Thread: The Chemistry of Soap

Good Morning! and Good Afternoon to you Bobbo!

its a lot of fun for me to think that they're are folks out there who are actually gonna give this a go. I personally love to make soap. I find the whole activity to be very relaxing (except for the last five minutes ) and to me its very similar to bread making, which is my first love.

Soapmaking is not like cooking...in that you may throw in a little of this or that and expect it to come out right. ( but your chances are greatly improved when you understand more about the different properties of oils) but it is very similar to bread making in that if you measure CORRECTLY and pay attention to what your doing.....it usually turns out OK.....

Being raised waaayyy out in the country in the late sixties and livin off the fat or sometimes "lean" of the land....gave me a healthy respect for our Grandfathers and Grandmothers and how they managed to be self sufficient. Just amazing really....and in todays time its so easy to forget how our elders worked very hard every day just to provide the basic necessities of life for their families.

Obviously soap, was a big part of farm life....

Now I have re-read my instructions and the equipment list.....I would add two things 1) instant read thermometer 2) and a stick blender (opt) greatly increases your trace time.

and I personally love pictures for instruction; instead of just instruction (pictures are always more fun....and make more sense) and after lots of searching I did find the following site, its helpful in that it has pictures and if folks find themselves looking for supplies they have those too. Now I am not familiar with this site in regards to their supplies....but they show how the soap looks at different stages and this is the hardest part to understand when you've never made soap before.

www.soapcrafters.com/recipes_fromscratch.htm

They use a plastic pitcher to mix the lye/water solution....personally I prefer the heat resistant pyrex glass, because it gets VERY HOT, but this would be your choice.

The second site I found this morning gives very good instruction on cold-process soapmaking...plus a more in depth explanation of using wood ash to produce lye, then to make your soap. It is good to appreciate the skills of our Elders.

www.rejoiceinlife.com/recipes/soap.php

and one of these made mention of having a fire extingisher lol. But uhhhh...probably good advice.....no animals or children present. And whether you have a gas or electric stove as your heat source. Electric is obviously safer.

I cannot stress the importance of being careful when working with lye.

The other part of soapmaking.....is your basically on your own Unless you are able to take a class ( check your community centers) it really is a matter of trial and error. Lots of people try soapmaking, but not many stick with it. If you're considering going into business as a soapmaker.....I can promise you, you have to sell incredible amounts of soap just to feed yourself.

But as a fun and relaxing past time, I highly recommend it. It is very satisfying to step back from a successful batch and say WoW, I made that....and family and friends are always impressed too

I think my best peice of advice....have all your ingredients ready...and do a walk thru of your steps before actually going thru the process.

and most importantly Have FUN!!! and ask questions.

XXWarm Regards, Colleen

Thanks for all the info Colleen!

I hope you don't mid me trying my own soap, I kind of feel like treading on your toes a bit, but I guess if you were bothered you wouldn't have posted the recipe in the first place.

Well, let me see, as a chemist I understand all the chemistry involved and how it works, so I guess I have a slight advantage as a beginner, but there is no substitute for trail and error and i haven't a clue about frangrances and combinations . I actually bought a book on soap making to learn a bit more.

I won't be posting any recipes though as it is probably in breach of copyright and this is Colleens teritory!

Had the best shave ever today after using my bench hone for the first time and used my Trumpers Limes Cream, which I love. Using my own shaving soap that i made myself would top this experience though.

I managed to get hold of an electric stick blender for the bargain price of £4.50 which is $8.70. That should speed the mixing up. I read somewhere you can get to trace in 2 mins with one of these, is that true?

Hopefully my stuf will arrive tomorrow and I can get a batch on tomorrow night. Will report back..........

I must warn you that soapmaking is rather addictive....lol. If you've purchased a book, I see its already begun. I learned on here that there is also an acronym for people like us....SAD.

It is true that a stick blender speeds or shortens trace time. The type of oils used and the temperature at which the two are mixed together....also govern how long it takes for your soap to trace.

Mine traces pretty quick....I'd say somewhere in the 2 - 5 minute range. It is "at trace" that you add your essential oils or fragrance oils. After adding your EO/FO's you have to act quickly....and get your soap in the mold. It can become thick, more like a pizza dough or something. (just makes it difficult to handle)

Bobbo you'll certainly have to tell everybody across the world how it went for ya! no pressure or anything...lol.

Next week I'll go back to listing properties of oils, maybe clays....its helpful for those who are studying ingredient labels to figure out what works best for your skin.

XXWarm Regards, Colleen

I intend to sell a few bars down the rugby club after christmas to raise money for charity. I told the guys I was making soap, some of them are.......how can i put this..........now wondering about my sexual orientation...but nevertheless I shall soldier on.

Sure, will report back, no doubt with some horror story!

Colleen,

How is this soap as far as drying/moisturizing the skin? What would you add to help it moisturize?

Thanks,
Mike

Hi Mike,

For the soap listed, it would be a very nice all around kinda soap. It will have good cleansing properties, but will also be gentle and the soap is superfatted at 6%, so it has additional oils....to be moisturizing.

the percentage of lye to oil can be dropped so that not all the oil in the formula actually turns into soap....the above soap recipe has 6% unsaponified oils or Superfat.

Happy Monday....
C.

Originally Posted by churley

I must warn you that soapmaking is rather addictive....lol. If you've purchased a book, I see its already begun. I learned on here that there is also an acronym for people like us....SAD.


XXWarm Regards, Colleen

Hey Colleen, is that anacronym or a discription? Just kidding. If I had time/money/space/the patience to explain to my wife that this is NOT just another dumb hobby (again) I'd give it a try myself.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

Hey Colleen, is that anacronym or a discription? Just kidding. If I had time/money/space/the patience to explain to my wife that this is NOT just another dumb hobby (again) I'd give it a try myself.

You should tell her your learning basic survival skills....to be a better provider

SAD....soap acquistion disorder. lol.....I didn't realize I had the affliction until one of the Gents pointed it out to me

Colleen

Well, I only went and did it! Made some soap to Colleens recipe on this thread

It all went pretty well really . The only difficult part is deciding when you have hit trace or not. When I realised it was getting thick a bit too fast for my liking (it goes pretty quick when it goes) and was concerned it may not come out the pan I poured it into the mould. It left a trace when I was stirring it and supported a drop so it should be OK. It poured OK too so no bother there. Even had time to use a palete knife on the top to get a flat top to the bars rather than a Mr Whippy top.

What Colleen didn't tell us was what a pain in the rear it is to clean all the equipment afterwards I recommend an apron if you are as messy as me too

With this success I have ordered some essential oils to fragrance the next batch. Ordered a Lime one (I like lime) and a patchouli (heard a lot about it but don't know what it smells like ). Aparantly it is in 50% of top end mens fragrances so it can't be that bad and it is cheap.

Until the next time, and thank Colleen for the recipe and advice!

Originally Posted by Bobbo

Well, I only went and did it! Made some soap to Colleens recipe on this thread

It all went pretty well really . The only difficult part is deciding when you have hit trace or not. When I realised it was getting thick a bit too fast for my liking (it goes pretty quick when it goes) and was concerned it may not come out the pan I poured it into the mould. It left a trace when I was stirring it and supported a drop so it should be OK. It poured OK too so no bother there. Even had time to use a palete knife on the top to get a flat top to the bars rather than a Mr Whippy top.

What Colleen didn't tell us was what a pain in the rear it is to clean all the equipment afterwards I recommend an apron if you are as messy as me too

With this success I have ordered some essential oils to fragrance the next batch. Ordered a Lime one (I like lime) and a patchouli (heard a lot about it but don't know what it smells like ). Aparantly it is in 50% of top end mens fragrances so it can't be that bad and it is cheap.

....did I forget to mention the "mess" and cleaning up all those pans that don't want to come clean because of all the oil....LOL I do use an apron sometimes, and I have dedicated soap making shirts that have big oil stains on the front.

Robert, you'll have to PM me on your source for Patchouli, cuz it ain't cheap here!!! ( I think I pay $18.00 + for 4 oz.)

I love Patchouli, its a very nice essential oil. When I first heard the name I thought it sounded like a type of Flower, so I was a little surprised when I received my first bottle and took a big whiff of......DIRT....yep! it smells just like "earth"....lol.

As Follows from one of my Books:

Patchouli- Pogostemon cablini, steam distilled; country of origin - Indonesia. A strong, earthy, smoky, spicy, musky scent. Anti-depressant, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent. Known as a tissue regenerator which aids in the regrowth of skin cells.

Congrats on your first batch....I wish you many more!
Soapmistress