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Miller's Homemade Soap Pages |
I've noticed that all soap contains lye are there any soap recipes without lye.
If there are any can I please have the recipes.
Thanks!
The reason they all have lye is that you can't make soap without it. I talk about this on the site, but you probably didn't get to that part. If you just want soapy stuff to play with, melt and pour base is enjoyable for people. They can buy the base and add their colors and scents of choice. It's usually not actually soap but more of a detergent base. Real soap uses fats/oils and a caustic agent to turn them into a soap compound... it's all about chemistry and it's a lot of fun when done correctly.
Hope this helps. :-) For more on this subject, scroll back through the soapy success questions... there is one on July 18, 1999 ("LYE" is in the subject line.)
I really have enjoyed your soap page this morning. I am not through reading it yet, but I got excited about sharing the way I have been molding my soap. You may have suggestions for me. At least it is easier for me and I like very uniform soaps.
Your molds look exactly like mine, except that mine are oblong. Instead of hinging a side, I put the boards together using sheet rock screws with predrilled holes in the wood. I can take them totally apart and store them flat. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the boxes back together in the original configuration so that the screw holes would match, so I had my kids draw pictures on the outsides of the boxes with permanent markers. It's like a small jigsaw puzzle to match up the pictures and the words they wrote. Also, they have turned the boxes into something I will probably never be able to throw away.
The molds I am using are oblong and the length and width of the bars. When you look down at the open side of the box, you are looking at one end of the bars. Two boxes hold about a 9-pound batch of soap. After I take the soap out of the mold, I then use a bread slicing guide (I found it at a second hand shop). When you slice the soap you only have a cut surface on the flat top or bottom of the bar. You only have one surface to cut on each bar.
Freezer paper to line the molds works best for me, but is the boring part of the process to me. Please let me know if you've found a better way.
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing this with everyone. I'm still using freezer paper, but I've heard of folks cutting a fitted liner from vinyl coated shelf paper that can be used repeatedly. You need to wipe it down between uses. I haven't tried that one yet.
I have been making soap for about two years - casually, just to use at home, and share a bar with a friend here and there. I started with two other friends - taking a class in someone's home - making soap from animal fat. We weren't given much direction...but we got hooked. First we all bought a book, and then ordered the ingredients in a kit form (vegetable recipes only). We had a wonderful time - for us it was doing something fun, and sharing it with friends...more of a social event - you know, girls day out...than anything. Part of the fun was the stirring - for hours !!! (I think the longest I stirred was four hours) However, this didn't encourage us to want to make soap all THAT often! Just every few months or so.
Just a couple of weeks ago..I found your website - and I was extremely curious about using a stick blender -- I wasn't even sure what one was! So last week-end I went shopping. I called about 7 stores before I found one (I guess they were all sold out after Christmas) - I went home, and made a batch of CastileII. It traced in less than 10 minutes !!! I could not believe it! So, I made another batch of soap, different recipe the next day...and it traced in 12 minutes !!!! I can't wait to tell my friends.....Now....I want to make more and more...and see what happens! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful information.
I am looking forward to experimenting - now that it doesn't take forever and a day, I can afford to!
Thanks again,
Kathy in Clovis
Thanks so much for your soapy success (and very nice) email ! I'm glad you've enjoyed the stick blender. It sure sweetened my attitude about soapmaking (I always enjoyed it but it was more of a hassle) and the end texture seems so much better and consistent than when I was hand stirring.
Hi Kathy,
I'm new to soap-making and have been pretty much living at your web site for the past week! Thank you for sharing so much with all of us and in such a positive way.
I tried the All Vegetable Soap (No Coconut or Palm) Recipe for my first batch last Friday. I reduced the size of the batch to 1/3 the original measurements in order to keep it more manageable AND to reduce waste if I botched it! Well, it turned out beautifully and I am very anxious to try the soap when it is fully cured. I'll update you then as to how hard the bars are and how they lather. It was certainly a straight forward and easy recipe to use, not to mention inexpensive.
I used Crisco in the recipe since it was the only shortening I found that listed ingredients on the package, and I wanted to know what I was getting. I discovered that Crisco is made up of soybean and palm oils (however, I don't know what percentage of each). I'm hoping the amount of palm oil is sufficient to ensure a reasonably hard bar of soap. My understanding is that the castor oil in the recipe should make the soap lather well. As I said, I'll let you know in a few weeks.
I scented the bars with Sweet Orange and Lavender essential oils at a ratio of 3:1 (i.e. for 1/3 recipe, I used 3 teaspoons Sweet Orange and 1 tsp. Lavender), which - so far - has given me a gentle yet lively scent.
Thank you again for your wonderful web site, the great information, and super photographs!
Barb
Thank YOU for such a nice email and sharing your experiences!
Hi Kathy,
This is a hale and hearty hello from flu ridden England. Luckily we have missed the bug - at least so far. Well, I should be preparing a talk on the Dr. Bach Flower Remedies for one of my local Women's Institutes, but soap making is more interesting and captivating at the moment.
I thought I would put in my twopennorth for what it's worth! - being fairly new to the art and a recent convert.
1. I made lavender and honey soap (my second batch) and forgot that the honey was solid - it was interesting trying to mix it in. I didn't manage all of it so ended up with lumps of honey in the soap!
2. I messed up getting my first batch out of the moulds so ended up with lots of bits. Being very thrifty I decided to re-batch with goat's milk and an oatmeal filler. It has taken almost two months for the soap (which is light as a feather) to dry out. I haven't tried it out yet, but will soon.
3. I had a little trouble with my castile soap. I used all goat's milk (6 oz) for a two pound batch and the lye made it go yellow, then orange, then thick and then curdled. I couldn't pour it into the oils so I had to plonk it in and then whisk. It turned out beautifully, but I wonder what went wrong. Does goat's milk often play up?
4. I had several weeks break for Christmas and the New Year before I made my sixth and seventh batches. I've discovered some great moulds.The shape and size is just perfect and they're free - even better. They come from some Italian biscuits called Grisbi, however, I'm not sure if they're available your way. They are quite difficult to get here - you have to find a specialist Italian shop. The seventh batch was made from Trex (veg shortening), coconut and sunflower oil. It kept separating whilst I was waiting for it to trace. 5 hours later as it had not traced I used a Braun hand blender (your stick blender) - should of done it before as it only took a few minutes. However, when you're still at the learning stage you sometimes do it the hard way! I put in a peppermint tea bag and it's made a lovely diffuse pattern.
What I would like to ask also is that do the temperatures of the oils and lye have to be exactly the same before mixing together? And also if using a stick blender do you need to wait for the temperatures to equalise or reduce at all or can you just get straight into mixing mode? I hope this hasn't been too long winded. Your site is a godsend and gives a real family atmosphere - you know people with a common interest type of thing. Chatting among friends and like minded people - it's great. Thank you very much. By the way just for interest we live in the little village at the bottom of the famous White Horse of Uffington (the oldest in the country - probably about 5-6,000 years old). And I'm sure I have hundreds more questions, so if I may visit you again some time!
Happy soaping
Sheila Bennett
A not so hale and hearty reply from flu ridden Western Washington State, U.S.A.! Actually... I don't have the flu, but did finally catch a cold. I consider myself lucky when I hear about the flu sufferers. I've been there and done that a few years back and it was pretty awful. Hope I get through this season unscathed.
I've done a little reading about the Bach Flower Remedies and a friend mixed some up for me one time. It didn't go much beyond that, but it is rather fascinating.
Moving onward...
I've read numerous accounts like this one when people add lye directly to goat's milk. I don't think you did anything wrong. Any kind of milk product would probably do the same... it's the protein in it. Did it smell pretty awful? Some folks don't like that either, but it fades in the final product.
Thanks for the tips on the molds. I don't know if we have those here, but I'll be posting this (if that's okay with you) and it might help someone else from your neck of the woods who is looking for ideas. There are other soapers in the U.K. but I don't know if there are as many as here.
The temperatures do not have to be exactly the same... there's a leeway on that for both. I usually have the lye solution a bit cooler than the fats but it's an old habit, I guess. It is better to not mix too hot though... sometimes the soap gets hard to manage if you start hot because if you add any kind of fragrance that heats it up (milk and honey also do this) you could have it trying to gel in the pot before you get it poured. I like to go with a temperature close to 110 degrees (F.) but I suppose 120 degrees would be fine. Some folks like it cooler... personal preference and whatever you find works best for the kind of soap you are making and taking into account the oils you will add for scent. Some FOs can really accelerate trace if added to soap that is too warm in the first place.
That was such a nice way of putting it... you're very welcome! Thank you for such a nice email!
We would like to get the following information regarding The Soapmaker's Companion to as many readers as possible. Whatever you can do to help disseminate this information is greatly appreciated. All future copies of the book sold will be corrected. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you.
Important Notice to Readers of The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch (Storey Books, 1997):
As a result of further recipe testing, author Susan Miller Cavitch and Storey Books strongly recommend that you do not try the recipe variation listed in the sidebar note on page 36. Adding honey when you are combining the sodium hydroxide and water may result in a stronger reaction with more intense heat. The mixture may bubble up quickly and come out of the pot, posing a potential hazard.
hi again,
This is Octavia, the person who measured the lye in a cup instead of a scale. Well, the other day in a mad attempt to reorganize the clutter..(two young kids, lots of big dogs, why do I try??) I found a old roommates weight watchers scale!! :) I quickly forgot about the cleaning and measured out the lye that was leftover from the 18 oz can. I ended up with 7 oz of lye. Which means that a measuring cup measured at 12 oz actually is measuring 11 oz. weight. Now that I have that knowledge ( which I just HAD to share with someone :) ) here comes the question.
I used the MM chart to see where the lye should have been and I should have used MORE lye then I did, the bars have come out nice, hard, but when you hold them for more then a few seconds, they leave a oily feel to the skin. At first, I thought it was the lye, but it doesn't sting my cuts on my hands or taste bitter ( no taste at all) Does it just need to sit longer? We are running out of soap and I refuse to buy any!!! I think it is great that you take the time to answer email. Just doing that must take up all of your time! :) I know that thousands of soapers are very happy because of you!
Have a great new year!
Do you have any snow yet? we don't - Winter in New England without snow is hard to take!
Thanks again
Octavia
Congrats on finding the scale! One thing you should be aware of though when weighing lye... if there's much moisture in the environment at all, the lye draws it in within seconds and will get heavier. Be sure all your weights are done under the same conditions and on lye that is still dry and free flowing from the can and hopefully you'll get away with this. Also... with this kind of measurement, you should stick with larger batches (closer to the size that I make). The smaller the batch size, the more crucial it is to have PRECISE measurements on the lye.. slightly off can ruin the batch when it's a really small one.
Your soap might be okay, but pretty superfatted. In that case... it would get rancid if you keep it around for too long, but if you are going to use it within the next few months (I'm guessing here, but within 6 to 8 months if kept cool, it will probably be okay, unless we're talking MAJORLY fatty), it should be okay to use as is without hassling with remelting. How many bars of it do you have?
Thanks for the New Year's well wishing! We don't have any snow... just lots of dense fog around our house today, but nice in Silverdale ... it was sunny and pretty there this afternoon. Guess we have a private little fog bank in my neighborhood! It's getting colder though (frost last night)... some snow (just a sprinkling) would be lots of fun! We've had an unseasonably mild and dry December this year.
Happy new year/century/millennium to you too! :-)
My problem is after the curing processing I am wrapping the soap in parchment paper for inner wrap and than wrapped in handmade paper. After a week or so the soap is shrinking. I am discouraged at this point. Can you please help me to remedy this problem.
Thank you for any attention you can give my problem.
Lots of shrinkage is a given with rebatched soap and to a certain degree with regular cold process. The best thing is not to wrap them until you are ready to give them away or sell them, because soap keeps on shrinking for weeks and weeks as it ages (especially rebatch since it has so much extra water in the first place).
Sorry I don't have a miracle cure! Good luck!
Ms. Miller,
I found your website thru yahoo when I was searching for information about homemade soap. The reason I am contacting you is because I have a question that only a long-time soap maker would know...do you know if homemade soap if safe to use in homes with septic tanks instead of sewer system? My mother made a bunch of soap and gave it to me for Christmas but I'm concerned that over a long period of time it could cause havoc with our septic tank. I think it might not be safe because the basic premise of septic tanks is that it eats out bacteria, and oil and fat are not bacteria. If it does harm a septic tank, it means digging up our backyard and replacing a couple thousand dollar tank. So, if you know anything about this subject, I would greatly appreciate any info.
Thanks again,
All I can tell you is that we've had a septic tank every since moving here about 25 years ago and I've been making and using homemade soap for most of that time. People use store-bought soaps also and never think about them damaging their septic systems. If the soap is aged and SOAP, it should not be a problem. If you run lot of impartially saponified stuff down your drain, which is still greasy, that would not be good. That is why I tell people to wipe out their fresh soapy bowls and throw that away before washing their dishes... not rinsing the freshly made greasy soap down the drain.
I don't think you need to worry about this. Teenagers who use tons of toilet paper have been more detrimental to our septic tank than my soap! :-)
I was wondering if the aging of the soaps was just drying it out, and if this was the case, perhaps desiccant could be used to speed it up. desiccant can be put in any closed area with the soap, and it will suck the moisture right out of the air. you can get it at any hardware store. i came across it by using it to dry out other things, like foods, quickly so they store better, and longer, with more of their nutrients.
This would probably hasten the drying process, but soap also completes the saponification reaction during cure, as well as drying and hardening up. This would still need to have time to finish before using them. Still... the idea has merit for hardening them up quicker. If a person was rebatching or using hot process, the soap can be used immediately but the issue of soft bars is often a holdup. A desiccant could help with that if they can enclose it with the bars and really help it to do its thing.
Where do you find this? Are you talking about something like "Dri-Z-Air"?
Dri-Z-air is probably one brand of desiccant. Its primarily used for drying the air in places that you need to paint so the paint dries, but it has other handy uses like drying beef, mushrooms, anything you need to dry, just put it in a clear garbage bag, than put a screen over it so the food or soap or whatever doesn't touch the desiccant, because its toxic if ingested. As long as it doesn't touch the whatever you're drying though it won't harm you. It can be found at any paint or hardware store.
thanks for answering my question so promptly.
ben
Please help me make an extremely hard bar of soap. My soap is wonderful; it lathers, cleans and moisturizes, but it never lasts. There is too much good and money going into these bars of soap for them to melt away so quickly.
Can you please give me a hard bar recipe, or tell me the secret? I am using the general soap making recipes, i.e., water, lye, olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and vegetable shortening. Thank you so much.
There are several things that can contribute to a hard bar of soap. First off... tallow makes a really hard and long lasting bar and mixing that with other oils like coconut and olive makes a very nice bath soap. If you are opposed to using tallow, you can use recipes with a higher palm and coconut percentage... palm kernel is supposed to make hard soap also. Two other things you could try are salt and adding some stearic acid to your melting oils. I just read a post on the digest I get from someone about using palm stearic:
* I did not ask her permission before posting this... if she reads this, I would love to link to a website for her if she has one... if she wants me to take this down, I will.
Maybe that will help you. I'd definitely add it in with the oils at the beginning and melt it throughout the base oils... not add it at the end.
I hope this helps. I like the Sudsy-All-Vegetable recipe (on the all veg page of my site) and it makes a fairly hard bar of soap, but not as long lasting as the tallow mix ones from the Beef Shortening/Coconut Oil recipe. I don't now how soft is soft in your case to compare though. Longer curing can help soap last longer also since it continues to dry out in storage.
I just started making soap and I'm a bit overwhelmed with processing all of the information that i've read so far. I would greatly appreciate a response to the questions that I have so far at your earliest convenience.
1. What are the uses of beeswax and borax in making soap!
Hi! I hope you'll forgive that my answers will be brief. I'm rather overwhelmed right now myself with Christmas preparations (that are not nearly done!), etc. Some of these things are covered on my website.
Beeswax adds hardness and a nice texture and color... that's about all. It doesn't take very much for a batch. Old recipes recommended borax and I don't remember now if it boosted the sudsing action or what. Maybe better for laundry soap. I stopped using it after awhile when I was making the old fashioned soaps... didn't really notice that much of a difference.
2. Where can stearic acid be purchased and can lye be substituted for it in soapmaking recipes? If so how much lye should be used?
Lye and stearic acid are totally different critters and cannot be substituted for one another. Stearic acid is a fatty acid derived from fats/oils and it makes really HARD soap. A little bit added to a recipe will make the bars harder. It does nothing in the process of turning fats into soap... it is more of a "fat" itself.
3. How do you feel about using grapefruit seed as a preservative? Can anything else be used?
I don't use any kind of preservative in soap. Think it is not necessarily needed if you make a recipe that is not overly superfatted. Lotions and other bath products probably do need some kind of preservative, but I don't know if GSE would be acceptable by U.S.D.A. standards for cosmetics. Soap doesn't fall under that and the preservative is not required. Soap is already a fairly hostile environment for molds and such. If you want to use it, you can and people do. I just never have.
4. What are the properties of palm oil in soap?
You can find this on the "Design Your Own Recipe" page... look at the "Properties of Oils" chart.
5. Can you provide a recipe for laundry soap?
The old recipe on the main index page (using tallow or lard) would be good for that. You can use any fats you like but cheaper is better. For laundry soap run your recipe through the Majestic Mountain Sage calculator and make your soap with 0% lye discount. That will make soap that grates up easier and cleans better than if it is superfatted.
thank you very much for your time and assistance
Happy soaping!
I have been making soap for myself, friends, and relatives for about 2 years now - very successfully because of web sites such as yours. I would like to add Vitamin E, Aloe Vera, and/or lanolin to my soaps, but I can not find information about when they should be added or how much to add. Some of the lip balm recipes indicate that vit. E and lanolin are heat sensitive and they add them when cooled to 100 degrees. I can't find anything about adding aloe, it is available in a gel or as 99.5% pure aloe juice - which one would be preferred? Do you have any experience with these additives, or can you refer me to a resource for information?
Thank you,
Kitty Gronlund
You know... I've only used vit. E. on occasion and added that at light trace... mixing it in with the stick blender. I would probably put these in at light trace and with the lanolin, have it slightly warmed since it's quite sticky at room temp... as I remember it, kind of like heavy yellowish marshmallow creme! I think Aloe gel is pretty pure so you can probably use either one. The juice as it comes out of the leaf is a gel for real... the gel you buy probably has a bit of extra color and some stuff added, but not a whole bunch. Think it would be fine. We have some stuff here made by "Banana Boat" and it is mainly aloe vera gel.
If you want more input from folks who have used these things, I would recommend you post your question on the Latherings Forum. I have a link for them toward the top of my soapmaking links page. They are a very active and helpful board on soapmaking ... a great group!
Ebert, William:
Thank YOU for the nice letter! I would be flattered to be linked. I'll take a look at it when I finish up with the email.
That recipe was gotten from another site (I think I credit the gal who posted it at the Soap Newbie's Page) and those were the original temps on the recipe. I don't generally make soap that hot, but it usually heats up past that point when it gels anyway. This batch will gel sooner. I would be careful when using certain FOs though... a lower temp would go down better than that 140 degree one. I should probably put a little footnote in that recipe about the higher temp (I badly need to update the soap page!).
Thanks for mentioning it and for the link!
Thank you for your great site! I am learning a lot with it. Your information helped me a lot, because I as I intend to sell my soap, I am learning all I can about the whole soapmaking process. But there is a doubt: How can I speed up the cure time? If I reduce the water called for in a batch, will it help to cut this waiting period? And what about the quality of the soap, will this affect its quality?
Could you please help me with it? I forgot to tell you that I will sell 100% veggie soaps.
Thank you very much,
Lilian Armstrong
Hi! I just put up a link to a page that tells you how to make soap by a hot process/closed system. There are two hot process soapmaking sites next to one another on the links page, - URL listed below (in the information section) and it's the second one... I have little notes by them. If you use that system (which I have not tried), you can use the soap right away once it dries out... a few days. When you do cold process, you need at least four weeks for the saponfication process to complete itself so the soap will be mild. Moisture is just one factor... but the saponification is the most critical. With that closed system thing you really get the soap hot over a long period and it completes the cycle. You might want to make cold process the regular way before trying it, but I wanted to point it out to you. I just printed off the instructions myself and was reading them last night. It would be handy if you needed soap right away for something and didn't have the luxury of a month's worth of curing time.
I cut back on water in most of my recipes because the bars harden up sooner, but it doesn't shorten the curing time any more than 4 weeks (I fudge at three once in awhile for myself, but don't sell it sooner than four... six would probably be even better!).
Hi Kathy! I have been looking all over for instructions on stamping soap...no luck so far, so I thought I'd check with you ('cause you usually know it ALL!!!). Have you ever tried this or do you know where I could get more info? I am wondering if a regular rubber stamp will work and when the best time to do the imprinting is. THANK YOU!!!
-Tamie Day
I really don't know it ALL (even though a couple of my teenagers have accused me of thinking so!). ;-)
You know... I've thought this would be fun... but I don't have any experience with it either. I think the kind of stamps that work best are ones that are harder and more defined... maybe ones fashioned for leather stamping or ceramic ones. You can try the rubber stamp, but it will probably be harder to get a good impression.
You probably want the soap to be a couple to a few days old so that the outside is dry but the soap can still be impressed easily with your fingernail. I looked for this in my soap digest archives but could only find a person's reference to dipping her stamp in sugar first because it wanted to stick to the soap. Not sure how good an idea that is, but thought I'd mention it. You probably have to press pretty hard to get an imprint and I'd think stamps that leave an imprint would work better than ones that create a high place to form the design... if you know what I mean.
Hi Kathy! I told you I'd let you know when I'd figured out how to do the custom stamps for soaps. A local stampmaker let me test out some of their "hard resin patterns with metal backing" and they worked quite well! I guess it's what the stampmaker makes first in order to be able to make a rubber stamp. My cost is just $20 for the stamp...pretty good considering I was told $80-$300 to have a custom leather stamp made!
Warm Regards,
Tamie Day
Just wanted to let you know that I got my first custom metal/resin stamp from the stampmaker today and tested it out on some soap that had just come out of the mold (about 30 hours after pouring). I greased the stamp with some oil and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! The only thing is that I noticed with the sample one I used a few weeks ago, the lye eats up the metal so I'm assuming the stamp won't last for long. Anyhow, I've done some more research and found a website with a little more information on using rubber stamps and thought I'd pass it along: http://www.icehouse.net/slholley/rubber_stamps.htm.
Happy New Year!
-Tamie Day
THANKS FOR ALL THE INFORMATION!
Hello,
I know that some folks think that using animal fats is not politically correct. Whatever. At least the whole animal was used if the fat went to make soap.
Unfortunately, this is not the reason I'm interested in soaps not using animal fats. There is ample evidence (Our Stolen Future by Theo Colburn is excellent) which indicate that dioxin, PCBs, and other persistent chemicals (chlorinated hydrocarbons) are found in their highest concentrations in fat. These substances also vaporize easily so the soap maker is libel to get a good dose of it while making soap. Then in the shower or bathtub, whatever toxic chemicals remain in the soap can also be vaporized out. I don't think the big danger is in getting this stuff on the skin as opposed to ingesting or inhaling it, but honestly, I don't think I would want to wash with it anyhow.
Given the information I have learned through my environmental chem and law classes (which mainly started with a recommendation to read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and subsequent books of like topic such as Our Stolen Future), I have begun to avoid animal fats like the plague, installed a reverse osmosis unit for truly decent water to drink, avoided using any toxic substances in my vegetable garden, and make as much of my own food from scratch as possible.
Anyway, just though I'd let you know about the toxic chemicals in animal fats.
Thank you for a truly wonderful website.
Warmest regards,
Margie A. Hoyt
You're certainly welcome! I read Silent Spring in junior high. I suspect some of the vegetable fats and oils we use are tainted with stuff as well. You can lay awake nights just pondering it. The best solution is what you suggest... raising as much of your own food as possible. Many of the people who want to make soap from animal fats have done that as well... raised their own meat. They are looking to use the whole animal and make something useful to avoid buying the commercialized version. Rendering is such a pain, that I suspect a relative minority of people buy animal fat just for that purpose when they can purchase it pre-rendered or just make vegetable based soaps. I could be wrong... some do like it better for it's hardness and mellow mildness.
It would be interesting to know how many toxins and pesticides are still in our cooking oils like shortening, salad, canola, etc. We might be shocked!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and concerns.
Hi! thanks for your site, it's full of wonderful information. I am new to soapmaking and have what seems to be a stupid question, but I haven't been able to find an answer. How close in temperature do the oils and the lye have to be when you mix them together. The recipe I was given at the class I took, says that the two mixtures need to be within 3 degrees F of each other or the mixture won't saponify. Susan Miller Cavitch's book doesn't mention this being important, giving temperatures of 80-100 for each. Does this mean the lye can be 82 and the oils 98 and everything will be fine? I ask because I made a batch last night, and due to a problem with one of my thermometers, the two mixtures probably were not within 3 degrees, but were still within the 80-100 range with the lye being cooler than the oils. I added EO and herbs and mixed and poured into molds and everything looked fine, but when I went to clean up, the mixture in my pans didn't soap up and now I think this indicates that the mixture never saponified. Does the residue in the pan need to soap to indicate saponification or does it take longer? And could a variation of more than 3 degrees between the lye and the fat keep the mixture from saponifying? thanks so much for your help. Any information will be so very appreciated!! Also, if the batch is botched, what if anything can I do to save it?
Anne Sylvia
Hi! There is an acceptable range of temperatures when making soap and it's not quite as critical as some recipes would lead you to believe. Depending on what you are using for scent, which fats form your base oils, the temperatures of the room... etc. - those are the factors that will determine which general temp. will be the best for you. I have never used the really low temps (80 degrees) recommended by some books and feel more comfortable in the 95-110 range as a general rule.
The saponification process is far from complete when you pour your soap and you usually won't get bubbles when you clean up the dishes... just greasy soap (better to wipe most of that out on paper towels and toss in the garbage... then wash the pans, etc.). This is different when you rebatch because putting extra heat on the stuff hastens the process... generally you'll get bubbles when cleaning your dishes after a rebatch. It's not to worry... in a couple of days when you bevel your bars or clean up molds, there should be suds.
Your soap will probably be just fine.
Hi, I am a freshman in high school and I am doing my science project this year on bar soaps. I am doing my project on this subject because whenever I use a bar soap (usually a commercial bar soap such as Ivory, Caress, or Jergens) it seems to leave a dry, sticky sort of feeling to my skin. I have always wondered why.
I would appreciate it if you would write back to this e-mail address ASAP and answer these few questions that I have:
Well, that's about all that I can think of right now. Please right back as soon as possible. I would appreciate any other details or info that you can give me.
Thanks again!
Sarah Ankrum
Hello, Sarah. You will find more info on homemade soap on my website... so I'll let you check there to glean more information, but I'll try to answer your questions...
> What makes your soap different from commercial products?
Is is not chock full of additives, has all the natural glycerin still intact after the soapmaking process, and is TOTALLY milder on the skin than any commercial soap I've ever tried. It can often help clear skin conditions on people who have problems with commercial products. (I'm speaking of any well made homemade soap... not just my own.)
> Does your soap moisturize skin? Why or why not?
Depends on the recipe, but it can a little. What is more important is that it doesn't dry it out and leaves a bit of emollient behind when you use it (the natural glycerin which has not been drawn off as a by-product as they do in commercial soaps). I wash my face with my soap, but always moisturize the dry places afterward as well... cheeks and eyebrows on me! What you notice is that your skin doesn't feel tight and drawn after using homemade soap... just clean and nice. I am so spoiled, I have to use commercial once in awhile to remember how that felt. Blah!
> What are the moisturizing ingredients?
You can add special oils to soap like shea butter, vit E., jojoba, etc. but the main thing that is moisturizing about homemade soap (made properly) is that is has all the natural glycerin left in (which comes from the original fats and oils... coconut, palm, olive, tallow, etc.). Glycerin is a by-product of soapmaking and in commercial products, they usually draw most of it out. This is why commercial soaps are more drying to the skin than the natural homemade kind.
> Do you know why most bar soaps leave the sticky, dry feeling?
Not sure... but most "soaps" you buy over the counter are not truly soap at all, but detergent bars (synthetic detergents). Real soap will be made from fats and oils such as palm, coconut, tallow, etc. They have been blended with lye or sodium hydroxide and that chemical process makes soap (called "saponification" which you are learning about in Chemistry). When you find these on the label, they will usually read... "sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, sodium palmate," etc.
Hope this helps a little. You should go to your local market and read some soap labels. If they have some homemade types, read those as well and compare the ingredients.
Good luck with your project!
Hi Kathy
I am a soapmaker from New Zealand, I only make 100% vegetable oil soaps, using a mould 56x36cm, and hand cutting and trimming. I am visiting a friend who has shown me your home page which is a wonderful resource for someone like me with no-one around to ask advice from! I am wondering if you would be so kind as to provide me with an answer to a particular problem I have, I can access your reply next time I visit. I tell you it would be much appreciated.
Some of my soaps last for ages without going rancid - i.e. developing brown spots on the edges (usually), where light has been in contact. Those are Oatmeal and Honey, and Ginger and Thyme. Lavender takes quite a long time, but some essential oils are seeming to make the soaps turn brown quite quickly, within two to four months. Those are - Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Oil, and Peppermint Oil. I have been superfatting 5%, but am currently cutting that to 0%, in case it is the oil left over doing it. I use Olive, Coconut and Palm Oils, and only essential oils to scent.
I have read about a natural preservative such as Grapefruit Seed Extract, but to date haven't had any luck finding it.
Do you have any advice? It is quite stressful to find on unwrapping a soap that it is going off, not to mention damaging to one's reputation! I hope you can help,
Jenny Somerville
I'll just have to take a stab at this... first off... I have not ever used Grapefruit Seed Extract and am not sure how effective it really is in cold process. What would make the biggest difference is the amount of lye discount/superfatting. If you are indeed making soap that is superfatted by 5%, you should not be having problems of rancidity or spots forming. I'll ask you a few questions. What kind of scale are you using to weigh your lye? Is it accurate enough... having a fine enough reading mechanism to give you exactly the correct amount? Are your batches small in size? The smaller the batch, the more it is at the mercy of accurate measurements and can easily demonstrate traits of being lye heavy or overly superfatted. I make batches that yield about 8# of soap, so using a postal scale that goes to tenths (decimal) is okay enough for that size. If I were making little batches of maybe one or two pounds, I would want another decimal place or two on my digital scale.
Are you superfatting by adding things at the end, or putting all your oils in at the front? I prefer the latter... if the soap sets up too quickly, you might not get the added fats/oils evenly incorporated in the mix and maybe some pockets could be fatty enough to make spots. Even though some recipes preach that you will retain more benefit from some superfatting ingredients by adding them at the end... I always melt them in at the beginning. Just a thought.
Are you running your recipes through a reliable lye calculator? Just be sure your recipes are based on good sap values and don't set you up for problems... especially if you are making small batches and have a smaller cushion for error.
How much EO are you adding and is it pure or has it been cut with some kind of carrier oil that might actually have a sap value? This would only be more of a problem with a very small batch.
This is all I can think of at the moment. Also... if spots are occurring where sunlight hits the bars... I would certainly store them out of the light. I think it can bleach the color and cause other issues and is better off avoided.
I hope this helps. If you hit on what you think has been the problem, please send me a follow-up and let me know which thing it was! Just remind me that you are the soapmaker from New Zealand with spots! ;-)
Hi Kathy,
Thank you for a very excellent site on soapmaking. I just made my first batch and it came out beautifully! I was just wondering if cast iron is ok to use as a soap mold. I have this cool muffin pan with flower shapes.
thanks!
Keiko
Thank you, and congratulations on your first batch! You're ahead of me already.. I messed up nine batches before it came out right the first time!
I suppose you can use cast iron as a mold... I have some reservations about it, but our grandmothers often cooked their soap in a large cast iron pot, so it's probably permissible to use. You should grease this lightly with something like Vaseline and it might take a matter of a few days for the soap to be ready to unmold. It might be hard to get out.... that's the main concern. You can't flex the mold to help pop out the soap... how are you going to remove it without gouging it up? My only thought is that you would have to leave it in there for quite awhile (at least a week, maybe) before trying to remove it. By then, it should be shrinking away at the sides.
Just bought and used a SB at your site recommendation. I was in shock at how QUICKLY the soap traced. Five minutes from mix to mold. And it looks great!! Also cut better and sooner than any of my other (count them) THREE batches I've made. I am eternally grateful.
Wanted to ask about soaping in a Kitchenaid. Ever tried or heard of it?
Shirley
I've heard of people doing that... but it won't be the same as the trusty stick blender. Might save your arm on larger batches though.
Glad you liked the results. I'd have felt badly if you spent the money and were disappointed! :-)
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