# Noobie soap making equipment



## rogue909 (Aug 27, 2014)

I want to first point out that I was totally shocked to find an active community for soap making. Blew my mind.

Next for my question - lol.

Long version - 
My girlfriend enjoys natural soaps from lush & etsy, etc. Unfortunately they are a tad expensive to be constantly using so we end up buying generic soaps from the store. She just started working at a tea store and they throw out all of their loose leaf tea, she mentioned that it would be fun to make soap out of the teas (boiling them down to "essences" of tea and going from there.) We have an anniversary coming up and this seems like a fun gift to me. So my question is, what should I purchase to assist her in making some basic soaps? Simpler is better since she would be starting fresh, i've read a bit about buying glycerin soap from craft stores? Molds? Are there any brick stores I should visit to try things out?

TLDR version -
Girlfriend wants to make soap. What & where do I need to buy stuff?

Any pointers for reading or otherwise would also be greatly appreciated - will end up pointing her to this forum for more information for sure. Keep an eye out for a newbie sometime next week....


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## DiddlyO (Aug 27, 2014)

You don't need much to start, just some sodium hydroxide and oil. If you have a favourite handmade soap you can look at the ingredients and play with a lye calculator to see of you can replicate. Anything can be a mold.


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## Susie (Aug 27, 2014)

I would run by the local thrift stores(Goodwill and/or Salvation Army stores) to look for immersion(stick) blenders and crockpots.  Pick up at least one of each.  I find them for $2-$3 each.  Set those aside for strictly soapmaking.  While you are there, run your eye over the bottom of the pots, and pick up any cheap stainless steel.  Bring a small magnet to test any that you don't know what it is made of.  You want to pick one up for cheap if you happen to find one.  Ditto for stainless steel big stirring spoons.  ONLY stainless.  NO aluminum.

After that, you are going to need a GOOD digital scale.  One that measures at least grams and 0.1 oz.  This is not optional.  Use the money you saved on the crockpot, stick blender, and/or pot for it.

Then you are going to want to hit the dollar stores.  Yep, the dollar stores.  My favorite is Dollar Tree.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYhH20vWxvc[/ame]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWnqXTqZTvU[/ame]


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## Relle (Aug 27, 2014)

Read the Shopping Recs thread here on the forum for supplies.
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30


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## LunaSkye (Aug 27, 2014)

If you have a discount store wherever you are, by some large measuring cups with the spout as they are good for mixing the lye into liquids (never the liquids into the lye btw). Molds are also necessary to hold the soap. You can either make one, reuse a container (I reuse old tea tins), or buy one (wholesalesuppliesplus.com has crafter's choice molds & they are good).

It is also recommended that you have a stickblender (a plastic or stainless steel spoon &/or wisk should be used to mix the lye) and something heat-resistant to melt the oils. Some people use plastic bowls & pop the oils into the microwave. Some people use a double boiler (or 2 pots, even a stainless steel bowl on a pot is doable) to melt the oils. I personally like to use a crockpot as it is good for CP, HP, and rebatching (it also does not over heat the oils).

Lastly, a scale is a must. Almost everything has to be weighed when making soap, otherwise you run the risk of having something disastrous (lye-heavy soap is not a good soap). A thermometer is also suggested, though not really needed unless you are dealing with heat-sensitive ingredients.

I may have missed a few things, but there are quite a few books out there that can help you out as well. Gregory Lee White has a book that helped me out with CP. You can also score some free books from amazon every once in a while.


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## Susie (Aug 27, 2014)

I would be remiss if I did not give you a few basic "rules" right about now:

1.  Always, always, always run every recipe through a lye calculator for yourself.  Regardless of source.  Typos happen, and when it is your skin at risk, you need to be SURE it is safe.  Go start running some of the recipes mentioned in these forums through for practice.  Many of us prefer Soapcalc. net.  It shows the qualities of hardness, conditioning, etc.  But, find one you like and stick with it.

2.  Never throw any batch of soap away unless you ask in the forums first.  Most can be saved.

3.  Print out your recipes and be scrupulous about writing down every last detail of what you added, how long it took to trace, how long it took to unmold, how it felt after cure at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, etc.  This will help you immeasurably in the future.  Be sure to write the date the batch was made.


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## lionprincess00 (Aug 27, 2014)

http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAADF6209996265D2
Her blog 
Www.soapqueen.com
And one of her latest simple beginner cp soap entries
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-b...s-soap/cold-process-beginners-kit/#more-40172

I suggest research. You must learn the ins and outs of cold process (cp) soap before you jump full in.

you mentioned making glycerin soaps, so I'll tell you a little bit about melt and pour soap (mp). you purchase a glycerin block of soap,a colorant, and a fragrance. You melt the premade glycerin soap block, add the extras, mix, and pour into a soap mold. A great beginner project, and it's what peaked my intereat into soaping. Anne Marie runs the soap queen blog and the YouTube channel I linked, and she has www.brambleberry.com which sells supplies. I use her and www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com. 

On soapqueen.com, look on the left sidebar. Theres beginner, intermediate, and difficult. Theres also melt pour, cold process, and other sections...each with tutorials. Soaping 101 shown above is great too. Good luck with it!


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## katsntx (Aug 27, 2014)

and be forewarned...  soaping can get addictive!  If saving money is your main objective, it might be wise to keep buying already made soap.  )  Pretty soon you might have a whole house full of micas, molds, oils, frangrances, etc.  (happens to the best of us)


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Aug 28, 2014)

Here is an article that I wrote on it- not exhaustive, of course, but you can make soap with the items listed.  The comments are also worth a read for some more input.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/basicequipment.html


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## reinbeau (Aug 28, 2014)

Here is  the link to my new soaper blog post, hopefully there's something in there that can help her get started!


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## Seawolfe (Aug 28, 2014)

reinbeau - your link has an extra bit in it - this link works

If you are making soap from scratch, youll be surprised at the number of things that do not survive the saponification process, lovely scented things like teas and most herbs loose their scent, colors may misbehave (like beet powder turns brown, but carrot juice works). If you still want to make soap from scratch, you find out what works. If you really really want the teas or herbs to remain, then using MP (Melt & Pour) or re-batching may be a better answer.


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## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

If you have a Bargain Hunt, I regularly see good quality digital scales there for cheap. I got one for $10.

There is a huge difference between making soap from scratch - meaning your mix the oil, lye and water - and using melt and pour soap blocks (MP). I make my soap from scratch - also referred to CP (cold process) or (HP) hot process. You can add tea to that. I'm not sure if the tea your GF has is still dry? I think you can add the dry tea leaves to MP, but I'm not sure if you can add actually to MP.

First, you need to decide if you want to make CP (or HP), or MP. Then get more specific advice from there.


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## rogue909 (Aug 28, 2014)

So after much reading my current train of thought is to purchase the basics for a CP & HP. 
I was thinking that HP may be better for the tea, i know the leaves can handle the temperature (175 is hot for hot process and that is the coldest temperature for most teas to actually be brewed in.) Furthermore, I was hoping to boil tea leaves down to an oil to help with extra flavoring.

What is re-batching? From the name it sounds like making a batch of soap (most likely just plain jane no smell) then melting down and adding scents afterwards. This may be another ideal way to do the tea... especially since I could make a large batch of soap (2~lbs) and separate it into several different individual tea smells (IE a chai bar, youthberry bar, earl grey bar, etc.)

Im thinking for a beginning shopping list....
Cheap pot & spoon (Stainless) (Thrift, I like that idea!)
Crockpot (again, diggin the thrift idea)
We have a ton of left over containers from takeout items that are plastic
Catrol Oil (Grocery Store)
Olive Oil (Grocery Store)
Palm Oil (Grocery Store)
Lard (Grocery Store)
Coconut Oil (Grocery Store)
Lye (The best place I found to get this was lowes, they sell a drain cleaner that is 100% lye, but it would be more ideal if someone knew of a better place... a bottle of drain cleaner doesn't look appetizing for a present)
Stick blender (Thrift store hopefully, otherwise Grocery Store)
Gloves (Have some)
Shop Apron (She has several "cute" aprons for baking,they are good at keeping flour off! but I've seen what lye does to my hands... i dont see those aprons as a good idea)
Few basic measuring cups (dollar store)
Mortar & Pestle (to pound the tea leaves into flavor.)

What should I use as molds? I was thinking of making some basic ones out of wood? (I'm decent with a saw & I have access to my dads shop) Or maybe a pvc tube?


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## rogue909 (Aug 28, 2014)

&&&&&&&& another question.

What is the difference between shampoo soap & conditioner soap & hand soap & bath soap...
Are they all made & applied the same? Just with different ingredients?

It may sound kinda newbie question - I've used bar soap in my hair to work in a pinch (especially camping trips!) But other then that all my hair shampoo & conditioners have been liquid. Again, those were all store generics. So I'm just not sure how you would use or make a different soap for hair or is there a difference?


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## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

*Furthermore, I was hoping to boil tea leaves down to an oil to help with extra flavoring.*

You can try this if you'd like, but you simply aren't going to be able to get something strong enough to actually get a fragrance out of it. The essential oils and fragrance oils used to make soap are very very potent - they have to be to survive the process.

*Rebatching* is melting down soap. Some people like to make large batches of unscented, uncolored soap and shred it, then melt it in small batches and color and fragrance it. I personally think this is a bit PITA. Plus homemade soap does not always melt smoothly and reliably. If a batch goes wrong, some people shred it and melt it down to save it. For example, if you forget to add an oil and your soap is lye-heavy, you can rebatch it and add the forgotten oil and save it. If you rebatch, you can't add large amounts of water (or tea) to your rebatch. If you add too much water, the soap won't solidify. It will be soap, but it will be goopy, mushy soap. You can add dried tea leaves to your rebatch, though. IMO, rebatching is difficult and unreliable, and I'm prefer the texture of un-rebatched soap. for me, it's worth it to make multiple small batches vs 1 big batch.

Lye -I use the drain-cleaner lye from my hardware store. As long as it is 100% lye,  you are fine.

Pot and spoon - they are stainless steel, so I use the same stainless steel pots and spoons for soaping as I do for cooking. 

Measuring cups and spoons - get glass or stainless steel. Some fragrance oils will melt plastic.

Silicone spatulas - these are invaluable. My Dollar tree carries plastic spatulas, which some FOs will melt. I get silicone ones at Home Goods or Big lots. These will hold the fragrance, so don't use them for food once you've used them for soap.

Get some safety goggles (cheapo plastic ones are fine). And dishwashing gloves.

Molds - the best cheapo mold is a plastic downspout. You can get them at Home Depot or Lowe's. NOT ALUMINUM. Grease it with mineral oil and tape a sandwich bag over the end. Other options are silcone food molds - you can get these at Home Goods, or at a hobby store in the baking section. Another good option is a cardboard juice or milk carton.


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## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

rogue909 said:


> &&&&&&&& another question.
> 
> What is the difference between shampoo soap & conditioner soap & hand soap & bath soap...
> Are they all made & applied the same? Just with different ingredients?
> ...


 
Some people do use their bar soap on their hair and love it. Some folks also make a special shampoo bar. It depends on the person and their hair. My hair is just too think and I need something liquid I can work in.

By conditioner soap, do you mean bottled hair conditioner?

Hand soap and body soap are the same thing. The only time there would be a difference for me is if I made a harsh, very cleansing soap to used on very dirty or very greasy hands.


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## Susie (Aug 28, 2014)

"We have a ton of left over containers from takeout items that are plastic"

Be sure that any plastic containers you are planning to use as a mold for CP, HP, or for mixing lye with water have either a 1 or a 5 in the little triangle.  Do NOT use ones with 2 or 3...don't ask me how I know.

You need to realize that the likelihood of scent or beneficial properties of tea are probably not going to survive saponification.  It would be good "label appeal", but that would be it.

You also need to go watch LOTS of soap making videos on YouTube.  Just be careful of any that tell you that you don't have to cure HP soap.  You really do have to cure it the same length of time as CP.

Also, I use the Roebic lye from Lowe's when I run out of the lye from Essential Depot.  Works perfectly fine.


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## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

When cleaning up, wipe down your soapy utensils, pots, etc thoughly with paper towels. Let you soap items sit over night, then wash them in hot water the next day. By that point, the oils and lye will have combined more and will be easier to wash off, b/c it will be more like soap and less like oily goop.

If you have a septic tank, avoid running large amounts of raw soap down the drain.

Don't wash your soapy items in the dish washer. They will leave a weird film on your other dishes. Also, if there is a lot of soap batter on the utensils, you may end up with foam coming out of your dishwasher. (Ask me how I know, lol.)


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## rogue909 (Aug 28, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> Some people do use their bar soap on their hair and love it. Some folks also make a special shampoo bar. It depends on the person and their hair. My hair is just too think and I need something liquid I can work in.
> 
> By conditioner soap, do you mean bottled hair conditioner?
> 
> Hand soap and body soap are the same thing. The only time there would be a difference for me is if I made a harsh, very cleansing soap to used on very dirty or very greasy hands.



Is there a benefit to using a different soap for shampooing hair than bar soap? I figured there was... or is there a different recipe for hair shampoo than regular soap.

& yes, by conditioner soap I mean hair conditioner. I'm under the impression that conditioner is just special soap to make hair softer while shampoo is soap for cleaning hair.

Pardon my lack of finesse when it comes to soaps. I'm more adapt to power tools than soaps. 
Anyone have any questions with regards to painting? Plumbing? Electrical?...

Side note... I painted some doors with oil based paint in a sprayer this past weekend. To clean up the sprayer I used gasoline. To clean up the paint in my hair I used Pantene.... you'd be surprised how well Pantene shampoo can clean up paint. I've been told its because there is silicone in Pantene? It is concerning that Pantene (that I put in my hair) cleans as well as gasoline. Lol


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## Susie (Aug 28, 2014)

rogue909 said:


> Is there a benefit to using a different soap for shampooing hair than bar soap? I figured there was... or is there a different recipe for hair shampoo than regular soap.
> 
> & yes, by conditioner soap I mean hair conditioner. I'm under the impression that conditioner is just special soap to make hair softer while shampoo is soap for cleaning hair.
> 
> ...



1.  Yes, there is a huge benefit for me to use a special shampoo bar.  I have long, naturally curly, dry hair, and regular soap makes it crunchy and frizzy.  So my shampoo bar is high conditioning(not conditioner), and low cleansing.  Cleansing does not indicate how clean something will be, but how much oil it will loosen.

2.  Conditioner bars are not really soap. More like solid lotion that rinses easily and completely.

I am not sure if you have gotten this far in your research yet, but there is quite an adjustment period when switching to hand made shampoo bars/liquid.  It is called FHS-funky hair syndrome.  It is going to hit you hard if you are using Pantene.

But, I would suggest strongly that you work on skin soap first, as you need to be really comfortable with a good lye calculator before trying to formulate a shampoo bar.


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## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

Making conditioner is very similar to making lotion. Conditioner is not soap - it is not saponified.


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