Homemade Soap

Marie · Homemade Soap

Have any of you made your own soap. Would like to start making some with our own goats milk, lavender and other herbs. I have been looking for lye, but that is hard to get it seems.
If anybody has any good recipes which are gentle for babies or know a good website that i can buy the basics from . cheers Very Happy

blowin

Pardon my ignorance but what is lye ?

phil

Marie have a look on MrsL's site they do all that sort of stuff.

MrsL

Thanks phil, we certainly do Laughing

If it's OK to put a link in here (if not, feel free to remove it), it'll save me doing the whole picture thing again:

http://creativeliving.10.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=670

The main thing with homemade soap is to give it ample time to cure - 4 - 5 weeks in a dry palce, warmish. For babies, I'd recommend a recipe made with oils rther than the solid fat, they tend to be creamier and more gentle feeling, although the basic soap in the post I linked to should be fine. Go easy on teh essential oils if making baby soap, though; I quite often make it with no scent or colour, just plain soap, does the job well.
I use caustic soda for the lye, the type sold as granules for drain cleaning (caution required, but safe to use with common sense). Genuine lye is rainwater leached through wood ashes over a period of days, strong enough to float an egg in, then it's fit for use for soap making. I've not got around to trying the proper lye yet (MrL a bit Shocked

, but you think he'd be used to me now.....).
The soap is basically a mixture of lye and fat, warmed and mixed until thickened, poured into a mould, cut, then left to cure.
Fats I use are lard, solid vegetable cooking fat in blocks, pig/sheep fat left from butchering; oils are coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, etc. Caustic soda can be bought from DIY stores, ironmongery type places.
Hope this helps, shout if you need some more info and I'll try and help. Very Happy

Marie

Hadnt any problem finding the lard, but the caustic soda! was puzzled as to where i'd find that. will try a hardwarestore. your blog was very helpful

chook

Hi Marie,
I have been making goats milk soap since last year. Learned almost everything from a German soapmakers forum (my first language) the rest with experience; there must be English language forums out there too.

see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/3101...7229949/in/set-72157615542296411/
I use mostly olive oil (wholesale from Irish Independent Healthfoods) with some castor oil for better foam, and occasionally added wheatgerm oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, or Nigella oil for psoriasis sufferers, plus lots of essential oils (except for the eczema/psoriasis soap of course).
Lye is hard to get. I order it in from a German supplier for 4-5 Euro/kg. Chemists can get it, at more than 1000% (! I kid you not) mark-up over continental prices. I'm not sure about the stuff from the hardware shop (drain cleaning, paint stripping) as it says 98% sodium hydroxide. What is the other 2%?
To use goat's milk or any milk in soap it is very wise to freeze it first (in ice cube containers) as otherwise it gets too hot when the lye is added, turns orange and smells very unpleasant.
Another important thing is to VERY CAREFULLY calculate your recipes (there are on-line calculators). Too much lye and it'll take your skin off if you have free lye left in the soap. Too little and the soap will be oily with too much unsaponified oil/fat. Also note that calculations are done with mass, not volume. 1 litre of oil is not the same as 1 kg of oil. Get a good, accurate weighing scale for the lye (0.00g) and stick to all the necessary precautions (kids and pets out of the room; goggles, gloves).
It's great fun, creative, useful, and makes handy little presents with some nice packaging (my nieces currently smell of mint-chocolate Laughing

)

BTW, the molds are from the US (Milkyway Molds and some others); can't get them here as far as I know.

Enjoy,
chook

Marie

Chook did you make the soaps in the picture??? im shocked that you're able to make it so beautiful after only doing so for a year. Woow, very impressive. I'll have our advice. Do you have a link that i can buy lye from?
Marie

chook

Hi Marie,
yes I did, but the beauty is simply due to the molds. They are available from
http://www.milkywaymolds.com/
and http://www.suppliesbystar.com/soapmolds.html
I have dealt with both and both were fine to deal with. The $$ exchange rate helps too Wink

The reason I use molds is that milk soaps should be made with the cold-process method, otherwise they can whiff quite badly. If you make a block it tends to heat up, whereas in the individual molds it stays cool enough. Also, of course, they look much nicer IMHO.

The NaOH I buy from a small company in Hamburg:
http://www.sheabutter-naturcreme-shop.de/shop/index.php?cPath=32
They have good raw materials as well. The only trouble is that postage is rather dear. Are you in Galway Co. or city? Perhaps we could 'join forces'.

There is also an American lady nearby in the Burren who makes goat's milk soaps. I keep meaning to make contact with her, apparently she sells at the farmer's market in Ballyvaughan.

chook

MrsL

Nice moulds. Very Happy

Marie

Im in Galway Co between tuam/athenry. I'd love to join forces Wink

and borrow all your tips. Do you sell yours, im still shocked at how good they are, i've never seen soaps look so good.

wayland

I know a couple who have made quite a cottage industry of goat milk cosmetics. WWW.roseacresoaps.com. They wont give you any recipes of course for commercial reasons but the whole range is made in their kitchen and is not rocket science. Good luck.

Marie

Very nice website. Amazing what can be done from a kitchen.I only intend to make some for home use etc. how did they get into soap making? Is there much demand for their products. It looks very professional Very Happy

wayland

Hi Marie. They got into it when they both decided that they loved goats but were not keen on the dairy products. Their biggest customers are in the UK and they are at most of the big shows throughout the year. Yes the products do look professional perhaps too professional, I have always thought it would market better if it looked more cottagey, but I have sat labeling by hand at their kitchen table for hours to help get out a large order. With a growing family they do need another income but they do ok.

Marie

Sometimes i think its easier to just work p/t and be sure of hours/wages. Less stress in the long run , although i understand the lore of been self employed