil
12oz Caster Oil

6oz Lye
16oz Distilled Water (you can use infused water here as well, such as Rose Water)

1/2oz Rosemary Oil

[sher]

i just made a batch of soap and as i sliced it into bars it cracked, was my water or lye measurment off to cause this to happen?? any one know of a hotline that you can call and talk to a real person if you have trouble or question when making soap??

[icebear]

i just made a batch of soap and as i sliced it into bars it cracked, was my water or lye measurment off to cause this to happen?? any one know of a hotline that you can call and talk to a real person if you have trouble or question when making soap??


this site http://www.millersoap.com/ has a good FAQ and Troubleshooting section. i'm too new at soaping to guess what went wrong, so i hope you find some answers there :)

[lsg]

Homemade soap is not like what Grandma used to make. *Today's soap is full of rich oils and emmoilients. *There are several good lye calculators on the internet that one can use. *SoapCalc 9 is the one I use most. *I always run the ingredients and amounts through SoapCalc before making using a new recipe. *A lye calculator will give you the amounts of liquid and lye to use in a batch of soap. *
Brittle soap can be the results of using too much lye. *Here is a trouble shooting website.

http://www.colebrothers.com/soap/trouble.html

You can rebatch your soap and add more oils. *

[FloridaWyld]

i just made a batch of soap and as i sliced it into bars it cracked, was my water or lye measurment off to cause this to happen?? any one know of a hotline that you can call and talk to a real person if you have trouble or question when making soap??

Can you post the recipe you used? Also, can you describe the soap itself- was it dry and crumbly, did it have spots in it, etc?

[sher]

i checked back with my recipe and i used about 2 oun ces more lye than i should have- as i cut the soap it cracked where my knife was cutting- it is still though in bars- i just wondered if this would hurt using the soap, would it make it to harsh to use- i do not want to chance usig it if it would bother anyones skin

[CarolAnn]

Sher -
You can remelt the soap and add more oil to balance the lye - it'll be safer & softer, too! (No more cracks!)

That website that icebear posted is really a good one!

http://www.millersoap.com/trouble.html

This link goes right to the troubleshooting part.

[crowweaver]

excellent thread ! I'm planning on starting to learn to make soap and candles this year, when I can get the supplies. I buy soap from a friend who makes goatsoap, it's wonderful stuff.

is there a basic list of supplies that guys would suggest to have starting out ?

I know there are lists in the books and online but are there things you found that work better then what generally listed

I've made candles before but never soap. when i was in a position to have to I did save all the soap bits and melt them together to make a new bar, it worked enough but wasn't great at all.

I also once melted a bunch of ivory soap and added oatmeal to it : )

[FloridaWyld]

Things I couldn't live without-

A good mold- while you can make soap in anything that isn't reactive to the lye, I would never give up my molds. They are homemade and you can find plans for a simple one here- http://www.soapmaker.ca/tools.htm

A good stick blender- the cheaper ones tend to get really hot; investing in a good one is worth it.

Soap pots- I have a few different sizes, which gives me leeway in how big the batches I make are

A dedicated lye pitcher

Wax Paper and Tape (For lining molds)

A good digital scale- worth it for making sure your measurements are spot on

Gloves/Goggles (or other eye protection) - can never be TOO careful about lye!

A high temp rubber spatula

A candy thermometer

Stainless steel measuring spoons

Also, a big ziplock bag to put your scale in- keeps the oils and such off it!

[crowweaver]

Thank you!

[goodwifefarm]

I make all my soap, love the hobby and the product. I make lye soap, but out of all vegetable ingred., lye soap has a bad rap sometimes. If you use a "bar" of soap you have purchased, you are using lye soap. I also make my own laundry and dishwasher soap. It costs pennies a load and workes fine.
Would you consider sharing with my how you make your dishwasher soap? I make my own laundry soap and love it, but hadn't heard of making dishwasher soap. Thanks :D

[lsg]

Is your dishwasher dirty and grimy? Make sure dishwasher is completely empty. Add "Tang" drink crystals where you would normally place dishwasher detergent. Run with "light" cycle. Your dishwasher will be spotless! Do this about twice a year.

Have you run out of dishwasher detergent? Try this formula:

In a plastic container with a firmly fitting lid, mix:
1 cup borax (20-Mule-Team Borax, available in any supermarket)
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid
30 drops citrus essential oil--lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or a mixture

Put all of it in the container, shake it up.

To use, put a Tblsp. or so into each cup of your dishwasher.

[goodwifefarm]

Thanks! I can't wait to try it!

[Equilibrium]

Did anyone who was going to try making soap actually go for it>>>>? If so.... how did it go?

[momma_to_seven_chi]

So... Do you any of you ever make your own lye from wood ash to use in soap?

[NCLee]

I haven't but remember when my Grandmother used to make it.

Here's the best site that I've found for making soap absolutely from scratch. Even shows how to get the lye from ashes.

http://www.grandpappy.info/wsoap.htm
http://www.grandpappy.info/wsoap.htm

Second link is how you can salvage used fats for soapmaking.

BTW, Tractor Supply stocks lye (as drain cleaner) http://www.tractorsupply.com/plumbing-chemicals/drain-openers/roebic-crystal-drain-opener-2-lbs--3001186 Heard that Lowes has it, but haven't checked. TS only stocks 2 bottles at a time. Usually buy 1 or 2 every time I'm there, to build up my stash for cast iron cleaning and soap making. When Red Devil Lye was taken off the market, it took a while to find a 100% sodium hydroxide replacement.

Hope this helps.
Lee

[sissy]

Did anyone who was going to try making soap actually go for it>>>>? If so.... how did it go?I have & I love it. Most times it works great. On occation may have to soak for a while, but going to try adding some phosphate to the tough loads.

So... Do you any of you ever make your own lye from wood ash to use in soap?

I have not yet but would like to try some day .
sissy

[Equilibrium]

sissy> I'm so glad it worked for you even if you did have to soak a few batches. Did you catch this thread, http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/showthread.php?p=276392#post276392 ?

[sissy]

I just finished reading it. As soon as I can find to time I'm going to try these two. I have the lye & the leftover grease (been saving it for a while) LOL. I do have to clean it though. So glad that oldtimer started the thread. Makes it sound easy. LOL
Thanks
sissy

[Equilibrium]

sissy> what brand of lye are you using and where do you normally buy it please?

[OldSchool]

AAA Chemicals (.com?) sells sodium hydroxide. I bought 32 lbs for about $2.00/lb including shipping. I've made aboout 150lbs of soap this spring. Our local bulk store is going to start selling it for us, and we may try to sell some at an 1812 re-enactment.

I would like to make our own lye sometime, but it will be a big guess on how strong it is, IMO.

[sissy]

Eq, I'm not using lye right, now but what I got on hand right now is ROOTO HOUSEHOLD 100% LYE DRAIN OPENER.
I got it from ACE hardware.
I've not got far enough to use lye yet lol but I got it in stock lol
Hope this helps
sissy

[FloridaWyld]

Try the egg test, which I know has been around since at least the 1400s: float a raw egg (shell intact) in the cooled lye solution. If the egg sinks, the lye solution is weak and won't work. If the egg seems to be floating completely on the top of the solution, it's too strong and will be lye heavy at the end. If it floats with just a portion of the egg above, it should be the right strength.

My honest suggestion would be to create a batch of lye solution that is exactly the strength you need using measured, store-bought ingredients, then use the egg test on it. This will give you a benchmark for comparison in future tests with the self-generated lye solution.

[NCLee]

FloridaWyld, your tip and suggestion is worth a whole page in a DIY Library. Especially if a picture of the egg floating in a commercial products lye solution is included. Memories fade, but a picture "remembers" just how much of that egg was exposed.

It's tips like yours that's helping all of us build/retain our knowledge base of what's disappearing from our convenience based modern society.

Thank you.
Lee

[FloridaWyld]

An excellent idea, Lee. I think I'll follow through with it.

[Equilibrium]

sissy> says here at this website that the secondary use for Rooto 1030 Crystals Of Household Lye Drain Opener is.... soap making, http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=4239216. Makes sense since the product is 100% lye.

[karlamaria]

Does one have to use lye? Not sure I wNt it in my soap. I buy loaf soaps so I can cut to my desire size. I hate small bars of soap. We love the 14 oz bars or bigger lol.
I love the milk soaps, and love the real good smelling ones like chocolate Carmel or orange grapefruit. Makes me feel like a queen Bathing with it. I would be willing to buy soaps off you all here (loaf size ) if you sold it for good prices. Nothing
Ike a hot shower with a dreamy bar of soap after a long day!

[Equilibrium]

I know lye is caustic but.... no lye.... no soap. That's pretty much the way it goes. There's no substitute for lye if we're making soap. Every bar of soap we buy contains lye. Even the Johnson's baby bars and all the soaps that are advertised as "hypo-allergenic" contain lye. I'm pretty sure we can't buy a bar of soap that doesn't contain lye.... not even glycerin soaps. I found out glycerin is a by product of the soap making process so even glycerin contains lye. I learned this when the boys were little and I was trying to avoid any craft project that had lye in it.... not possible. All those kiddie soap making kits that come with the molds and the blocks of glycerin... contain lye but... they're safe enough. The only thing we had to watch for was that they didn't splash themselves with the hot glycerin once they melted it. Small gravy ladles worked well enough for that. They could pour a half a ladle into their form.... add their little plastic spider or what ever little figurine they wanted to their soap... then top off the mold with more glycerin. Nice little project for little hands and... they made it themselves so they were all into washing their hands more.... that's a good thing.
--
No substitutes for lye out there when we're making soap but there are soap substitutes out there, http://www.rootsimple.com/2010/03/whats-dirt-on-soap-nuts.html and http://www.wildsoapnuts.com.au/index.php?p=1_8. I've tried most of them since they were "billed" as being more natural. Some work so so.... some work sorta less than so so. Making our own soap with fat and lye would actually be more "natural" from what I learned about the species of soap nut plants and... I found that lye soaps clean better.
--
"love the real good smelling ones like chocolate Carmel or orange grapefruit. Makes me feel like a queen Bathing with it." I love em too.... especially the pumpkin spice soaps and actually there's too many to list that I love with food fragrances. Problem is when I buy those.... I start eating like a "queen". I dunno what it is that sets me off when I use them but they make my hungry so.... I start eating. I stick to my store bought 'Pure & Natural' or the goat's milk and oatmeal type soaps these days to avoid getting the munchies when I'm in the bathtub.

[karlamaria]

wait, I never see lye in peoples sopas they make on ebay?? they list the ingredients and none of them say lye. are you sure about all soaps being made of lye?

Why Use Lye for Soapmaking?

Lye is an essential ingredient for converting oils and fats in soap. Without it, the soap would not be able to break down when it comes into contact with water; it is commonly used in commercial soapmaking to bind all of the ingredients together; it is a very caustic agent, and can cause skin burns if too much is used in a particular mixture. Lye is traditionally used for lard-based soaps, and is often used to create the classic, ‘rugged’ style soap bars. When it is present in soap in the right quantities, lye soap can help relieve poison ivy rashes, reduce the symptoms of eczema, kill fleas and danger on bets, and may even work better than bleach to remove stains.
However, lye can be a particularly abrasive ingredient; if you are interested in making light and delicate soaps using everyday ingredients, herbal ingredients and essential oils, you can make bars of soap without lye. This process is often called ‘rebatching’ or melt-and-pour method, because you will be melting glycerin and other products into molds, and do not need to undergo the traditional soapmaking process. Many people who make hand-milled soap or handcrafted soaps rely on this process.
Benefits of Making Soap Without Lye

Lye-free soap is generally much gentler on the skin and soap makers can use a variety of essential oils and herbal ingredients to make delicately scented soap products. Lye-free soap has other benefits; you can:


Use the ingredients to make very detailed soap designs
Use a variety of colors
Use freeze-dried fruits and vegetables in the soap
Use dried petals and flowers
Use intricate molds for the soap
Enjoy the soap right after the molding process is complete!

How to Make Glycerine-Based Soap

Supplies and Tools Needed:


Double broiler or crock pot
Glyercerine soap base
Essential oils
Fragrances
Cocoa Butter, melted
Coloring

The Process:
Place the glycerine into the double boiler or crock pot and set the heat setting high enough to make it melt. Melt it until all of the moisture is removed, but the soap is not too hot that it begins to bubble. First add the color so that the glycerine is evenly coated and absorbs all of the coloring. Slowly stir in your selection of essential oils and fragrances. Add the melted cocoa butter and keep stirring until the mixture is very smooth and even. When the mixture is completely bound together, slowly pour the hot mixture into molds. Allow the soap to harden in the molds until set before using.

[karlamaria]

How to Rebatch Soap

If you like a particular fragrance or type of soap from the store, you can rebatch the soap by cutting it down and then adding your own additional scents, flowers or other ingredients to it. Rebatching soap means you don’t have to undergo the entire soapmaking process – any lye used to create the soap is already in it, so all you will need to do is chop up the soap pieces and use in your mixture.
Supplies and Tools Needed:


Double broiler or crock pot
Soap – shredded or cut into small chunks
Whole milk
Essential oils
Fragrances
Flowers, dried fruits or vegetables
Cocoa Butter or Aloe Vera, melted
Coloring

The Process:
Place the shredded soap into a double broiler or crock pot, then add the milk to it. Heat it until the soap melts completely, but do not allow this mixture to bubble or foam up. Next, add the color, oils, fragrances and other items and keep stirring everything together. Pour the soap into the molds, and let it settle for a few weeks until the soap is very firm and hard.
Some people who use the rebatching process for soap like to use goat’s milk to create a very smooth texture. Goat’s milk can be found at health foods stores, gourmet food stores and some grocery stores. You can also purchase it in bulk if you will be making soap with this process on a regular basis.
Finding Soap Recipes that Do Not Contain Lye

You can find dozens of books and guides for natural soapmaking, and many herbal stores and natural food centers offer classes in making soap without lye. In most cases, you will be working with natural ingredients and no animal products – vegetable soap recipes and essential oil-based recipes are becoming increasingly popular as people move away from using and making milk-based and lard-based soaps.
You can find hundreds of natural soap recipes online. Some valuable resources for soap made without lye include:
SoapNaturally.org: http://www.soapnaturally.org/soap_recipes/index.html (http://www.soapnaturally.org/soap_recipes/index.html)
Cranberry Lane: http://www.cranberrylane.com/recipes.htm (http://www.cranberrylane.com/recipes.htm)
Miller’s All-Vegetable Soaps: http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html (http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html)
Making soaps without lye offers a number of benefits for the skin, and you can use a variety of minerals, vitamins and ingredients to treat specific skin conditions. Using herbal oils and some types of scents gives you a chance to be creative with aromatherapy blends.
Whether you’re a beginning soap maker or want to try some new recipes for your soapmaking hobby, you can get started with popular soaps such as:


Chamomile soap
Citrus soaps
Honey based soaps
Coconut soap
Chocolate soap
Oatmeal soap
Bentonite Clay soap
All-vegetable soaps
Coffee soaps
Cranberry soap
Vanilla soap
Aniseed soap
Soymilk soap
Buttermilk soap
Lavender soap
Mint soap
Pumpkin soap
Olive soap

[oldtimer]

Does one have to use lye? Not sure I wNt it in my soap. I buy loaf soaps so I can cut to my desire size. I hate small bars of soap. We love the 14 oz bars or bigger lol.
I love the milk soaps, and love the real good smelling ones like chocolate Carmel or orange grapefruit. Makes me feel like a queen Bathing with it. I would be willing to buy soaps off you all here (loaf size ) if you sold it for good prices. Nothing
Ike a hot shower with a dreamy bar of soap after a long day!


Excuse me, without lye, all you would have is grease. :confused: Do you use store bought soap? Store bought detergents? They have all been made with lye. Lye is a necessary product in the saponofication process. Once the lye has worked on the grease or oil used to make the soap, it has undergone a chemical change. You don't have to be afraid of it at that point and I'm sure you've discovered that for yourself, you just have never realized it unless you've never washed before. Pardon me for being sarcastic, but I love how so many people are afraid of homemade soap because of the "lye" but they'll readily throw money down to buy "wonderful storebought soap" and they don't realize it's made with lye too.

We're living in a culture here in America that thinks because it comes off the shelf, it's wonderful. We have people who would buy eggs in the supermarket but would never buy them from me or any other farmer. They'd buy an old Tyson chicken from the store but not a real farm raised natural chicken. They'll buy store bought milk, but wouldn't touch raw milk, the pesticide loaded stuff you buy in the produce aisle at the store, but they wouldn't think to grow a garden or buy at a roadside stand.

Well, I'm ranting now. Anyway, don't be afraid of the lye. Shoot, lye is even used to make hominy and lutefisk. Have you ever eaten them? :D

[Equilibrium]

KM> "wait, I never see lye in peoples sopas they make on ebay?? they list the ingredients and none of them say lye. are you sure about all soaps being made of lye?" I'm pretty sure. No lye.... no soap.
--
Their product advertising seems very misleading.... it's probably targeting those who feel they need an alternative to traditional lye soaps so.... they're appealing to our perceived inner need to be lye-free by providing... a glycerin soap.
--
Sometimes it's not what ads tell us but what they don't tell us. Looks like the truth is.... those glycerin soaps all contain lye and probably in higher concentrations than the traditional lye soaps, http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_glycerin.html -
Glycerine (glycerin, glycerol) is the main by-product of making biodiesel. The name comes from the Greek word glykys meaning sweet. It is a colourless, odourless, viscous, nontoxic liquid with a very sweet taste and has literally thousands of uses. That is, pure glycerine has thousands of uses -- the biodiesel by-product is crude (and it's not colourless, and it's not only glycerine).What sinks to the bottom of the biodiesel processor during the settling stage is a mixture of glycerine, methanol, soaps and the lye catalyst. Most of the excess methanol and most of the catalyst remains in this layer. Once separated from the biodiesel, adding phosphoric acid to the glycerine layer precipitates the catalyst out and also converts the soaps back to free fatty acids (FFAs), which float on top. You're left with a light-colored precipitate on the bottom, glycerine/methanol/water in the middle, and FFA on top. The glycerine will be approx. 95% pure, a much more attractive product to sell to refiners. Here's how to do it: Separating glycerin.FFAs.Here's why I think what they're not "saying" about their glycerin products is.... at the very least.... not-so-above-board,
The crude glycerine by-product from homemade biodiesel makes a powerful degreaser.

Remove the residual methanol first.

Letting the by-product stand in an open container for a few weeks will NOT evaporate the methanol as it's often said it will, or not much anyway.

Boil it off -- NOT over an open flame, do it in the open, don't inhale any fumes, or (better) use a simple condenser (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/biodiesel_processor5.html#methcondens) to recover the methanol (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/biodiesel_make2.html#methreclaim) for re-use.

The disadvantage of raw by-product is that it contains most of the lye catalyst used in the processing, which makes it very caustic, it can burn the skin if you don't use gloves.

Saponifying the by-product makes an even better cleaner, and it's not caustic so it won't burn your skin -- in fact it's kind to the skin because of the high glycerine content. Glycerine moisturizes the skin and it's a natural product of the soapmaking process, but commercial soap manufacturers remove the glycerine for use in lotions and creams, which are more profitable. Handcrafted soap retains the glycerine, and hence the boom in do-it-yourself craft soapmaking, and the high prices of handmade soaps.

[karlamaria]

Thanks equal for the info appreciate it girl, and old timer cool it, I do not buy store bought soap, and have purchased it for years from a gal who makes Bar soap. Did not know it had lye, it does not list it in the ingredients. Funny how people assume.. Making an ass out of me and you ! I have purchased store bought detergent, but lye is not on my box. I also plan to make homemade from here on out as I found a good recipe. Instead of blowing chunks and being rude maybe explaining things would be nice.

[oldtimer]

Try the egg test, which I know has been around since at least the 1400s: float a raw egg (shell intact) in the cooled lye solution. If the egg sinks, the lye solution is weak and won't work. If the egg seems to be floating completely on the top of the solution, it's too strong and will be lye heavy at the end. If it floats with just a portion of the egg above, it should be the right strength.

My honest suggestion would be to create a batch of lye solution that is exactly the strength you need using measured, store-bought ingredients, then use the egg test on it. This will give you a benchmark for comparison in future tests with the self-generated lye solution.

Do remember it needs to be a fresh egg! An older egg will float like that and a rotten egg will float completely. Also, be careful when dipping the egg in the lye solution or getting it out again. Lye burns the skin!!!

Keep vinegar handy to put on if you splash lye solution on your skin. It will netrelize it. I have a scar on my arm to this day where I was fooling around when Mama made soap when I was a kid. She left the soap to do something else. I was like twelve and was playing with the soap and some splashed on my arm. It burned like heck until Mama put some vinegar on it to stop the burning but I still carry the scar from being so stupid. :yes4:

[aprilconnett]

"wait, I never see lye in peoples sopas they make on ebay?? they list the ingredients and none of them say lye"

Did you notice that the chemical name for lye is sodium hydroxide? Now go look at the ingredients list on a bar of soap. Does say something like sodium tallowate or sodium palmate? The sodium in these ingredients is the sodium from the lye. This also lets you know what type of oil was used in the soap. The tallowate is tallow (beef fat) and the palmate is palm oil. The chemical reaction between the sodium hydroxide and the tallow is what makes sodium tallowate.

[aprilconnett]

"However, lye can be a particularly abrasive ingredient; if you are interested in making light and delicate soaps using everyday ingredients, herbal ingredients and essential oils, you can make bars of soap without lye. This process is often called ‘rebatching’ or melt-and-pour method, because you will be melting glycerin and other products into molds, and do not need to undergo the traditional soapmaking process. Many people who make hand-milled soap or handcrafted soaps rely on this process."


The reason that the melt-and-pour, or re-batching, method does "not need to undergo the traditional soapmaking process," is because it already has undergone the process and you are just re-melting it with extra ingredients.

[oldtimer]

You're right, aprilconnet, so many of the processes people now days call "making soap" without lye, is simply remelting a product that already had lye.
People get all het up over lye with visions of "granny's lye soap" from having watched the Beverly Hillbillies. As if lye is something terrible,

Ever eat hominy or lutefisk? They use lye to make both.

Kalamaria, forgive me if you think I was being rude. I just wanted you to know your store bought soaps contain lye the same as homemade soaps. And no one can make an ass out of someone else unless you let them, so take a deep breath and smell the soap. ;)

No lye, no soap. And FWIW, I for one would heap rather make soap from tallow and grease I've saved than to use this palm oil. The whole palm oil industry business is rather shady if you read up on it. Better to use what I have on hand and can produce myself.

[GentleLady]

I've learned to make liquid soaps have never tried the cold process soaps. I really enjoy it, I wanted to learn how to make liquid soaps because you can use it for so many different things, laundry, dishes, bath gels, and shampoos. I have yet to find a good 'soap' shampoo though, leaves a film on my hair. It's ok if I use a lemon, chamomile and distilled hair rinse afterwards, this helps cut the buildup the soap leaves. Would anyone like to share recipes?

[OldSchool]

Hey Old Timer! I made several batches of tallow soap about two months ago, but they still have a stronger scent than my lard batches do. The fat doesn't smell bad, but it does smell stronger than lard. I only used a 1% discount so there would not be much extra fat in it. The fat was fresh from the butcher. My hands don't smell so great after washing them with it! So far I just plan on waiting months to see it if goes away. And I have about 300 bars of it...

Any thoughts?

[GentleLady]

I find making homemade soap pricer than buying soap. Where do you get your supplies, especially the lye? Best way to keep the cost down?

[oldtimer]

We buy it 25# at a time but we make a lot of soap and buy it from a local chemical company.

You can buy it on ebay if no where else. A can of lewis lye from the grocery store, some grease you would normally throw away and maybe a little borax makes a lot of soap and only costs a couple bucks. You can't buy soap that cheaply.

[GentleLady]

We buy it 25# at a time but we make a lot of soap and buy it from a local chemical company.

You can buy it on ebay if no where else. A can of lewis lye from the grocery store, some grease you would normally throw away and maybe a little borax makes a lot of soap and only costs a couple bucks. You can't buy soap that cheaply.
I will definitely look into these items as opposed to the pricey items I've been buying. Thanks for the info!

[GentleLady]

We buy it 25# at a time but we make a lot of soap and buy it from a local chemical company.

You can buy it on ebay if no where else. A can of lewis lye from the grocery store, some grease you would normally throw away and maybe a little borax makes a lot of soap and only costs a couple bucks. You can't buy soap that cheaply.

I will definitely look into these items as opposed to the pricey items I've been buying. Thanks for the info!

I buy my lye from Essential Depot.com, last time I got it at a steep discount because they were having a moving sale. Might want to compare prices with them.