Well I have been reading about making soap and there are many ways to do it. I am a swineophobic so I try not to use the animal fats and lards, which left me with glycerin and I am not that fond of olive oil so I ended up making my own soaps. I like them , they are pretty and it's a fun project.
Warning: This heats up the house =)
I did soap making on a summer day and it was scorching. Now I am starting out and bought some easy soaps before I try the big soaps so I will list these and talk about them a little bit. Terms:
mica - this coloring agent-Mica
rubbing alcohol- I read using isopropyl was best.
trace -when it thickens and you see little lines
Melt and pour soap :Melt n Pour
This is a soap which basically you buy the base that is already made reheat it and add your goodies.
It is very easy, very quick and easy clean up. You can use a double boiler, or the microwave. For the microwave you put the base in a microwave safe container and place in the microwave at 30 second intervals, it needs to be covered so i laid a napkin over the top of a measuring cup I had.
This is when you add your essential oils and or herb puree. It shouldn't look cloudy at this point.
This is when you add your food coloring and/or mica. Don't use a lot of coloring because when you go to wash your hands you don't want to look like a smurf or any other color you choose. Pour the soap into your molds and use rubbing alcohol to get rid of bubbles. To do this I get a little spray bottle from the dollar store and spray the alcohol on the top. ( whatever is left of the alcohol mix with water and use for a TV or monitor cleaner)With melt and pour soap you wait a few hours and you are good to go. I bought my soap off of amazon for a better deal , but eBay and other websites sell them. Here is a great link to show what you do with melt and pour-Teachsoap and Martha's Soap. I used Martha's recipe with glycerin and it came out great. By the way, you can get all veggie glycerin that does not contain any animal fats. I got this on amazon too.
Cold Process Lye Soap:
Goggles , long sleeves, and gloves are your best friend here. Add lye to water, do NOT add water to lye. This is very important as it will heat up and get out of control. When adding lye to water use very small amounts and stir than add it again and stir. Don't breathe fumes. Allow the mixture to cool to 110 f. best to do this on a porch or something if you don't have a well ventilated place. Add your oils together and melt. Get the oils to 110 f or 5 degrees within lye. Add the oils to the lye water and stir vigorously until you get a trace. Stirring by hand may take an hour to trace by the way , best to use a stick mixer. Trace will look like a thin pudding. Pour the soap into molds and wait about 3 to 5 days. After the 3- 5 days pop the soap out and allow it to cure for 4-6 weeks before you use it. This is a good project for November to make soap for Christmas gifts. Here are some of the oils to use.
Beginner 4.5 pound Soap Recipe - makes just under 4.5 lbs of soap16oz Canola Oil
16oz Coconut Oil
16oz Palm Oil
6.9oz Lye (5% superfatted)
15.8oz Water
Cold soap - good directions here
I seen a video on YouTube where the lady added milk to her lye,
like goats milk etc and she had it in an ice tray frozen. I wondered why and found out that if you do not freeze the milk when you add it to the lye it becomes very very hot and dangerous , so to reduce danger you freeze the milk.
A fun project for the kids that I make is bath fizzy bombs.
Fizzy Bombs:Monkeysee
1 cup baking soda
1 cup of citric acid - this must be pure citric acid, do not use the type for canning at the store or you will have jelly in your tub, I buy it online
1/2 cup cornstarch
extract of your choice or essential oil- about a teaspoon but mostly to you liking
and food coloring
Add all of your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix around. Add your food coloring to you oil and your scent. Add wet to dry ingredients. Stir with a spoon first then you can use your fingers after it soaks in a bit , this prevents tye dye funky hands. This makes a great science project. The monkey see link above tell you how to explain for the kid's science fair. You can mush the mixture into ball or you put a little toy inside and press it around it, use a cookie cutter or whatever you want to do. Let these dry about 2 to 3 hours , overnight is best. For a variant add Epsom salts and you get bath salts. I wrapped mine in little cellophane pieces or a zip lock bag, once i put them into a glass jar. Easy simple and takes about 12 minutes. I used gloves to mush my mix into balls cause the citric acid is rough to me where I am sensitive to oranges and citric.When I took a bath though it wasn't harmful to me at all as it is diluted in water.
Castile-
Soap Cupcakes!!!Big Warning: Do not eat off the utensils and tools you use to make lye soap, not sure about the others.
I am sure there are more ways to do soap these are just a few that I have found. Now on the herb puree i mentioned earlier I used coconut because it is a natural antibacterial. Grapefruit is good for acne. You can google what herbs are good. In the cold soaps I have read that not all herbs and things comply with the soap so be careful you do not want to waste a batch. Here are some soap making links that are helpful
Glycerin
Soapnuts - info for melt and pour
adailycupoffaith
geekologie
soap cupcakes
What's a stick mixer?
mountain-dew-scented-xbox-360-soap
Mountain rose herbs
American spice - citric acid
Homemade-Shampoo
Beginner 6.5 pound Soap Recipe - makes just over 6.5 lbs of soap5oz Canola Oil
5oz Castor Oil
32oz Coconut Oil
32oz Palm Oil
11 oz Lye (5% superfatted)
24.4 oz Water
Random Boomark :Steep
5oz Castor Oil
32oz Coconut Oil
32oz Palm Oil
11 oz Lye (5% superfatted)
24.4 oz Water
Random Boomark :Steep
