# recommend a starter kit



## happyshopper (Apr 3, 2015)

Hi all

I have finally decided to take the plunge and make my own soap 

I am looking for suggestions of what to buy to begin with, I don't want to get too much stuff but the postage is expensive so I want to get enough to last for a few different attempts.

I was thinking
lye
pomace oil
coconut oil
castor oil
cocoa butter

Anything I have missed or anything I might not need for a beginner?

Looking forward to reading the forum and joining you all

Thanks


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 3, 2015)

A lot of it you should be able to find locally - it might be a bit more expensive per gram/ounce, but work out better for a small amount to start off with, especially when you take the postage away.

A good starter recipe is 20% coconut, 50% lard/tallow/palm, 30% olive oil.  You could take 5% from the lard or olive and replace it with castor, but I would make it with no castor first of all to really see the difference it makes.


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## regansoap (Apr 3, 2015)

I made one of my first soaps with just lard it worked out ok but a bit crumbly - saved a few bars which are rock solid but lather beautifully then decided to re - batch and discover you can whip it up like frosting.


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## terr (Apr 3, 2015)

*starter kit*

Hi they have one on e bay from oliver brown it has everything you need in it including gloves -Large Soap Making Kit - Hot or Cold process - Next Day Courier Delivery - Kit 1 I b- I bought this one its really good they even provide a couple of recipies


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 3, 2015)

That's not that cheap.  Plus, as they seem to suggest having vinegar on hand for spilt lye (water is much better than vinegar) I worry about the recipes


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## happyshopper (Apr 3, 2015)

thanks

I could buy some stuff locally (oils from the supermarket) but I don't know anywhere in the UK that sells lye so as I have to get that online it will work out cheaper to get the oils online at the same time.

My very first batch I think I am just going to use olive oil and lye (start off easy) but I do want to get some other oils/butters ready for the next time.

Does anyone know if I can buy lye off the shelf in the UK and where? this would make it so much easier to start with.


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## happyshopper (Apr 3, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> A good starter recipe is 20% coconut, 50% lard/tallow/palm, 30% olive oil.



I could all this locally but I don't have a source for the lye  I will take a look on ebay to see if I can buy it on there in small quantities and see what works out cheaper.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Apr 3, 2015)

Hardware stores should be okay - look for 100% sodium hydroxide drain cleaners


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## Susie (Apr 3, 2015)

happyshopper said:


> thanks
> 
> I could buy some stuff locally (oils from the supermarket) but I don't know anywhere in the UK that sells lye so as I have to get that online it will work out cheaper to get the oils online at the same time.
> 
> ...



Pure olive oil soap takes 6-12 MONTHS to cure.  Go with more like what Craig said to be able to use it in a reasonable time frame.


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## kchaystack (Apr 3, 2015)

We have several UK members of the forum. I seem to remember them talking about lye sources in a thread.

Also, all olive oil soap is not what I would suggest to start.  It takes a long time to set up, a long time to cure.  6 months minimum.


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## terr (Apr 3, 2015)

why not start with a lard soap? also i buy my lye on  bay as  not able to find this in any local shops i think its 6.99


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## happyshopper (Apr 3, 2015)

6 months I can't wait that long!

So glad I found this forum for proper advise, that will teach me for watching you tube videos! I saw at least two using just olive oil and lye and they only said to wait the normal 6 weeks grrrr,


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## biarine (Apr 3, 2015)

You can buy coconut oil and castor in your local Asian store and olive oil, sunflower, soy, lard, tallow and rapedseed in most supermarket. I bought my sodium hydroxide in my local hardware store. The only I buy online is my palm oil, essential oil, fragrance oil and other additives. Sometimes I get my lye online too.


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## Sonya-m (Apr 3, 2015)

You can get lye (caustic soda) in b&q at £2.99 for 500g or £4.99 1kg - I think it's cheaper in Wilkos but I didn't rate the Wilkos brand 

Castor oil is harder to find but I get my from an Indian food store. 

I wouldn't use cocoa butter in an early attempt just because it's quite an expensive ingredient if things go wrong. 

Fresh skin UK is a great place for coconut oil - 5kg for £13.99 with free postage (they also have fragrance oils at a reasonable price)

And pomace oil is fine (obviously cheaper than olive oil) but bear in mind it will be faster to trace than olive oil

I can't sing the praises of lard enough and at 39p for 250g you really can't go wrong


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## Saponista (Apr 3, 2015)

I also sing praises for lard, so cheap and makes a beautiful bar of soap.


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## regansoap (Apr 3, 2015)

Hi happy shopper if you live in the UK most hardware stores stock lye even b & q here in Pembrokeshire look in the cleaning products section it's call sodium hydroxide I think check that there is nothing else added to it and you are good to go.


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2015)

Boots also sells lye. Someone else from the UK mentioned they found Palm oil in cash and carry. They have a bookers in my local town, so will check it out. I definetely use freshskin for coconut oil, it's the cheapest I've found too and there are no additional delivery costs.  I totally agree with sonya's, Saponista and Effy's comments on lard. It's really cheap and does make lovely soap.


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## Susie (Apr 3, 2015)

It is also very well behaved when it comes to not tracing fast, and it simply gives the most luscious lather.  Lard is going to be your very good friend unless you have religious issues, or are vegan, vegetarian, etc.


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## happyshopper (Apr 3, 2015)

thank you all you have converted me to lard, I shall certainly be using it for my first try. Of course the price didn't have any influence on my decision at all :think:

The only thing I am unsure about is the smell, for the first few goes I was planning to stay away from fragrance but with lard I might need it (I have read it doesn't smell but psychologically I think I need a fragrance). Can anyone recommend an EO suitable for beginners, any smell apart from lavender.

I have read lots of books on soap making but none of them have mentioned lard  I do want to read Ann Bransons book which I think advocates it. 

Can't wait to go shopping, I will now be sourcing everything locally, then just need to wait for my thermometer to arrive and my young son to go out for the day and I can get started.


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## FlybyStardancer (Apr 3, 2015)

Lemongrass is one of the more common EOs that should also be well-behaved for a beginner. Lavender, while common, isn't the most well-behaved of scents.


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## KristaY (Apr 3, 2015)

Lemongrass or spearmint should work well for you and shouldn't be hard to find, both are very popular. Avoid citrus for now as they can fade if they aren't anchored or 10 fold concentrate.

Good luck on your 1st batch and post photos! We LOVE photos!


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## Susie (Apr 3, 2015)

Lemongrass is my favorite, but you could also mix it with spearmint EO to create a whole new scent.  I happen to like it a lot.


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## snappyllama (Apr 4, 2015)

Don't worry about a piggy smell with lard soap. I've made a few naked batches with up to 60% lard, and they just smell like soap after curing.


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## happyshopper (Apr 10, 2015)

Well I made soap (I hope we will see when I un-mould it!)

My thermometer didn't arrive but I couldn't wait so just guessed the temp of the lye/oils!!! I am hoping this will not cause too much of an issue they were both in stainless steel containers and felt about the same temp when I felt the sides of the containers.

Had a few beginners issues. It surprised me how long the lye took to dissolve I was expecting to stir it a couple of times and that would be it lol, it took alot more mixing until the mix was clear.

The main problem was my mixing of the lye and oils, I melted the oils in a stainless steel saucepan, poured the lye in and mixed with the stick blender, it splashed, loads  I transferred the mix to a bigger saucepan but it still splashed . So I decided to try to mix by hand, after mixing for ages I gave up lol and put it all into my baking mixing bowl. This is cheap plastic so thought to mix in the sink just in case, only to find the stick blender didn't reach the sink grrrr. It turned out ok in the end I think by this time the mix was cool enough not to cause any issues with the plastic, only I now have to purchase a new mixing bowl for my baking and buy a suitable container to mix soap in that will be tall enough so it doesn't splash (any suggestions?)

After all that transferring of the soap I was not left with very much lol I am very grateful to those who suggested lard as it means my early attempts are not wasting much money.


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## Dorymae (Apr 10, 2015)

FlybyStardancer said:


> Lemongrass is one of the more common EOs that should also be well-behaved for a beginner. Lavender, while common, isn't the most well-behaved of scents.



I second lemongrass, nice fresh fragrance, not expensive as far as EOs go, and very well behaved.


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## marilynmac (Apr 10, 2015)

The stick blender must be completely vertical, or it will make a mess.  Lower it into the batter, lean it way over to release the bubble of air under the dome, and bring it back up to vertical.  It should touch the bottom.  Hold tight and turn it on.   You will see that it is blending, maybe a little whirpool; but it should not be splashing at all.   Keep it vertical at all times, and turn it off before you take it out.


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## happyshopper (Apr 10, 2015)

marilynmac said:


> The stick blender must be completely vertical, or it will make a mess.  Lower it into the batter, lean it way over to release the bubble of air under the dome, and bring it back up to vertical.  It should touch the bottom.  Hold tight and turn it on.   You will see that it is blending, maybe a little whirpool; but it should not be splashing at all.   Keep it vertical at all times, and turn it off before you take it out.



I think the issue was I only made a small batch (500g/1lb) and my saucepans were too wide meaning the blending head was not completely submerged into the oils hence the splattering. I need to source something that is tall and narrow, I have seen lots of blogs using jugs but these are glass which I understand is not recommended. 

When I blend soup and have more liquid to work with, that never spats and reacts like you are describing.


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## shunt2011 (Apr 10, 2015)

Try a plastic pitcher.  Just make sure it PP 5.   I get mine at Walmart and they work well for smaller batches.


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## Susie (Apr 10, 2015)

What Shunt2011 said.  Also, tilt that stick blender until the air comes out.  If you don't have enough soap batter to stop the splatter, you can tilt the bowl and stick blend in the deep part.


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## happyshopper (Apr 10, 2015)

Most of the plastic jugs/bowls sold here are polypropylene no 2, but I will look next time I am at the shops, might get a few funny looks inspecting the bottoms to see what material it is made of lol.

The other thing I thought of is a stainless steel stock pot which will have tall sides, I think I will have better luck finding one of those.


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## Susie (Apr 10, 2015)

Actually, I went to the restaurant supply store and got a couple of stainless steel "bain marie" that are used in salad bars or steamer tables.  They are tall and narrow, and work wonderfully for 2-3 lb batches.  I have a 64 oz and a 32 oz.  The big one was $11, and I forget what the 32 oz cost, but it was less.  Considering that they should last my lifetime(and then some), I think it was a valid investment.

They also have REALLY big silicone spatulas that I am trying to find a valid reason to get a couple of.


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## happyshopper (Apr 11, 2015)

My first soap 

there should be more but like I said I lost alot transferring the mix between containers. I cut one up as I wanted to see how it cut. I scented it with some old vanilla FO I remembered I had left from my candle making days.

I made another batch today scented with lemongrass which is in the mould, this time I added the castor oil as suggested so I can compare the difference between the two.

The last bit of today's batch I stirred in some of my sons aqueous cream for his eczema I am not expecting anything to come of this (just a mess) but you have to try these things :eh:


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## Dorymae (Apr 11, 2015)

Congratulations!!  It's a great feeling to make your own soap! Now the long wait for the cure to be complete. Take down some notes on your recipe while they are fresh in your mind. You are on your way!


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## Susie (Apr 11, 2015)

If it is either of the aqueous creams I am thinking about, the first ingredient is either petrolatum or mineral oil.  Neither of those will work well in soap.  

However, you may find that your son soon does not require any of those.  No promises, mind you, but using my home made soap "cured" my eczema.  It is not that my soap is special, it just does not have all the syndets and such that were actually causing the eczema.  Please do keep us posted?


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## happyshopper (Apr 11, 2015)

Susie said:


> If it is either of the aqueous creams I am thinking about, the first ingredient is either petrolatum or mineral oil.  Neither of those will work well in soap.
> 
> However, you may find that your son soon does not require any of those.  No promises, mind you, but using my home made soap "cured" my eczema.  It is not that my soap is special, it just does not have all the syndets and such that were actually causing the eczema.  Please do keep us posted?



First ingredient is water, then Petrolatum  never mind I wasn't hoping for much. Will still be interesting to see how it turns out.

yes homemade soap is better for eczema, my son doesn't use any soap at the moment so hoping he will be able to try some of mine. This week I will be making carrot oil (with soybean oil as the base) to use in a soap for him.


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## powderpink (Apr 11, 2015)

happyshopper said:


> Most of the plastic jugs/bowls sold here are polypropylene no 2, but I will look next time I am at the shops, might get a few funny looks inspecting the bottoms to see what material it is made of lol.
> 
> The other thing I thought of is a stainless steel stock pot which will have tall sides, I think I will have better luck finding one of those.



If you live near an IKEA, they have stainless steel measuring cups of 1l. I find them perfect for the small 500g batches I mix


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## biarine (Apr 12, 2015)

Susie said:


> If it is either of the aqueous creams I am thinking about, the first ingredient is either petrolatum or mineral oil.  Neither of those will work well in soap.
> 
> However, you may find that your son soon does not require any of those.  No promises, mind you, but using my home made soap "cured" my eczema.  It is not that my soap is special, it just does not have all the syndets and such that were actually causing the eczema.  Please do keep us posted?




If you have eczema maybe you can use comfrey and chamomile infused oil sometimes it helps.


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