Homeware Articles

Ceramic Pitcher

Learning how to make your own soap can be a rewarding and worthwhile experience. Not only does it teach a valuable skill but it is also a great deal of fun. It is abundantly rewarding to use a product that you have made yourself and the feeling of self reliance is a very good feeling. So how do you make soap? Here is a step by step guide on making your own soap at home.

Equipments you need:

* Accurate scale

* Stainless steel pot or enamel painted pot

* Plastic/ stainless steel spoon

* 2 Plastic Pitchers, one pitcher should be with a lid

* Heavy apron

* Rubber gloves

* Goggles to protect your eyes

* Stick blender

* Thermometer

* Small size plastic liner

* Any soap making mold of your choice

* pH testing paper

Ingredients you need:

(All ingredients should be weighed accurately)

* 32 ounces of water (must be cold)

* 11.2 ounces of lye or Sodium hydroxide

* 3 pounds of lard

* 1 pound of olive oil

* 1 pound of coconut oil

* 1.4 ounces of fragrance

Directions:

1. Before anything else, read the warning label on the lye.

Lye is a caustic and dangerous substance and should be handled with caution. Also, make sure the lye you are using is labeled for soap as there are lots of other uses for lye.

2. Put on goggles and gloves.

Weigh 32 ounces of cold water in a plastic container. Never use hot water to mix with lye, it will form a volcano like reaction!

3. Slowly and carefully pour the lye into the cold water

(and not the other way around) It will be safer to leave the water-lye mixture on the sink as it is prone to spills.

4. If you notice, there is a reaction and the mixture gets very hot and gives off gas.

This is normal. For the meantime, go out so you don’t inhale the fumes.

5. Let your lye-water mixture sit in a safe place until it cools off to room temperature.

This might take a few minutes to a couple of hours.

6. While waiting for your lye-water mixture to cool, start weighing your fats/lard

7. Put this in a stainless steel container or enamel painted pot.

8. Heat the pot with the fats between 120-130 degree Fahrenheit. Stir well.

9. When your fat reaches the desired temperature,

place your pot on the sink and slowly and carefully pour the cooled lye solution into the fats.

10. Stir the mixture using a large spoon. Be careful to avoid any splash that might get to you.

11. Once the lye solution is mixed in, take out your stick blender and blend it continuously until you come to a point where your mixture looks very thick.

This would probably take up to 5 minutes. If you weighed accurately and had the temperatures accurate,

then the bowl of mixture at this point will stay warm to the touch.

12. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can stir with a spoon for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

13. Then, put your desired fragrance on the mixture. Stir using a spoon and do not use a stick blender

14. Immediately pour your soap into your molds.

15. Let your soap sit in a warm room for 24 hours. As the chemical reaction is taking place it generates heat.

If you put your hand on the side of the box in about 1 hour, you will feel its warmth. After 24 hours, you can already remove your bars from the mold. If you have trouble pulling them out, then put the mold in the freezer for 3 hours. Take it out and use a blow dryer on the back of the mold. When condensation forms, it will slip right out. The soap should have a nice, solid consistency. It may be a little oily to the touch but it should be the same texture throughout.

To be sure that your soap making project went well, purchase some ph testing papers. A good soap will fall in the 7-9 category. A successful batch does not burn the skin in use. It is rich, bubbly, creamy soap that is extremely gentle to the skin

Michelle Gaboya has been a Soap Enthusiast for over 10 years, she has created Soap Making Advice giving free information about how to make your own soap with guides, ingredients and recipes to use to get started. For More information visit: http://www.soapmakingadvice.com. For A FREE 7 Day Mini course On Soap Making.

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