Before I delve into how make soap, let me just say that I learned a lot and it was pretty fun! My brother came over and helped too and it was some epic brother/sister time :) Anything you can make into quality time with anyone in your life, go for it! Also, this isn't good for little kids because of the lye (a chemical that will burn you), I'll explain below.
Part of the reason I wanted to start doing some of these projects is because over the last six months my entire family, including my 16 year old cat, has had the worst allergies ever. We aren't the only ones, it was unusually bad for everyone in our area this year. I wanted to find some safer, better, cheaper cleaning products because I knew that some of the chemicals in the cleaners were contributing to the problem. So what does this have to do with soap??????
Well, with all of the surfing, swimming, and yoga (Bikram yoga, so I sweat a lot!) my skin gets very, very dry and itchy. The only brand name soap that helps is the Palmers bar soap, but it's expensive. I have friends who have made their own soap for gifts and they also make laundry soap and other soap products too. So I decided to take a look into how to make my own soap. I figured if it was too difficult or time consuming then I didn't have to do it again. Here are the basics that you need to know:
1. Making soap requires mixing oil and water. The only way to do this is with a chemical called lye. Lye is made by running electricity through sodium hydroxide and salt. When both the oil mixture and the lye mixture are near the same temperature, you put them together and they will fuse. Once the bonding is complete, all of the lye is gone so you don't have to worry about it any more.
2. In order to figure out how much lye you need, you need to use the lye calculator. I had no idea there was such a thing. Since all oils are different, you need to know how much of which types of oil you are using. Put it into the calculator and it will tell you how much lye to use. https://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php
3.Make sure you have vinegar on hand, it neutralizes the lye in case you get it on your skin or something you didn't want it on. WEAR GOOD GLOVES! They don't have to be expensive. Even like hospital rubber gloves are fine. It's just that you want to be able to use your hands and control how much you pour of certain things on top of not burning yourself.
4. Lastly, the recipe I used has it sit for two days to solidify. Mine only took a day but I let it sit for 2 anyway. It also says that because there are no preservatives that you should try to use it within 30 days. Make a small batch unless you are giving a ton away. I am testing a batch that I put in the freezer in a ziploc bag to see if it will keep longer that way.
Recipe and directions I hope to have for you tonight!
Part of the reason I wanted to start doing some of these projects is because over the last six months my entire family, including my 16 year old cat, has had the worst allergies ever. We aren't the only ones, it was unusually bad for everyone in our area this year. I wanted to find some safer, better, cheaper cleaning products because I knew that some of the chemicals in the cleaners were contributing to the problem. So what does this have to do with soap??????
Well, with all of the surfing, swimming, and yoga (Bikram yoga, so I sweat a lot!) my skin gets very, very dry and itchy. The only brand name soap that helps is the Palmers bar soap, but it's expensive. I have friends who have made their own soap for gifts and they also make laundry soap and other soap products too. So I decided to take a look into how to make my own soap. I figured if it was too difficult or time consuming then I didn't have to do it again. Here are the basics that you need to know:
1. Making soap requires mixing oil and water. The only way to do this is with a chemical called lye. Lye is made by running electricity through sodium hydroxide and salt. When both the oil mixture and the lye mixture are near the same temperature, you put them together and they will fuse. Once the bonding is complete, all of the lye is gone so you don't have to worry about it any more.
2. In order to figure out how much lye you need, you need to use the lye calculator. I had no idea there was such a thing. Since all oils are different, you need to know how much of which types of oil you are using. Put it into the calculator and it will tell you how much lye to use. https://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php
3.Make sure you have vinegar on hand, it neutralizes the lye in case you get it on your skin or something you didn't want it on. WEAR GOOD GLOVES! They don't have to be expensive. Even like hospital rubber gloves are fine. It's just that you want to be able to use your hands and control how much you pour of certain things on top of not burning yourself.
4. Lastly, the recipe I used has it sit for two days to solidify. Mine only took a day but I let it sit for 2 anyway. It also says that because there are no preservatives that you should try to use it within 30 days. Make a small batch unless you are giving a ton away. I am testing a batch that I put in the freezer in a ziploc bag to see if it will keep longer that way.
Recipe and directions I hope to have for you tonight!
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