Green Eyed Monster is creeping......

[KSL]

I am getting so jealous of all the posts I see of the wonderful ideas and fantastic soaps that everyone here makes! I bought two books on CP soap and it seems sooooo intimidating.

I though, hey, maybe I'll try and make HP soap first, because a) I"m impatient and b) it *sounds* easier. Just waiting till I can find a good deal on a slow cooker......

I'm itching to try something...... talk me down! talk me down!

What's making me nervous is the whole temperature thing. I'm not scared of lye, i'm not scared of cooking the mixture. I'm so afraid that i"m going to get the temp wrong and kaboom!

 

[reallyrita]

Green eyed Monster is Creeping...

Oh please don't be intimidated! It is not that hard, really. I started with M&P (which I still LOVE to make) and then moved to CP. After soaping for nearly 2 years, I finally make my first HP. The soap came out very oily....I forgot that you don't need as much FO as CP and I dumped in way too much. I can't wait to try it again though....I found it a real challenge compared to regular CP. I guess it is whatever is your own comfort zone. There are a lot of amazing HP soapers on this forum who make lovely lovely soaps. I think CP is easier...but then, that is what I am used to by now. It helps to just forget about temps and just soap room temperature...unless of course, your room temp is really cold. You still have to do all the same things with the lye and then combine with the oils well in the crock pot that you would do with CP. Try both and see what you like. I found a good but small crock pot at Target for about 15 dollars. I only make small batches and this is a good size. It is the red one. Look for one where you can take the actual pot out of the outer liner. Much easier to handle and clean that way. Use LOW the first time until you know how hot it will get. Just go for it....I waited nearly 6 months before I tried...frozen with fear about the lye. Silly me...think of all the soap I could have been churning out during those lost months.

:wink:

 

[KSL]

I need a real life soaping friend so I can watch first.
Maybe i"ll chek out some Youtube vids to see if that makes me LESS nervous! LOL

 

[xraygrl]

I started with CP and then moved on to HP. I love hp. I love that at the end of the cook I can take some of the scrappings from the pot and head for the shower with it!
Honestly I was a bit scared when I made my first soap too. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking. But all went well, I didn't blow anything up and I ended up with some very nice soap. :wink:

Look for used crockpots at yard sales or thrift stores, but like Rita said make sure it is one with a removable crock/liner. Or just use a stainless steel or enamel coated pot and cook your soap in the oven.

It's ok to be a bit scared or nervous, but don't let it stop you! I promise once you do it, you will be wondering why you waited so long. LOL!

nancy

 

[KSL]

There's a neighbourhood yard sale this weekend. If i have time, I'll try and swing by that way... who knows!

Oh, I guess I need stick blender too.
I don't know what interests me more.. trying a new craft or buying a bazillion things for it!

And it all started with a box of crayons years ago.......

 

[LJA]

I need a real life soaping friend so I can watch first.
Maybe i"ll chek out some Youtube vids to see if that makes me LESS nervous! LOL

Do a search on YouTube for "cold process soap making". It helped me a lot to see it done (hello, visual learner). There are lots out there. Don't be afraid - while you have to use common sense and use gloves etc (which I never do because I am a rebel) people can sometimes prepare you into fear. The temps really aren't that complicated. To start out, I'd tell ya (and many will probably disagree with me, but again....rebel.) to keep the temperature of your lye and water around 115 degrees, and your oils around the same. That is to say - let 'em cool down to around those temps before mixing. If they aren't exact, no one dies, I assure you.
If you have questions...everyone here will help you. I vote for jumping right in to cold process. It's 10 kinds of awesome.

 

[KSL]

I think i will do just that this weekend.
I'll see if I can find both and go with whichever one seems the least scary =)

Then I'll make a list of everything I need to buy......
including a thermometer, lye, oil. well. I have some oil.. I'll have to see if I can make something out of what i have.... I have:

Can I make something with what I have?
- soy, shea and mango butters
- avacado, soy, grapeseed oils...I *think* I have sweet almond and I have a grocery store olive oil
- 1 box of shortening....
- I can probably get some fat from bf.... LOL (kidding)

Or do I need to buy some other kind of oil? I see Palm oil alot.....

 

[mamaT]

Looks like you have a good selection of oils and butters to start with, if you have a Walmart close by you might want to pick up some coconut oil, it's in the cooking oil section. Comes is a white tub with a green lid, usually on an upper shelf.
Welcome to the addiction of soapmaking.

 

[Guest]

Hi, the first time is scary , but as LJA said , watch the videos , get your gear and go for it. and then You get totally addicted to making soap , it's the best imho. It's all enjoyable , buying stuff , making the soap, coming up with new ideas etc.

Have fun making your first batch.

Kitn

 

[surf girl]

Hey, sister, don't stress about it.

Everything I learned about making soap, I learned online. Here is a good website, with some video links available:

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldp ... cpsoap.htm

If you're nervous, pick a basic, easy recipe (2-3 oils) with no colorants or scent. Have your instructions in front of you (or your laptop on the countertop). Run your recipe through a lye calculator. Check and double check your weights. You'll be fine! Turn on some tunes or something while you're working, and chill!

Re your oil selection, I would suggest picking up some coconut oil. I made a 100% shortening recipe when I started out, and it is very easy, but it isn't the most fabulous soap. Add 20% coconut, and you're laughing: quite astonishlingly nice (If you do this as your first recipe, I'd recommend no more than a 30% lye solution because it traces pretty quick).

Hey, if lye scares you, let me tell you a story. I made kind of an off-white/yellowish batch, and neglected to clean up a couple of little blobs that landed on the stove top. Mr surf girl started cooking dinner immediately after I was done. Quiche. (Can you see where this is going?) He noticed the cream-coloured blobs on the stove as he was puttering away, and assumed it was some of the egg mixture from the quiche. He scooped some up on his finger and popped it in his mouth. Yup. Fresh, lye-laden soap batter right into his mouth. He didn't die, he didn't need an ambulance. He described it as "burny". (And was not impressed with ME, needless to say.) Be very careful with lye, as per all the well-deserved warnings, but don't panic.

 

[kaseencook]

Everyone makes mistakes soaping, which is really a good thing because then you learn more about how to manipulate and work with your soap - what it's boundaries are, and what to look for.

In all my soaping I have never used a thermometer, it's all visual for me. I know the lye water is ready to go into the oils because they lye solution turns from a cloudy white to clear and I can feel the side of the container and see that it is just warm (which usually only takes a few minutes and some stirring). Same with the oils, If they are just melted and are not hot to touch, but just warm, then there should be no issues. Usually I know when the oils the right temp when it just gets little wavy lines then I turn the stove off.

You can also HP in the oven if you want to save on costs for a crock pot. I like oven HP because you just chuck it in, check it twice, and only have to clean and store a small pot. I generally get the soap to thick trace in a stainless steel pot, preheat the oven to 100C (212F), and put the pot/soap into the oven for 1 hour. I would make sure that the pot is at least twice as tall as the height of the soap just encase you get some expansion, which generally doesn't happen until about 30min into the cook (it generally doesn't do that to me, but it has the potential), this is also a good time to stir. By the end of the hour the soap should be clearish and smooth and ready for moulding. I like to add scent and chunks when it is still hot and fold in really quickly and mould really quickly so it moulds easier and is more fluid. Some like to let it cool first, it is a personal kind of choice.

Anyway! Have a great time, I'm sure it will be a good experience and open the doors to a life time addiction

 

[LJA]

Hey, if lye scares you, let me tell you a story. I made kind of an off-white/yellowish batch, and neglected to clean up a couple of little blobs that landed on the stove top. Mr surf girl started cooking dinner immediately after I was done. Quiche. (Can you see where this is going?) He noticed the cream-coloured blobs on the stove as he was puttering away, and assumed it was some of the egg mixture from the quiche. He scooped some up on his finger and popped it in his mouth. Yup. Fresh, lye-laden soap batter right into his mouth. He didn't die, he didn't need an ambulance. He described it as "burny". (And was not impressed with ME, needless to say.) Be very careful with lye, as per all the well-deserved warnings, but don't panic.

Best. Story. EVER.

 

[Moiby]

Hey, if lye scares you, let me tell you a story. I made kind of an off-white/yellowish batch, and neglected to clean up a couple of little blobs that landed on the stove top. Mr surf girl started cooking dinner immediately after I was done. Quiche. (Can you see where this is going?) He noticed the cream-coloured blobs on the stove as he was puttering away, and assumed it was some of the egg mixture from the quiche. He scooped some up on his finger and popped it in his mouth. Yup. Fresh, lye-laden soap batter right into his mouth. He didn't die, he didn't need an ambulance. He described it as "burny". (And was not impressed with ME, needless to say.) Be very careful with lye, as per all the well-deserved warnings, but don't panic.

LMAO!!!

Mmmmmm ... burny ...!

 

[kaseencook]

Geepers! I once touched the tippyest tip of my toung to fresh soap batter and WOW! I can't imagine what eating it would have been like!!! I hope he didn't loose his taste buds! :shock:

 

[honor435]

i started with hp in the crock, it is so easy throw everything in there, cook add color, fragrance. I was so scare to cp, but its ok now, i have a thermometer and check oils and lye/water they dont have to be exactly the same temp , anywhere between 90-115, i love the way it looks, but hate waiting the cure time, i still do hp also! I bought crock for 8$ at used store, same w stick blender. Good luck to you.

 

[CiCi]

I am getting so jealous of all the posts I see of the wonderful ideas and fantastic soaps that everyone here makes! I bought two books on CP soap and it seems sooooo intimidating.

I though, hey, maybe I'll try and make HP soap first, because a) I"m impatient and b) it *sounds* easier. Just waiting till I can find a good deal on a slow cooker......

I'm itching to try something...... talk me down! talk me down!

What's making me nervous is the whole temperature thing. I'm not scared of lye, i'm not scared of cooking the mixture. I'm so afraid that i"m going to get the temp wrong and kaboom!

You don't have to worry about the temp. I have never once used a thermometer. I soap at cooler temps. I just feel the containers and if they are just a little warm and comfortable to my hands...that is when I soap. I don't think my soaps every have matching temps. I just go by the feel of the containers. I've never had problem.

 

[xyxoxy]

I used to measure temps and would sometimes go back and forth between the stove and an ice water bath until both my lye and my oils were at the exact same temperature before I could mix them and start blending.

Then I read about all of the soapers who just touch the outside of the pot and if it's warm they start mixing.

Then I read about Room Temperature soaping and asked a few questions and now I am loving life with RTCP. I still check my temps occasionally just to see if any ingredients are heating things up too much (like honey) but mostly I just measure, mix, and pour and on to the next batch.

I also use a pre-mixed lye mixture at room temp which saves even more time. I don't think I'll ever go back to "traditional" CP soaping.

 

[Jeremy]

I found working with CP more forgiving than with HP. With HP you have to worry about boilover and drying your mush too much, with CP once you are through with the lye solution it's smooth going. And there is always a surprise at the end because I have yet to have one turn out exactly as I envisioned it...lol

 

[KSL]

haha. that could be good OR bad.
Canadian Tire has a slow cooker on for $19.99 and it has a ceramic inner pot (that comes out) - is that material okay?

Hmmm.... thinking about it... thinking about it....

 

[Guest]

DO IT DO IT DO IT :!: