Calling all soapmakers!!

[Kuntry Klucker]

Hi,

I am looking into starting to make my own soap. I have never done this before and want to make sure that I get started on the right foot.

For those who make soap please tell me how this is done. how hard is it to make? Where do I get all the supplies? What do I need to purchase?

If you have any recipes that are tried and true if you don't mind please share, I am having a hard time finding a recipe seeing that I am not
really sure which method is best. Such as cold presses, lye or no lye, goat milk or not goat milk.

Any helpful tips would also be great. Thanks so much.

 

[M.sue]

I think I've seen a thread on here for soap makers. I've thought about looking into it & making some myself. I hope you get a lot of replies because it would be interesting to see as to what actually all goes into making it..time, effort, cost. A BYCer on the Michigan Thread just made some, maybe they'll see the post & reply!!

 

[Morgaine]

There are atleast 2 really good threads here that have recipes, suppliers and all that. Check them out. There is also a supplier link in my signature.

 

[mom'sfolly]

There are a couple of good threads here, but they are very long.

Simply put, making cold process soap is mixing fat with caustic soda to produce a chemical reaction (saponification) which makes soap...

This mean the basic ingredients are lye, water, and fats. Different fats give you different types and qualities in soap. You should be able to find the materials for a simple soap recipe at the grocery store and hardware store. Lowes and some other hardware stores carry drain cleaner that is 100% lye, or sodium hydroxide. DO NOT use a drain cleaner that is not 100% sodium hydroxide. The brand Lowes carries is Roebic, and is found with the "industrial" drain cleaners, at least at my Lowes. Most grocery stores also have a natural foods section that will have some essential oils for scent. They will be more expensive that buying on line, but are good for a first batch.

A basic recipe might be something like 1/3 olive oil, 1/3 coconut oil and 1/3 palm oil. Run it through a soap calculator or find a good recipe on the web or in a book.

Morgaine's info page is wonderful...lots of links to all kinds of sites with soap making stuff.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Ok, thanks you all so much for the replies, I will look into the other threads that you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[CYGChickies]

I make Melt&Pour glycerin soap. It is another option--you can certainly do both! It's not as popular around here but offers an endless range of color, scent and molding possibilities. My soap is moisturizing, lasts a long time and smells great; it is easy and quick to make but no so easy that it is boring. People love my holiday soaps and I love making them.

Most people don't even mention Melt&Pour soap but I love it! Brambleberry has all the supplies you'll ever need and Soap Queen TV has great tutorials. Soap Queen blog has even more tutorials with images. I hope this helps!

CYG

 

[AshleyW]

I always use a melt and pour goats milk soap base. I would like to learn how to make the cold process soaps too.

 

[Kuntry Klucker]

Quote:
Where do you get your soap base at? How much is it?

Thanks

 

[cybercat]

You can buy your ingredents from walmart for cold process soap. But I suggest you read this site first http://www.millersoap.com/ It will help alot. Things you should have on hand for this to be easy peezey is stick blender, gal pitcher and a good digital scale. These 3 will make things alot easier. A number of small glass bowls and one ss bowl will help too as well as a plastic spoon. The lye you can get at lowes or homedepot. Pringle cans make good molds that you can use once after eating those chips.

The most important thing to remember lye goes into water NOT the other way around.

Good luck.