What do you need to make soap? Oil, lye, water and a scale. I made my first batch with just that, I didn't even have a stick blender (although I highly recommend one) I use soapcalc.net to make my "recipes". You need a certain amount of lye to each oil and every oil is different so you HAVE to use a soap calculator of some type or there might be left over lye in your final product and no one wants that. If you are starting out I would recommend using oils from your local grocery store, there's no reason to spend a lot of money.......you never know, you might mess up the first batch or two. Coconut, lard and olive are some pretty common ones and will make a good soap. First things first - measure your lye (I use Essential Depot) and measure your water. Put your water container in a "ice bath" I use a metal pan filled with ice and a beaker with my water inside (it has already melted in the picture above). Then add your lye, slowly, while stirring. There will be fumes and they will make you choke......wear a mask and gloves. Once it is mixed, leave it to cool. It is imperative that you leave this in a safe place. NO PETS. NO KIDS. NO SILLY HUSBANDS OR GOOFY FRIENDS. Just you and the dangerous lye water. Measure your oils while your lye water cools. I heat my solid oils (coconut, lard, shea butter, cocoa butter) and leave my liquid oils in the container I plan to mix the soap batter in. Once heated add your hard oils to your liquid oils. Now you have a container of lye water cooling in the sink (or safe place) and a container of oils sitting on the counter. Leave them be. Next step.... You can make plain unscented soap if you like, it will be gentle and wonderful but if your like me............It's time to get out some fun things! I really like the swirls and bright colors but I am keeping it calm for this how-to. Above I have bee pollen powder mixed with a dash of oil (for color), a bowl of fragrance oil and a plate of freshly grated black walnut hulls that I got form the front yard (isn't that fun!) If this is your first time some natural colors that you have laying around your house are cocoa, paprika and turmeric. You can use lavender buds, peppermint leaves, rose petals or coconut shreds for a little texture to your soap. You can even add baby food, pureed fruits or milk. They all have different benefits and they make soap making more tricky so stick with the simple things for now and we will land on trickier things later. Now you have your lye water in the sink (or safe place), a container with oils on the counter and any scents, colors or textures ready to use close by. We shall carry on! Carefully (with gloves) pour your cooled lye water into your oils. By now everything should be about the same temperature and you want it that way. Use your stick blender and get to "trace". Trace is when you can pull your spoon/blender/whatever out of the batter and as it drips off it will leave a trace of the drip on top of the batter for a bit. I don't go all the way until trace. The reason people tell you too when you start out is as follows.......Sometimes when you don't mix your batter enough it will separate out after you put it in the mold and that sucks. BUT when you want to do swirls, add hot fragrances and other tricky things you need your batter to be as thin as possible to start. You will be able to tell when it's completely combined and wont separate after some practice. If you can not get to trace don't freak out, some recipes don't trace quickly and some do. The main goal is to make sure your oils and lye water are not separating when you stop mixing. Now you have batter that is ready to work with and all your colors, fragrances and textures ready at hand! FORWARD MARCH! If you are making plain and simple soap this is where we part ways. I poured my first soap into a plastic Tupperware container and till this day it remains there........I could never get it out. I did manage to chip away at it with a knife........So you should have a mold, it can be as simple as a cardboard box lined with parchment paper or a forty dollar silicone mold (it's worth every penny, don't get the cheap china ones off ebay) Anyway.......If your getting crazy with it, let's continue. Above I have separated my batter in two, I added bee pollen powder to one half and black walnut hull to the other. Stir each with your blender. Then add the fragrance, I do this last because some fragrances can "seize". Seizes causes your soap batter to look like watery rice mess, you have to stir, stir, stir when this happens. Sometimes you have to let it sit and come back and stir. Most reputable soap sites will say in the description what each fragrance will act like in soap. READ THAT, I don't because I get super excited and buy things without thinking or reading and then ruin soap all day long........And now you have two containers of soap batter willing and ready to go in the mold! Onward we go. Pour your batter into the mold. You can layer it, pout one on one side and one on the other. Make sure and write down the technique in which you pour, when you cut your soap and LOVE IT, you'll want to know how to do it again. I sit my soap mold in the oven when I am done. I have cats and they are allowed everywhere except in the oven so they are safe and the soap is safe with that arrangement. Feel free to put your soap in any kid proof, cat proof, goof proof place. And wait. AND WAIT. Don't touch it. I know that you want too. Leave it for two full days and then, if it is hard, you can touch it. If you are having problems getting it out of the mold (it's bending or just stuck) you can freeze it. I don't normally have to do this with loaf molds but I do a lot with smaller single bar molds. As of right now my soap is in the oven..........we will meet again.............in a few days, I will show you how to cut and cure your soap. Happy soaping.
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