Finally did it

[wolfsnaps]

I made soap today. It was really easy. Of course, I didn't do anything fancy for my first time. I think I watched enough Youtube videos that I felt like I had done it already. LOL.

My mom requested that I not color or scent the soap (BO~RING) but I had her smell my fragrance oils anyways and she loved them. LOL. I bought a floral mix kit and she settled on violet. I only had 1 ounce bottles so I just dumped the one bottle in but it was a 2 pound batch so it might not be very smelly.


Ok, I have never been so excited about soap before. I CAN NOT wait to cut it tomorrow. LOL. I might even make another batch with some color this time (I just have the cheap liquid colorant from Michaels).

I will try and post some pictures of my boring uncolored soap.

Also, a question. What is a good basic oil to use? Palm? I went with lard this time but what does everyone use the most of as their main oil? I have a feeling I might become addicted and I am window shopping (online) for future soap making purchases (molds, scents, colors, and oils)


What is your favorite luxury oil? Anyone use hemp oil?


Ugh....is it tomorrow yet? LOL

 

[pattime]

Congratulations! Feels good doesn't it?

I've made one batch myself, and yes, I did use some hemp oil. Makes a really silky, moisturizing bar, but don't use too much because it makes for a soft bar as well. I didn't know it when I purchased it but it also has to be refrigerated, and even then has a limited shelf life

 

[AnnaMarie]

Soap making is addicting My favorite basics are coconut, palm, and olive. These are good core oils that you can add specialty oils to such as almond (which makes the lather so silky). Lard seems to be pretty popular around here. I've only used it once for laundry soap, but I got some more to make another batch. Have great fun making soap and experimenting!
Cheers!
Anna Marie

 

[wolfsnaps]

Oh that is good to know! Thanks!

 

[ilovesoap2]

Congrats!
Still working up the courage to do my first batch.
Every day I come up with another excuse

 

[wolfsnaps]

Ilocesoap2 JUST DO IT! Its really quite simple once you know the steps.

And then you will become addicted like the rest of us LOL. I am SERIOUSLY considering making more tomorrow.


Practice makes ...a lot of soap! HAHAHAHAHA

 

[rsupisces]

Can't wait to see pictures

 

[Lbrown123]

Congrats! I spend most of my me time in my soap room lately! It is soo addicting! Can't wait to see the pics!

 

[roseb]

Congrats! I just used hemp oil for the first time and the soap is curing, so I can't give much info. However, I did read that because of the short shelf life it could be put in the freezer and will last for 6 months. My main oils are olive, sweet almond, coconut, sunflower (high Oleic), sustainable grown palm, with cocoa butter and shea throw in every now and then. I have started to use lard more and I love the feel of those bars. Keep it simple at first and just practice on your recipe. KISS! Waiting for those pictures.

 

[lenarenee]

Congrats!
Still working up the courage to do my first batch.
Every day I come up with another excuse

I had that problem at first; after buying all the stuff, it was going to end up being another project unfinished.

What helped me was to lay out the stuff in an organized fashion (trust me, no one associates me with "organized"). But I pretended to make soap, but things where they belonged according to when they needed to be used. Some how, that helped me work up the courage. Guess the lye had me more intimidate than I realized.

 

[seven]

my main oils: palm, coconut.
those 2 are a must, with the addition of either olive, canola, or rbo, or a mix of those 3.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I love shea butter and sweet almond oil. And also rice bran oil, it adds something special to my bars.

 

[umeali]

congrats we all wish you a perfect soap,today I made my next (second soap )too.I am excited to see yours and want to share mine with all here.i want to ask about oils as olive oil is very costly in my country ,mustard oil is cheaper ,can we use it ?

 

[not_ally]

Umeali, I did some googling and there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that you need to be careful, it could be irritating to the skin, check on that, although it is "used for hair/beauty products in Europe" as per the Amazon link (not sure what that means exactly The good news is that it has a fairly long shelf life, a year, so it is unlikely to DOS. Here are the couple of links that pointed to that:

http://www.soapdisharchives.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php?t30974.html

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DUNDEWA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[TeresaT]

it is "used for hair/beauty products in Europe" as per the Amazon link (not sure what that means exactly

NA, I think it means that Europeans are smarter than Americans. It's probably not used here because someone developed a rash and sued the manufacturer who then took it off the market because we cannot be trusted to read the directions.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

I usually use olive, coconut, palm and castor to start out with a recipe, then add some oils and butters with a little something "extra" (sweet almond, rice bran, or sunflower are my favorites). Some people have suspected that sunflower oil can contribute to DOS, but I haven't had any problems at 5-10% usual usage. I've only used hemp oil in lotion bars, and it was lovely. I can't wait to see pics of how your soap turned out!

 

[dibbles]

I will try and post some pictures of my boring uncolored soap.

Wolfsnaps, uncolored soap is NOT boring!! Colors are fun to do, but there is something so unpretentious yet elegant about a creamy, white or ivory soap. At least I think so.

For basic oils, I think coconut, palm or lard, and olive are a pretty standard place to start. The additional oils I like are avocado, sweet almond, rice bran and shea butter. I have some mango butter to try. I have used and love hemp oil soaps, but with the shorter shelf life I haven't bought any...yet.

Congratulations on your first batch. Fun, isn't it?