Hello all!
I have started to become obsessed with soap making. I had wanted to try making soap for several years now but I've always been to scared.
The silly thing about it is I actually work in a laboratory and run chemistry tests - one of the tests even uses sodium hydroxide! Of course I don't have an eyewash, safety shower, fume hood or chemical spill kit at home!
Well I decided I needed to get over it, I have not had a chemical accident at work (unless you count a small ethanol fire...nobody was hurt, no property was destroyed I swear!). I spent a week reading as much as I could about making soap and ordered everything I thought I would need. Than I spent another week reading more while waiting for everything to arrive.
About a week ago the last shipment arrived I made my first batch of soap! It was so much fun! It is my first attempt at what seems to be the holy grail of soaps - a shampoo bar. It was 50% olive oil, 25% coconut oil and 25% castor oil. It is still pretty soft but I cut off a little piece of one of the bars today and tried washing my hands with it. I was worried that it would feel slimy but it actually feels quite nice. It will be awhile before I try it on my hair - probably another few weeks.
Last weekend I made another batch. This time I did 100% olive oil and instead of using water I used frozen coconut milk. This batch looks awesome! I can't wait to use coconut milk again! It looks like it will be a creamy soap. I hope that it turns out well because I am thinking that I will make this to give out at Christmas. I have been reading that 100% olive oil soap should be cured for 6 moths. Do you think that around 4 months of curing I will be able to tell if it is Christmas gift worthy?
Anyway I apologize for all of my ramblings! I am sure I will have questions in the future and I hope nobody will mind when I ask them.
I have started to become obsessed with soap making. I had wanted to try making soap for several years now but I've always been to scared.
The silly thing about it is I actually work in a laboratory and run chemistry tests - one of the tests even uses sodium hydroxide! Of course I don't have an eyewash, safety shower, fume hood or chemical spill kit at home!
Well I decided I needed to get over it, I have not had a chemical accident at work (unless you count a small ethanol fire...nobody was hurt, no property was destroyed I swear!). I spent a week reading as much as I could about making soap and ordered everything I thought I would need. Than I spent another week reading more while waiting for everything to arrive.
About a week ago the last shipment arrived I made my first batch of soap! It was so much fun! It is my first attempt at what seems to be the holy grail of soaps - a shampoo bar. It was 50% olive oil, 25% coconut oil and 25% castor oil. It is still pretty soft but I cut off a little piece of one of the bars today and tried washing my hands with it. I was worried that it would feel slimy but it actually feels quite nice. It will be awhile before I try it on my hair - probably another few weeks.
Last weekend I made another batch. This time I did 100% olive oil and instead of using water I used frozen coconut milk. This batch looks awesome! I can't wait to use coconut milk again! It looks like it will be a creamy soap. I hope that it turns out well because I am thinking that I will make this to give out at Christmas. I have been reading that 100% olive oil soap should be cured for 6 moths. Do you think that around 4 months of curing I will be able to tell if it is Christmas gift worthy?
Anyway I apologize for all of my ramblings! I am sure I will have questions in the future and I hope nobody will mind when I ask them.
