Making Soap

[Iddee]

I've been making soap for close to a year now, but always used the cold process method.

Today I tried the hot process method. Glad I used cheap oils. It TOTALLY DID NOT turn out right. First, it boiled over on to the counter, floor, and ME!!! Then it refused to go through the cycles. I never did get it to go through the jell stage.

OH Well, I'll try again some day.

[G3farms]

WOW, hope you did not get burned or hurt. Be careful!!

Sounds like you got a new line of natural liquid hand soap to market now.

Never have tried my had at making soap, I like Ivory soap the best myself.

G3

[Mama Beek]

i'm sorry your soap didn't turn out! Hopefully sometime soon I'll get to come and make soap with you. We've used hot process for almost all our soap, I only cold process a couple of varieties now.

if you make soap and you want it to float like ivory does you just whip air into it.

[Hobie]

I've always wanted to try making soap, but it seems like a lot of work. Is it?

Although it does remind me of one year when my brother-in-law's brother made soap. He was always giving us wonderful home-made foods and farm-fresh fruits and cheeses. That Christmas we all got a beautiful creamy yellow bar, wrapped plainly with no label.

Later that day, my brother-in-law grated some of that gift onto his taco!

[G3farms]

I bet he made a good face when he bit into that taco

G3

[Mama Beek]

maybe i should send my baby brothers some yellow soap and see if he likes it?

I don't think making soap is any more work than baking bread or a scratch cake. You just have to plan for it and make sure that you can give it your total attention while you do it. It depends on your idea of fun I guess.....we think it's fun to make soaps and lotion bars, and lip balm, and burn salve, and what the kids have named "boo boo balm".

We have strange ideas of fun according to some people though

[Bitty Bee]

We have strange ideas of fun according to some people though

Oh yes, we have lots of fun, most of which requires one sort of work another. Soap making is fun for us though, cause after it's all said and done you can enjoy the fruit of your labor while you compete with your brother to see who can make the biggest bubble when your supposed to be washing your hands!

[Mama Beek]

[quote=Wally's Baby Beek]

We have strange ideas of fun according to some people though

Oh yes, we have lots of fun, most of which requires one sort of work another. Soap making is fun for us though, cause after it's all said and done you can enjoy the fruit of your labor while you compete with your brother to see who can make the biggest bubble when your supposed to be washing your hands! [/quote:1vs0bipw]


at least y'all don't have to lye test the hot process soap!!! Poor Little Man is the only one brave enough to do that chore!

[XLB]

i lye tested the soap once and i won't voluntarily do it again! I'd rather lick a nine volt battery!

[G3farms]

What do you have to do to lye test the soap??

G3

[Mama Beek]

most folks with some common sense use something like ph strips. A few times we have made soap and were in a hurry to get it to the people who had asked us to make it for them so we drew straws to see who would do a "zap" test. You hold the end of a bar to the tip of your tongue and if it "zaps" then it's lye heavy and needs to cure longer.... or so we are told.

Little Man muscles right up to it and kind of laughs it off.....XLB gets so nervous about the thought of either tasting soap or getting zapped that it turns into a hilarious production and he never can bring himself to actually touch the soap to his tongue.

[Iddee]

I'll bet XLB hopes he never says a bad word in front of grandma, if he don't like the taste of soap....

We all know what she would do.

[Mama Beek]

hee hee, it would be so funny to see that one!

[Iddee]

Well, I tried the hot process again today. It didn't go through all the stages it is supposed to, but went straight to the last stage. I think it turned out good, but won't know for sure for two or three more days.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Mama Beek]

I hope it turned out. When we do hot process it's hard to see it go through each stage sometimes because it happens so fast. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya.