COMPLETE Newbie to Soap Making

[MrsMVP]

Hey there everyone.

I'm so new to soap making, that I haven't even made a batch yet. I need to get a few extra supplies. One, I know I can get, that's the kitchen scale. I have the sodium hydroxide for the bar soap, but my real interest is making liquid soap. I cannot find any potassium hydroxide anywhere in my province, and when I look online, the shops always want double, sometimes quadruple for shipping that the item itself costs. I'm very disheartened.

I have read that to grate hard soap to make it liquid ruins the saponification, and gives you a gooey mess anyway.

You might be thinking: Just buy Dr. Bronner's or some other liquid castille soap. I've thought that too. That's almost as tough as finding the caustic potash. I found one store in Newfoundland - where I live, that carries it, but it is 4 hours away. It only had one size, and that's 8oz. It was $12CAD for that. I also don't get the joy of making it myself.

Are there alternatives to use in liquid soap making, other than grating bar soap, and other than potassium hydroxide? Does grating bar soap and mixing with water ruin it's "soap" qualities?

 

[Obsidian]

Hello and welcome to the forum, Yes, grating bar soap and adding to to water just leaves you with a thick, snotty mess. Your only option to make proper liquid soap is to find potassium hydroxide. Most places don't sell it local so it has to be bought online, a lot of soaping supplies have to be bought online.

Dr. Bronners is actually a harsh soap, spend the extra money and order the potash. That why you can make a soap that is suitable to your skin type.

 

[BWsoaps]

Whoa..!!! Hang on one minute, don't you have to be a member of this forum for 3 months and have a minimum of 50 comments before you post?

You can't be that new?

 

[galaxyMLP]

Whoa..!!! Hang on one minute, don't you have to be a member of this forum for 3 months and have a minimum of 50 comments before you post?

You can't be that new?

Nope! Youre probably thinking of posts in the business forum. You can post/start threads all you like in most of the other sub forums like the CP forum, Introduction forum, or in this case, the beginners soap making forum!

BW, I take it we will be seeing a new thread from you soon??

Oh, and welcome MrsMVP! You will like it here! Ditto on what Obsidian said!!

 

[CTAnton]

not that i can offer any help but it's nice to hear from a Newfoundlander....I'm only half Newf(the better half!) but there's thousands of relatives of mine up your way...think Gander(where my parents met), Horwood, Musgrave Harbor, Carmenville,thats the baymen side...then there's St Johns of course....what a neat place...where else to you have towns named Heart's Desire, Heart's Content and Heart's Desire??
welcome aboard!

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome MrsMVP! :wave:

I agree with Obsidian- if you want to make good liquid soap, you'll need to get some KOH. There's just no way around it. It's not something that's normally sold in stores, so it will have to be ordered online.

Whoa..!!! Hang on one minute, don't you have to be a member of this forum for 3 months and have a minimum of 50 comments before you post?

You can't be that new?

Ditto what Galaxy said- nope! The only parts of the forum having those restrictions are in the Business section and parts of the Classifieds section, and there are very good reasons for that. There are no required minimums to post anywhere else.


IrishLass

 

[MrsMVP]

Thank you everyone for your kind replies. I'm kind of happy to see that I'm not the only one that has to order supplies online. lol. Sometimes I feel pouty that I have to do that, but if others have to as well, it's not so bad. I actually stumbled, and I do mean stumbled across a seller from Quebec that sells 1kg of caustic potash, for what I feel was a decent price, when compared to online stores, and their shipping prices etc. I'm really excited.

I had no idea that Dr. Bronner's was harsh. I will stick to using it on the floors or for cleaning purposes, rather than body washing, etc.

Now, I just need to find me a good scale. The one I got at Wal-Mart only goes to one decimal point, which isn't going to be a great help with some of the recipes that I've found. :S

To the other Newfoundlander: Yay for another Newfoundlander even if you're only half Newfoundlander! There are so many awesome names in this province, some of which you may have heard of. Always great to connect with someone else who has Newfoundland roots!

 

[Susie]

After you start making liquid soap, you won't want to use Dr. B's for anything. You can make your own for each of those purposes. I live in the US, and I have to order KOH also, so don't feel bad.

Oh, and welcome!

 

[not_ally]

Agreed on Dr. Bronner's, it is v. stripping/drying. You are going to like your own *so* much better.

You are in good company w/r/t to ordering things on line, I get almost everything there. Although that multiple on the shipping cost is painful. I know this is kind of painfully obvious and you've thought of it, but is there anything else you could order/could you wait until your list adds up so that shipping is a little less painful?

I keep things in my wish list (they vanish out of the cart after a while at most places) at most of the places I use a lot so I don't have to order just one thing, I cannot bring myself to do it.

 

[BWsoaps]

Hey Galaxy that's brilliant news!

Yeah I'm going to start posting right away

 

[MrsMVP]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the replies! I was wondering something, why is Dr. Bronner's harsh? I don't understand, since it's supposed to be all natural? What will make my soap better, other than me having made it myself? Do they use too much lye? Or is it something else? I don't want to make the same mistakes lol

 

[Obsidian]

Different oils produce different kinds of soap. Coconut oil is what makes a very cleansing soap with large bubbles, use too much in a recipe and you risk a soap that washes off too much of your natural oil. This is the problem with Dr. B's, too much coconut oil in their formula.

Creating a perfect formula for your skin is often a lot of trial and error. I have troubles with liquid soap myself, its either too cleansing or not cleansing enough. I like my bar soap so much more.

 

[FGOriold]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the replies! I was wondering something, why is Dr. Bronner's harsh? I don't understand, since it's supposed to be all natural? What will make my soap better, other than me having made it myself? Do they use too much lye? Or is it something else? I don't want to make the same mistakes lol

First of all, "All Natural" means nothing - it is just a marketing term. Second, why do people assume that natural (per their own definition) means gentle, better. Poison Ivy is natural, cyanide is natural, etc.

Also, Dr. Bonner's soaps are very concentrated and the more concentrated a soap is the harsher it is. Try diluting it further if you want it to be less harsh.

 

[Dahila]

Welcome to Forum. Good place to order supplies is NDA in Toronto and Saffire blue in tillsonburg or Voyager in Vancouver and a few others. Shipping and handling form Voyager is around 15 dollars . The best prices are in Saffire blue, however good quality staff is In Candora in London. On. We had a thread about it.
I will link you to swiftmonkey on the right bottom side is the list of Canadian suppliers. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/search?q=canadian+suppliers

 

[Relle]

The OP won't see this, as they have left the forum.

 

[gigisiguenza]

Jumping jiminy wth is with people leaving the forum after asking a question? Did someone forget to wear deodorant? Did the dog leave a gift under the chair? Do one of use have spinach in our teeth?

I'm getting to not wanna say hi to fellow newbies cuz they drop like flies faster than I can catch up n say hiya LOL

 

[Jstar]

Gigi, this is the one who called everyone..well 99% of us... a******'s

 

[dixiedragon]

Try googling chemical supply companies in your city. That's how I get my lye - of course, I had to buy 200 lbs of it! But it was about .50 a pound.

Also, maybe you can find a soaper in your area who will split an order with you? You may find that ordering 10 or 20 lbs is not much more shipping than 5 lbs.

Part of the issue is that lye is dangerous so you are paying for the extra effort and cost of insuring it, etc.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Try googling chemical supply companies in your city. That's how I get my lye - of course, I had to buy 200 lbs of it! But it was about .50 a pound.

Also, maybe you can find a soaper in your area who will split an order with you? You may find that ordering 10 or 20 lbs is not much more shipping than 5 lbs.

Part of the issue is that lye is dangerous so you are paying for the extra effort and cost of insuring it, etc.

Again, to point out that the op has actually left the forum..........

 

[gigisiguenza]

Gigi, this is the one who called everyone..well 99% of us... a******'s

Jstar well how nice of her.... hope the knob didn't hit her in the rear on the way out lol