Homemade Soap

[MidMoMom]

I am so happy to have found this forum. I started out making the melt and pour goats milk soap and just loved it. My desire to have a more organic soap has lead me on a wonderful journey.

This summer I purchased one billy and two nannies, so each day on average I’m getting around 82-88 ounces of fresh goats milk.

I made my first batch of soap which turned out to be about 2lbs of soap I have to say I was a nervous wreck during the entire process and until I get used to making it and not so nervous I will only make it from now on when DH and daughter are at work and school. I was so worried that somehow they would get into that lye or that I would do something stupid and get it on them.

Alas past all that stress I finally got my soap poured into my molds and removed it from the molds 24 hours later. The soap has now made it to its 3rd week of curing. I cut off a part of a bar and tried it out just washing my hands.

It was so creamy and it bubbled up no nice, it was actually a joy to wash my hands lol. The next night I used it for taking my bath and was in my own little bit of heaven.

Another plus is its always nice to use something that you have made yourself and it’s turned out well. It’s awesome for my family and it tickles me when my daughter comes home from school and relates stories of telling her friends of the new things we have learned to make. It blows their minds they don’t understand why we do it instead of just going to the store and buying it.

So I’m hoping there are others on this forum that also make homemade/organic soaps. I’m doing a lot of research, trying to learn how to color the bars and make them pretty as well. So far this has been a great adventure and I sure hope there are some folks on here that are on this journey as well so that we can share tips, tricks and secrets with.

[Virginia]

There are a lot of soap makers on this site, myself included. I love to hear the excitement of people who have just started making their own. It is a wonderful feeling when things go right!
You can use all kinds of natural things to make pretty soap — for instance, you can achieve pinks to dark red with Madder Root; pinkish red to bluish purple with Alkanet Root; sky blue with Woad and blue denim with Indigo; yellow from Goldenrod and Calendula as well as Safflower and Turmeric ; Annatto seeds will give you a mild yellow to a bright orange; Paprika will give you a peach to a melon orange color; Black Walnut Hull will give you a rich brown and Peppermint will give you beige (you can also get a caramel color with Honey) ; various shades of green with Burdock Leaf, Comfrey Leaf, Dandelion Leaf and Nettle leaf.
Thanks; Virginia

[1afrmgrl]

I started making soap through a local business that offered event classes (an evening of soap making). The 3 lbs. I made has lasted months, including giving some as gifts.

I am looking forward to doing some independently. I have an herb garden and would like to incorporate some of the herbs into the soap.

[SheGulley]

I seen the homemade soap on my son’s fb and am so thankful! Can’t wait to explore this site!

[cjsmith45]

@MidMoMom 337577 wrote:

I was so worried that somehow they would get into that lye or that I would do something stupid and get it on them.

do you have to use lye to make soap and where would one purchase it? right now i’m only into myo laundry/dishwasher detergents, but would love to try myo bath soap and bubble bath.

[Virginia]

Yes, all soap from scratch uses lye of one sort or other, it is what makes it soap. Try your local hardware store or order it online. There are recipes on this site for bath soap and for bubble bath.

Hope this helps. Good Luck! Thanks; Virginia

[Liss]

@cjsmith45 338684 wrote:

Do you have to use LYE to make soap and where would one purchase it? Right now I’m only into MYO laundry/dishwasher detergents, but would love to try MYO bath soap and bubble bath.

No, there are different kinds of soaps

• Melt & Pour- usually uses glycerin and doesn’t require Lye, these are great for those just starting out.
• Lye Soap Recipes
  • Animal or Vegetable Fat & Alakali (lye)
  • Animal Fat is usually Tallow
  • Vegetable Fat is usually coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, etc

Basic Soapmaking supplies:

– Castor Oil
– Beeswax
– Poppy Seeds
– Palm Oil
– Coconut Oil
– Olive Oil
– Essential oils
–[URL=”https://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=lye&linkCode=ur2&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Alye&tag=budget101com-20&url=search-alias%3Daps”%5D Lye[/URL]

Basic Processes of Making Soap:

Melt & Pour– kind of self explanatory, you basically melt it down and remold it into what you want and add additional items if you want to.

Cold Process– making soap from scratch using animal or vegetable fat and lye. (saponification) CP soaps must cure for about 1-6 months. It will be really creamy looking when it’s done.

Hot Process- The soap mixture is Heated to accelerate the saponification. You can add extra oils, it will be more “Rustic” looking and not smooth and creamy. It’s a good way to make soap FAST, but you must NOT breathe in the vapor and hot soap is more difficult to add color to.

[Virginia]

There is a difference between making soap and remolding soap.

Melt and pour is using already made soap — store bought or homemade (the saponification and waiting step has been done for you). You simply melt it, add whatever color or fragrance you want and pour it in the molds.

Hope this helps. Thanks; Virginia

[carriekasch]

I am interested in making my own soap, but I’m in it for saving money, not necessarily the hobby. We have a credit card bill that crept up on us along with student loans that I want to pay off. I’m looking for ways to reduce our spending.

My kids (all 9 of them with 5 still at home) love the body wash, but it’s expensive. I spend a lot each month on toiletries. I’m interest in making soap as cost effectively as possible.

I have a son who has a soap allergy. The only soap that I have found that doesn’t cause his skin to break out in a rash is glycerin soap. I’m not sure what it is that bothers him, but I also have to use unscented laundry soap for him (Super Laundry Sauce, I’m so happy to say, doesn’t bother his skin).

Does anyone have insight as to what is bothering him in the soap (the glycerin soap is scented so that’s not it)? What is the most cost effective way for me to make soap? Where can I purchase ingredients the most cost effectively.

Can I make the glycerin soap base from scratch or do I have to buy the melt and pour type? I do have a book on soapmaking but it’s more of a hobby book and doesn’t answer the questions I have here. Thanks to anyone who can offer some help.

[cjsmith45]

Thanks for the answers. I’m going to do more research and start with the melt and pour. I found a recipe for poppy seed melt and pour (sorry, from another site) and it looks easy enough.

Just made our 2nd batch of the powdered soap and can’t stop talking about how wonderful it is! My son calls it Hippie Soap!

[MoonLight]

I have also Just recently put myself into making homemade soaps, just tonight I made my own honey shampoo (liquid) and next I have a recipe for shampoo soap bars. I am extremely excited. Though I may end up making my laundry detergent first, I’ll do my best to make them both in the same day :).

[66babe]

Hi,
What a wonderful thing you are doing, making soap.
Are you selling it?
I would love to try a bar.
66babe

[rott440]

a few years back I was diagnosed with skin cancer. I started doing research on all the different things we use on our skin and boy was I surprised at the chemicals in store bought soap. my fist 2 batches of soap were made from pig lard (lye soap) and then i learned to make goatsmilk soap from different oils.

I just love makng it and am going to try and color some from the hebs and spices that Virginia posted…thanks!
Mary

[green61]

Totally new to this site, but so far I am excited about what I see!! I think making goats milk soap would be awesome, I dont have a goat. 😉 I am aging, and need a good soap that will treat my body well.

Everything we put on our body…goes into our body. I want just the plain soap with nothing to add color…just that creamy soap that I hear you all talking about!!!!

[ckarol]

Wow great infor I’ve always think of doing this but I have a daughter that is sedative so iam a wee bit scared but honestly I think about it all the time

[Nicola]

Here’s one…enjoy!

orange and oatmeal soap
using melt and pour method
this is an easy recipe that creates a great soap.

ingredients:

4 oz. transparent soap base
1 tbs oatmeal flakes
1/4 tsp grated orange peel
orange colorant as desired
2 vitamin e gel tablets
1 tbs shea butter
1/8 tsp sweet orange oil (for fragrance)
5 drops grapefruit seed extract

[Nicu123]

Thank you for the recipe. I will definitely try this one. The sweet orange oil and grapefruit seed extract, are they essential oils, or fragrance oils?
I’m new at this, so I don’t want to make a mistake.

[MsDebbie]

A neighbor gave me some for Christmas made in a pie tin. There was a few different types pre-sliced, one was a refreshing mint. My favorite is coffee and oatmeal.

And so pretty I left it out on the counter, smelled good.

[mmmmbacon]

I’ve been making soap (CP) for several years. Choosing the oils to use, the additions for colour, for texture and for scent can give you an endless variety of product.
My wife uses essential oils in her esthetics business and I have used these as scent additions.
I have an aversion to commercial artificial scent additions; so the natural essential oils are a really welcome find.

I use SoapCalc to play with proportions of oil, lye and water and to predict levels of creaminess, hardness etc. It has been one of the most useful tools for soapmaking I have found.

[maryvanwinkle]

I make my own homemade lye soap from the lard we render from the pig we butcher each year. my mom has super sensitive skin and has to use no anything soap but this soap works great on her skin and no problems . I grate and use as my dish soap and use in our laundry.

makes great white whites.

[maryvanwinkle]

I prefer to use the crock pot hot process method does anyone else use this process? I am looking for new recipes

[nmandpa]

I would love to get into soap making. Is there a way to make your own lye?

[ajammes]

Yes, but it can be time consuming and messy. You need hard wood ash, water and a bucket. Put the hard wood ash in the water in the bucket and let sit.

It is considered ready when a fresh egg will float in it. Strain out the ash and use the water. It is much easier to go get the lye from the hardware store.

Easier to measure for certain. Your soap may be too soft or harsh with home made until you get the hang of measurements. I started cp soap making when my history students wanted to know “how’d them people get clean?”

Boy did that lead to some research and fun times! Now I make soap a couple times of year and even have a few teacher friends who want me to show them a simple recipe.

[Alexxaa]

didn’t try it before, i would be glad if somebody advise the simplest recipe to try

[Author]

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