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Once you have all of these things....you're on your way to
making your very first batch of plain soap . I want you guys to make a
simple, unscented batch to start because it's best to get the feel and the
basic process down before adding fancies. Believe me....I'm saving you money
and time by encouraging you to do it this way. I made several really bad
mistakes before I finally made a stripped down recipe and the light bulb
went off.
Oh! If you have city water or water with a lot of lead you'll need distilled
water.
Lye is a caustic substance, which means it can cause burns
to the skin. It is activated by moisture so even if you touch it dry, your
skin has enough moisture in it to cause a lye burn. It will feel like you
have been splattered with bacon grease. I have never had lye-water splashed
or spilled on me so I don't know what it feels like...I'd assume it feels
the same way but worse! I have however, felt raw lye and raw soap many times
(ouch!).
WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES OR GLASSES...and rubber gloves as you make soap, from beginning to end. Wear long
sleeves, pants and cover your feet.
Hot soap, as you are pouring it is still active and WILL
BURN YOUR SKIN if you touch it. DON'T touch it! I once got hot RAW soap on
my gloved thumb, reached up to push my glasses up and stuck my thumb in my
eye. I ended up going to the emergency room - no permanent damage but it
scared the crap out of me and hurt like you can't believe! After your skin
has been burned by hot soap it will sting much like a sunburn for a few
minutes.
IF you do come in to contact with lye or hot soap - RINSE
WITH COOL RUNNING WATER. Do NOT use vinegar as people have suggested in
years past (they thought it deactivated it, but it does not). Running water
will sweep it away from the skin.
Just as important: When lye and water combine there is a
chemical reaction that heats the solution up very fast. DO NOT BREATHE THE
FUMES emitted from the lye water as it is heating up. This form can cause
burns to your trachea and lungs if inhaled. Fortunately your body helps you
immediatly by causing you to cough (reactively) before it gets to your
lungs. But don't stick your head over the lye water to look at it - always
stand off to the side a bit. Don't use a fan in the room while you are
soaping as it will disperse the fumes and you will inadvertantly breathe
them. The fumes will rise straight up otherwise and can be easily avoided.
It doesn't last very long - maybe the first 4-5 minutes but it is mostly
colorless so don't EVER check by sniffing or putting you head over - just
assume at all times it is unsafe. Once the heating process halts, the fumes
will not continue (again, assume they are there for safety's sake). There
will be no active fumes if the lye-water is cooling or cooled but treat it
with care because it will still burn if you touch it. *This is why I have
you set your container into your sink basin in the instructions below - this
way there is less risk of it being knocked over, and the container is lower
and farther from your face.
Lye + water +fat/protien makes soap. By mixing these
things together in the proper ratio will change the chemical structure of
all 3 ingredients and make SOAP (hence the comments you may read, there is
no other way to make soap - if it doesn't have lye in it, it isn't soap).
You must measure carefully (using a digital scale) because if you don't, you
may have too much lye. Lye heavy soap contains lye that has not made
partners with liquid and fat....and it's hanging out in it's pure form - and
MAY STILL BE ACTIVE. If you make lye- heavy soap it can dry your skin
horribly and possibly burn. This is where "lye soap" has gotten it's
horrible reputation . Having said that I make soap purposely a tad-bit
heavy (+.025%) to use on poison ivy .
It is very, very important to set up a dry run before
actually making soap. This may sound rudimentary, but it is important so
that you know where everything will be sitting and if you have room for
everything on your counter and sink. Believe me....this is really good
advice so please don't ignore it (yep, I learned this the hard way too).
Milk Soaps and soaps with special additives will be a
little different. PLEASE take my advice and make at least 2-3 batches of a
simple unscented recipe first. Then after you have a good feel of how things
work, move on to adding just one additive; after that you will be ready to
tackle blending scents and adding colorants and botanicals, etc.
There are many different processes for making soap, and
mine happens to be sort of a combination of several. This is MY method and
routine...I would call it a mixture between CP and RT (Cold Process and Room
Temerature soap making). But it's not just one process. It's the process I
came up with after much trial and error. If you try this and find it's not
your "thing" there are many other processes that may be more fun for you.
But you will be successful at your first batch if you learn with this
tutorial! Then you will be sucked into the Soap Makers Vortex and you will
lay awake at night dreaming of oil combinations (fair warning!).
I have included 2 recipes actually; one vegan and one with
lard. Yes, lard. Dove has lard in it, as does Lever 2000 and Caress...and
all of them really (only it's called "sodium lardate"...it makes a nive
hard, lathery bar and it's inexpensive). So don't panic unless you are vegan
and never knew that. Then, the good news is you can make your own vegan soap
now .
This recipe is for a 40 ounce batch of soap. In soap making terms, that
means that is the amount of oils used in the recipe. It does not include
water or liquids used when identifying it this way.
I am basing this on a 9x4 inch (cm:23x10x7deep) loaf pan.
If you do not have one, you can use anything similar in size or shape. If
you are using something totally different, post the size here and I'll
resize the recipe.
If you prefer using grams...
Print these directions off and set them on the counter and
do a "dry run" before you try it for real.
To line your pan/mold, simply cut a piece of freezer paper
about the same size that you would need to wrap it (like a gift). Then you
will do a "reverse wrap", creasing it inward (shiny side to the soap) and
tape along the outside edge. It's a PITA.... but will be important to know
how to do if you move on to wooden molds later. This needs to be done before
you start making soap. If you don't you'll have a serious problem!
***If you are using a glass or silicone (or
tupperware/rubbermaid) mold, you will not need to line it. You only need to
line a metal (wooden or cardboard) mold.***** And if it is a non stick pan,
you probably won't have to line it either (never tried this though but I
don't recommend it as you may need to slide a knife down the side of the
soap to get it out and you'll mar the coating on your pan).
If you are using a plastic liner (like a trash can liner)
you simply smooth it along the inside (cut it down of course) and tape it to
the outside. The corners will be funky but you can trim those ends of the
soap off so it won't matter.
This recipe has what is known as a "water discount". It
will cure much more quickly than other recipes you will find on the net that
use a higher % of water. Curing soap is traditionally done for about 4-8
weeks, but you only need to do this to allow the bar to harden so it will
last longer. This soap can be used within a day or so, but will be best if
allowed to cure for at least week. If you intend on making labels for it,
allow another week so that you don't end up with loose wrappers because the
bar will shrink slightly.
Author: Tracy Hutchins, Kendallville, IN
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