Quote:
I felt the same way! (look at the begining of this thead) Just do it.. you wont regret it..
Me too! Just look back and see the enormous amount of questions I asked and am still asking of the more experienced folks.
And, if all else fails and you end up with a rustic looking bar as we all have, you can just say, "Ya, I was trying for that look."
For you and arabookworm:
Have you picked up any books yet? Most of us find The Soapmakers Companion to be a great starting book because she goes into so much detail about what you're doing and why.
Then you need to begin collecting your oils. The decision you need to make is which oils you want to put into your soaps. That is going to take some research and the experienced ladies here are wonderful at helping. Just ask. I ordered mine from Soapers Choice.
Lye: I found mine at Ace Hardware but had zero luck with Lowe's where others have found it. If you have either of those nearby stop by and ask. I KNOW that Ace will do free "ship to store" from their website if they don't' have it in stock. Additionally, my local store checked their system and told me of another store nearby with it in stock. Ace carries the Rooto brand and I believe Lowes carries the Roebic brand. Be sure to confirm that it is 100% Lye Crystals (Sodium Hydroxide) with no additives at all. Red Devil is to be avoided. If that fails, several of the online stores carry it. I used Camden Grey for my first lye order and picked up some scents while I was at it. Their prices are great.
The stick blender and scale are easy. Just make sure the scale measures in grams as well as ounces. I measure my oils and liquids in ounces but the lye in grams to be more accurate.
Use a good online soap/lye calculator. There are several good ones out there and everyone has their favorite. I tend to use two of them - MMS and Soapcalc9. Each has advantages. MMS is great for adjusting your recipe or one you find online to make the recipe larger or smaller. Soapcalc9 allows you to see the characteristics of your bar for hardness, conditioning, bubbles, fatty acids, etc.
And, feel free to run your first recipe by us before starting. The experienced gals are awesome at helping us newbies get started and will help you tweak it so that your first batch is a success.
It may seem daunting, but it's really not. Just get EVERYTHING set out before you start working so that you don't panic because you can't find your thermometer or a spoon just when you need it. You'll be OK. Naw, you're going to be more than OK. You're going to be pretty darn proud of yourself when you make that first batch and it works!
I felt the same way! (look at the begining of this thead) Just do it.. you wont regret it..
Me too! Just look back and see the enormous amount of questions I asked and am still asking of the more experienced folks.
And, if all else fails and you end up with a rustic looking bar as we all have, you can just say, "Ya, I was trying for that look."
For you and arabookworm:
Have you picked up any books yet? Most of us find The Soapmakers Companion to be a great starting book because she goes into so much detail about what you're doing and why.
Then you need to begin collecting your oils. The decision you need to make is which oils you want to put into your soaps. That is going to take some research and the experienced ladies here are wonderful at helping. Just ask. I ordered mine from Soapers Choice.
Lye: I found mine at Ace Hardware but had zero luck with Lowe's where others have found it. If you have either of those nearby stop by and ask. I KNOW that Ace will do free "ship to store" from their website if they don't' have it in stock. Additionally, my local store checked their system and told me of another store nearby with it in stock. Ace carries the Rooto brand and I believe Lowes carries the Roebic brand. Be sure to confirm that it is 100% Lye Crystals (Sodium Hydroxide) with no additives at all. Red Devil is to be avoided. If that fails, several of the online stores carry it. I used Camden Grey for my first lye order and picked up some scents while I was at it. Their prices are great.
The stick blender and scale are easy. Just make sure the scale measures in grams as well as ounces. I measure my oils and liquids in ounces but the lye in grams to be more accurate.
Use a good online soap/lye calculator. There are several good ones out there and everyone has their favorite. I tend to use two of them - MMS and Soapcalc9. Each has advantages. MMS is great for adjusting your recipe or one you find online to make the recipe larger or smaller. Soapcalc9 allows you to see the characteristics of your bar for hardness, conditioning, bubbles, fatty acids, etc.
And, feel free to run your first recipe by us before starting. The experienced gals are awesome at helping us newbies get started and will help you tweak it so that your first batch is a success.
It may seem daunting, but it's really not. Just get EVERYTHING set out before you start working so that you don't panic because you can't find your thermometer or a spoon just when you need it. You'll be OK. Naw, you're going to be more than OK. You're going to be pretty darn proud of yourself when you make that first batch and it works!
