Hello, my name is Ashley & I'm from MA. I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to try my hand at soap making. I'm a little afraid to work w/lye so for now I think I'm going to stick w/MP. I've been lurking around for about a week & figured it'd be a good idea to join & introduce myself.
Hi everyone
- Thread starter tisci
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Hi Ashley,
Welcome to the forum!
I was afraid to use lye, too. But as long as you wear your protective garb and use common sense, it's not hard to work with and you'll be amazed at how quickly you get comfortable with using it.
Welcome to the forum!
I was afraid to use lye, too. But as long as you wear your protective garb and use common sense, it's not hard to work with and you'll be amazed at how quickly you get comfortable with using it.
welcome to the forum!!!! glad to have you here!
Check out SMF Tutorials for some tutorials to get you started!
Check out SMF Tutorials for some tutorials to get you started!
Thanks! I'm definitely gonna check out those tutorials.
For the lye, where do you work w/it? I'd love to have a separate room dedicated to soaps or even a little shed or something but that's just not possible. I would worry that my kitchen doesn't have enough ventilation..
For the lye, where do you work w/it? I'd love to have a separate room dedicated to soaps or even a little shed or something but that's just not possible. I would worry that my kitchen doesn't have enough ventilation..
I'd love to have a designated soaping room, too! That would be sooo fantastic.
Do you have an exhaust fan above your stove that vents to the outside? If so, just have it running while you mix your lye. I make small batchs so the air flow is good enough to eliminate any problems as long as I don't lean too closely over the pitcher.
Do you have an exhaust fan above your stove that vents to the outside? If so, just have it running while you mix your lye. I make small batchs so the air flow is good enough to eliminate any problems as long as I don't lean too closely over the pitcher.
We do have a fan that's built into the front of the microwave, that's directly above the stove, but I don't think it's stong enough.With pets & other people in the house, I'm hesitant to try it. We do have a huge overhead fan in the corner of the kitchen. I think it's an exhaust fan, so that might be helpful if I turn it on. If the windows are open, it pulls in smoke from outside if my brother smokes in the driveway. I have a good friend who is electrician, I'm thinking about asking him if he can rig up something so I can do it outside. I'm just going to stick w/m&p for now, so I have time to figure something out.
Best Natural Soap
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Hi there!
I haven't made melt and pour, so I'm no help there... but I've seen some really pretty M&P soaps! You can learn a lot of techniques with it that are also useful in cold process soaping. For example, confetti, chunking, embedding, swirling,...
It'll be a great way to get comfy with those.
As far as working with lye...
I use 8 oz. of lye and about 18 oz. of water to make my soaps. Mixing that lye/water solution is the ONLY time I ever see any fumes of any sort, and the amount is similar to a small pot of water on the stove simmering-- not huge plumes, just a little wispy "steam" for about 30 seconds or so.
I put a big, commercial Rubbermaid pitcher in my kitchen sink, open the window, pour in the water. pour in the lye. that's it. The solution heats up on it's own, and cools. When you add in your oils, there are no visible fumes, although, you can leave the window open if you'd like, it wouldn't hurt. I wear goggles and gloves in case I splash. But that's it. I've gotten drips of freshly added lye/oil on me-- they just itch! Working in the sink, I have the water right there to rinse anything off.
I'm not writing all of this to convince you to use lye- but more to let you know it's not as scary as I had thought when I made my first batch. I was a college chem student, and a teacher mentioned that if we understood acid/base reactions, we could do all sorts of things, including make soap. So I tried. And I've been addicted ever since.
I think M&P is a great way to start!
And, you've found the best soaping forum in the world!
Have fun!
Erin
I haven't made melt and pour, so I'm no help there... but I've seen some really pretty M&P soaps! You can learn a lot of techniques with it that are also useful in cold process soaping. For example, confetti, chunking, embedding, swirling,...
It'll be a great way to get comfy with those.
As far as working with lye...
I use 8 oz. of lye and about 18 oz. of water to make my soaps. Mixing that lye/water solution is the ONLY time I ever see any fumes of any sort, and the amount is similar to a small pot of water on the stove simmering-- not huge plumes, just a little wispy "steam" for about 30 seconds or so.
I put a big, commercial Rubbermaid pitcher in my kitchen sink, open the window, pour in the water. pour in the lye. that's it. The solution heats up on it's own, and cools. When you add in your oils, there are no visible fumes, although, you can leave the window open if you'd like, it wouldn't hurt.
I wear goggles and gloves in case I splash. But that's it. I've gotten drips of freshly added lye/oil on me-- they just itch! Working in the sink, I have the water right there to rinse anything off. I'm not writing all of this to convince you to use lye- but more to let you know it's not as scary as I had thought when I made my first batch. I was a college chem student, and a teacher mentioned that if we understood acid/base reactions, we could do all sorts of things, including make soap. So I tried. And I've been addicted ever since.
I think M&P is a great way to start!
And, you've found the best soaping forum in the world!
Have fun!
Erin
Best Natural Soap said:Hi there!
As far as working with lye...
I use 8 oz. of lye and about 18 oz. of water to make my soaps. Mixing that lye/water solution is the ONLY time I ever see any fumes of any sort, and the amount is similar to a small pot of water on the stove simmering-- not huge plumes, just a little wispy "steam" for about 30 seconds or so.
I put a big, commercial Rubbermaid pitcher in my kitchen sink, open the window, pour in the water. pour in the lye. that's it. The solution heats up on it's own, and cools. When you add in your oils, there are no visible fumes, although, you can leave the window open if you'd like, it wouldn't hurt.
I'm not writing all of this to convince you to use lye- but more to let you know it's not as scary as I had thought when I made my first batch. I was a college chem student, and a teacher mentioned that if we understood acid/base reactions, we could do all sorts of things, including make soap. So I tried. And I've been addicted ever since.
I think M&P is a great way to start!
And, you've found the best soaping forum in the world!
Have fun!
Erin
Nice post about the lye. You're right - there's not much in the way of fumes.
The other day I dribbled some lye/aloe juice across my arm.
I said a naughty word, stepped over to the sink and rinsed my arm under cool water and then washed it with Dawn dish detergent. I know...probably not the best but it was closest to me. I didn't have any problem and it didn't even turn pink or anything. I have to admit I was lucky. It could have been worse.Now I don't want you to think that lye won't burn you but please don't be scared or turned off by the idea of fumes or splashes. You'll be fine as long as you take care.
cwarren
Well-Known Member
Welcome !! I was afraid of lye too .. I watched every ( you tube ) video I could on Cold process soap making before I did my first batch..... but after you do your first 1, you think of what you want to do next time.. ((( I would say before you spend money on EO .. make some plain bathces first.. I waisted alot of money on really ugly soap ))))
The CP is looking better & better the more I talk to you guys. That is what I had originally wanted to make. A youtuber that I subscribe to did a review for a bath & body stuff maker, HMGDesigns I believe, & when I went to the Etsy I was fascinated. I decided I really wanted to try to make them for myself. I made some M&P today & they came out nice. I think I'm gonna try some sugar scrubs & see what happens with those. I have coconut oil & olive oil at home so, hopefully if I get confident, I can grab some lye at a hardware store & not have to spend too much for setup. I will be getting goggles & gloves if I do decide to try it. I will need a stick blender too & thermometers. I'm sure it will all come together over time. Thank you for the advice. I'm gonna keep reading up on all of it.
Muzhik
Well-Known Member
Tisci, I have a battery-operated fan -- not the most powerful one around, but it does the job. I usually open the window, put the pitcher close to the window, put the fan so the pitcher is between the window and the fan, then add the lye. After the lye stops fuming, I move the pitcher over to my workspace and put the thermometer in. Turn off the fan and close the window, and that's that.
Keep in mind that while lye is dangerous if not handled with respect, most of the danger warnings regarding lye come from the days when there was no bleach. If you had a dysentery outbreak and you had to clean up after people who were too weak to make it to the outhouse (or even out of the house), you had to use lye water as a decontaminant, including using it to wash your hands. Chances were your lye was homemade, so you couldn't really be sure how strong it was. Everyone had lye around, and so accidents happened. One reason the development of commercial bleach was so important was not just the ability to get your whites whiter; it was the ability to clean up after illness without having to worry about poisoning or burning yourself and the people you were cleaning.
So put on your gloves and goggles, and a full apron if you have it, and start soaping!
Keep in mind that while lye is dangerous if not handled with respect, most of the danger warnings regarding lye come from the days when there was no bleach. If you had a dysentery outbreak and you had to clean up after people who were too weak to make it to the outhouse (or even out of the house), you had to use lye water as a decontaminant, including using it to wash your hands. Chances were your lye was homemade, so you couldn't really be sure how strong it was. Everyone had lye around, and so accidents happened. One reason the development of commercial bleach was so important was not just the ability to get your whites whiter; it was the ability to clean up after illness without having to worry about poisoning or burning yourself and the people you were cleaning.
So put on your gloves and goggles, and a full apron if you have it, and start soaping!
Muzhik,
That's very interesting. I didn't know any of this about bleach and lye. Thanks for posting it.
ivievei wrote:
I am new here at forum just joined couple of days ago. I want to know about easiest way to make body perfume soap. can any one share his/her experience.
What's a body perfume soap?
That's very interesting. I didn't know any of this about bleach and lye. Thanks for posting it.
ivievei wrote:
I am new here at forum just joined couple of days ago. I want to know about easiest way to make body perfume soap. can any one share his/her experience.
What's a body perfume soap?
tisci said:
I usually just work with it in my kitchen, making sure all cats and kids (well I dont need to worry about kids here as I havent any yet)... As long as your not breathing the fumes in directly you should be fine, leave a window open and make sure there is adequate air circulation. The lye will really only give off fumes for 5-10 minutes...
Use a painters respirator if you are nervous...always remember gloves and goggles... dont want to turn out like Lye eye!! lol
BakingNana
Well-Known Member
Ian's right about watching out for the pets. Besides picking up a stray lye bead on paws, their a big distraction when your trying to concentrate. When I was soaping in the kitchen, I just about knocked over a pitcher of lye once. I lock my dogs up before I soap.
