Crafting Soap
Written by admin on Saturday, 11 of October , 2008 at 3:08 pm
CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS
Now is the time to start planning if your gift-giving list includes soap. The other day, I noticed that the dish rags I use to clean the counter seemed to sour easily. I was changing them every day. I started using my soap in place of the commercial soaps and no more sour rags. My son swears that my handsoap will remove things that other soaps can’t without being harsh on his skin. I even use it to clean soap scum in the tub, if that makes any sense.
I gave Christmas soap to probably 50 people last year, and many are asking if I plan to make more this season. It really occurred to me this past week that I have been using my own soap almost exclusively for the past five years and how I still prefer them to any other soap out there. I thought I could get used to other cold-process soaps that are sold in the stores, but that didn’t last. So now, I try to maintain a supply of at least 30 bars. Some I give to others and the rest are used in my kitchen, bathroom, and cleaning bucket. Favorites include goat milk soap, peppermint, kitchen soap, and my own famous green soap made with coso green clay and scented with lemon balm.
I’m not sure what additives I will use this year, but again - now is the time to start planning and I am doing just that. There are a variety of suppliers on our links page in the right sidebar. Happy soaping!
Welcome to my free resource site on cold process soapmaking
We also have an extensive glossary (from A-Z) and personal pampering information in our Home Spa pages. See the sidebar links on the right.
This website was created after I realized just how easy it is to make cold-process soap, despite having to work with lye.
I read soapmaking books for ten years before taking the plunge and when you talk to people, the fear of working with lye is pretty much the most common reason they don’t make their own soap.
Visit my page on working with Lye Safely and once you get past the first successful batch, you will become more comfortable with the process.
Modern soapmaking methods and techniques have reduced the time it takes to craft cold-processed soaps to about an hour or less, with the exception of the time it takes to cure. This includes milk-based formulations, like goat’s milk. So, in the time it takes to prepare an evening meal, you can make enough soap to last your family an entire year. And, if you’re anything like other soapmakers, you will be compelled to share your products with extended family and friends. The benefits are undeniable. You will experiment with different oils and butters, colors, exfoliants and other useful additives, make soap for holidays and special occasions, perhaps sell your wares at craft shows or flea markets, and you will hand them out to everyone willing to try them. Before you know it, you will have requests for more. How neat is that?
Crafting real soap bars in your kitchen offers a great deal of satisfaction for those who are looking for more natural alternatives to commercial “soaps”.
Create your own Recipes based on the oils you have available on hand. Our recipes or formulations are always created “on the fly” depending on what we have available in our soap cabinet. The Ingredients Page offers descriptions of the most commonly used oils in cold process soapmaking. Once you determine that you have the ingredients you want, weigh them out, write them down and head for an online lye calculator.
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