Help

[Alice]

Hi guys, does anyone know where in JHB North I can fo to see how home made soap is made please?

 

[amd]

Sorry, I can't help you with a "live in person" but have you tried YouTube? There are a lot of soap videos that show the complete process. Otherwise I would Google something like "JHB North soapmakers" and see if there's a local soapmaker willing to teach you.

 

[jcandleattic]

Hi guys, does anyone know where in JHB North I can fo to see how home made soap is made please?

You can look into local colleges, etc, however, I agree with amd, try looking up YouTube videos, als look for SoapQueen from Brambleberry. She goes a little further into detail than some soapers do.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hi Alicia and WELCOME! When you have a moment, please go to the Introduction Forum and introduce yourself. Include your level of experience, what drew you to learning to make homemade soap, and any other tidbits of information you'd care to share. The more we know about you, the more we will be able to help and support you on your soap making journey.

To answer your question, go to the Beginners Soap Making Forum, then "Learning to Soap Online" where you'll find links to some excellent sources to help you understand the various methods used to make soap and tried & true recipes to follow to get you started on the right foot.

HAPPY SOAPING!

 

[earlene]

Personally I have no knowledge of your area, as I have never been there, nor have friends there, but I love a good Google search.

If you are in Johannesburg, North South Africa as I assume (but of course I could be wrong), here are a couple of search results that might get you started.

http://www.soapbarn.co.za/contact.htm - click on the map to see if that is close enough for you to go talk to them; they might recommend someone who can help you live and in person

http://www.aurorasoaps.co.za/contact - click on map to see if this one is close enough for you to go talk to them and ask for a recommendation

https://www.willowsoaps.co.za/contact.htm - click on map (etc. same as above)

https://naturalnerd.co.za/soap-bar/ - next soapmaking workshop in JHB is Sept/Oct 2018 - perhaps you can call and ask about this workshop and see if it's affordable (if not, keep looking)

By doing your own search you are more likely to pull up results more pertinent because you live locally. At least I find that to be the case if I search for things near me. But hopefully if I understood where you are, these links might find you someone to contact or at least give you a lead.

I agree with the above posters who recommend watching soapmaking videos. Some are good, some not so much, but Soaping 101 and Soap Queen are both pretty good. The only problem I have with Soap Queen is her use of glass to mix lye soap. Lye etches glass and will over time at the most inopportune moment cause the glass to shatter. So I don't recommend mixing soap made with Lye (caustic) in glass.

Here are links to the YouTube Channels for

Soaping 101 (Cindy): https://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101

And Soap Queen TV by BrambleBerry (Anne-Marie): https://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv

Edit: Strike-Out North because South was the correct word. Not sure why my mind went to North when all my search results show South Africa on the maps. Must have been confused by the word North in the OP. In any case, I hope these links help you find what you are looking for. If not, keep looking.

 

[Saponificarian]

Hi Earlene. Johannesburg is in South Africa.

 

[earlene]

Hi Earlene. Johannesburg is in South Africa.

Thank you, Saponification! Even though I originally said North Africa in my post, the links I provided do contain Johannesburg, South Africa locations. So I hope that helps the OP.

 

[shunt2011]

I'm with the other on reading the beginners section, youtube and checking out Soaping 101 (youtube or site) or Soap Queen from Brambleberry. That's how I taught myself to soap and then found here and gained so much more information.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Magic7M]

Hi Alice, I am in Centurion, South Africa. If you do not get results please contact me and I will assist you with any queries you may have and will give you good beginner recipes and show you how it is done. I have been making soap since 2000 and have learned a great deal from forums like this one and my own research over the years. I do not have a problem to impart my knowledge.

 

[asmita]

Reading about the best ways to learn soapmaking makes me look back at my own journey and wonder how I managed to learn it.

I somehow stumbled on a post about qualities of oil and the recommended percentages after reading couple of recipes. My first soap was a (volumetric) recipe off the net. Thankfully the soap turned out nice. After that I made my own recipes using soap calc. This is not a journey I would recommend to those who want good soaps straight on but making mistakes was the best learning for me. Mistakes were things like soaps not being long lasting, beeswax solidifying in oil before I got around to mixing lye. But what a fabulous journey soapmaking is as an adult.

Please consider reading up as much as you can. More you read, better informed you will be. You will also learn how to ignore misleading information from useful information.