How long have you been soaping? Or Happy Soap-A-Versary to me

[VikingChick]

I started making soap in 2017. This is one of the oldest pictures I have found and they might be the first soaps. I remember it was Uncolored and unfragranced, and it took a while to harden because I was using old lye, unbeknown to me at the time. I had bought supplies from someone in Craiglist for $25 to try.

I have those molds too! I think I got them at H‑E‑B.

 

[The_Phoenix]

@The_Phoenix , that's a really pretty soap and what a nice design. Looks like it took alot of time and planning.


Did you end up trying the soap again afterall as suggested by AliOop? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you ! If it's turn mild and usable, I'm sure you'll have friends and family lined up to get one of those bars!

I have not. Because I can’t find the box that the soap is in. It’s in this house…somewhere. Yes, a lot of effort was involved in the making of the design. Very ambitious as a new soap maker.

 

[McKherring Farm]

I got my start in 2019 - the year I had 15 dairy kids born and LOTS of available goat milk! My first two attempts...all blending done by hand with a whisk. I soon invested in a stick blender. The first was lavender scented with no coloring and the second was turmeric. I burned my goat milk with #3 and learned about using frozen milk cubes. That was a valuable, stinky lesson!

 

[CLMP]

@dmcgee5034 happy anniversary I'm excited for you as my 1 year anniversary is coming up in September too and I love your soaps they are so amazing. So I started making CP soap last September 4th 2022. I remember because I specifically arranged to make soap on my birthday with my whole family watching that's what I wanted to do for my birthday! It was so fun that I have been making 2 to 4 batches a week since and are house is stalked up with 100s of bars everywhere neatly though. My family and friends want me to start selling it but I'm really nervous and feeling like I'm not ready yet like I barely know the science behind it if you were to take my soap calc away I would be helplessly lost I wouldn't be able to make soap with out it. Plus in Canada it's really expensive to start a soap business so I would have to go at it full time to even cover expenses. There is a little store here in town that wants to see my soaps to sell them but I've been to nervous to bring my soaps there for them to see because I'm not sure I'm ready there is just still so much to learn. Everything I have learned is from all of you helping me and The Soap Queen Lol. BB so much info. So I definitely have to say thank you to everyone on SMF for helping me along. These are my first 2 Soaps the orange one is sweet orange with paprika for color and used a milk carton. The sent faded and I didn't know about gelling my soaps. The second soap was in my first wooden mold my father made me and it was a hony oatmeal soap. It's funny my soaps have shrunk lol a little bit. Here they are.

 

[RusticUrban]

Happy soapaversery!!

I started soaping back in 98, it was all very simple back then, no colours or scents. My very first bar was plain olive. I was self taught as there were very few people around who made their own (only the hippie children where I lived), and forums were almost non existant. Its so wonderful to see how the industry has grown.

I dont have alot of early photos. This is probably a soap circa early 2010s

 

[Shelley D]

Happy soap-iversary!

I made my first batch of cold process soap late March 2020. I was sooooo nervous the first time I opened a bottle of sodium hydroxide that I’d had in my garage for a good five years. I just didn’t ever feel ready to make soap. Also, I was nervous about working with sodium hydroxide. I watched a LOT of soap videos in that time, though.

When my very productive life came to a screeching halt during COVID lockdown, I desperately needed something to keep me occupied.

I don’t have a photo of the first batch i made and I gave most of the bars away—it was unscented and uncolored. Which gave me a reason to make more soap. And then I made more soap. And more soap. It got its hooks in me pretty deep.

This was one of the first dozen batches of soap I made. It’s still sitting in a box. Not good quality of soap so I’ve only used half of one bar because it make my skin very very itchy. Learned only after how to better formulate recipes. One of these days I want to recreate the design.

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Oh yes! Definitely recreate that design ~ daisies are my favorite! And the blue & green makes me think of a field of green and a big blue sky, and the bits inside look like loose petals floating in the wind

 

[Shelley D]

Happy soapaversay! I had to go digging through old text messages to find my start date and time has definitely passed faster than I thought
August 2021, so I'm coming up on 2 years! My first batches were influenced by the simple fact that I have resorted to using green tea as a body rinse when the rashes get bad, and it was extremely helpful when I started getting rashes on my face. I would brew up some green tea in a pot, let it cool and dunk a washcloth to blot on my face and other places; let it dry, then do a cool water final rinse off. I then started infusing my body oils with green tea while I was melting them together, then strain it, bottle it and enjoy, so logically I decided I wanted to add it to soap! I should have done a little more research because I missed the part where the tea bits would turn brown so . . .
I also wanted to try charcoal so I did one loaf of green tea and one green tea with charcoal. At first they were a bit too drying on my skin, so I shredded up most of it and use the bits here and there in new batches, but I did save about 8 bars (got tired of shredding) and used one recently and it made lots of bubbles and wasn't quite as harsh! Below is my first 2 loaves, a pic showing one of my green tea bars, one showing my worst disaster, and few newer batches (the ones I posted about in April I think).
I have definitely learned a lot and am eternally grateful for all of you in the forum for your enduring patience!

 

[MegaSoap]

Congratulations on your anniversary!! The best addiction ever. I started in April 2012. My first was scented with Gurjun Balsam EO with paprika in a silicone cake mold. The paprika was too red and halo-ed and it looked a bit like measles haha. What great memories, thanks for taking me back and for the fun post.

There have been many favorites since but here are a couple that I have photos of, some winter landscape soaps from a couple of years ago (rosemary, peppermint, lavender) and some waste-not bars I really liked.

 

[Angie Gail]

I started in 2019 with melt and pour and then early in 2020 learned how to make hot process. I think it was in 2021 that I switched to cold process and I love it! My signature recipe uses lard, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, aloe vera juice, powdered goat's milk, and colloidal oatmeal. I had to switch from distilled water to aloe vera juice (someone here suggested it, don't remember who though) when we had a shortage of the water due to a really harsh winter that busted a lot of people's pipes. It was a good change and I have stuck with it.

 

[2lilboots]

I started back in 2012 soaped a few years and then stopped. Now I have started back up again. I didn't realize how much I missed making soap. I absolutely love doing it. Creating recipes, coming up with designs, some things work, some don't. Some fragrances are great, some are a challenge. Soaping and sewing have become my expensive creative outlet.

 

[Tammyfarms]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I'm glad you've joined us and appreciate your positivity! My first batch of CP soap was fall 2017 and I have no photos, thank God. Pretty RUS-TIC, uncolored and I used very expensive milk and soup cartons. The only thing I knew about CP soap was that it had to cure and I made it just in time for Christmas gifts.

Another early batch was my very first formulation of my now most popular Spring Clean. When I got glycerin rivers that I did not like (some people create them on purpose!), I googled and found this forum! From an early post -- and note to newbies, do NOT put your soap on metal:
View attachment 73033
I've shared this story ad nauseum here but I remember exclaiming to Mrs. Zing that there was a whole sub-culture I was completely unaware of with the forum and FB and etsy and YouTube and people with strong opinions on coconut oil and Soap Queen mixing in pyrex and how soon to start a business. It was like snorkeling for the first time and discovering a whole new world that had always been there.

@Zing I LOVE the glycerine rivers! I have tried a couple times to create them and ended up with nicely gelled soap. Maybe that’s what I will do today. It’s smoky here from wildfires so I’m sticking close home and doing inside activities.

Wait, what?! We're soaping contemporaries?! I think of you as one of the senseis here what with all your testing, skills, and beautiful designs. I thought you pre-dated me by years.

@Zing, @Mobjack Bay i thought the same! Actually several people in here have really surprised me. I guess I’m a slow learner.

I made my first two bars of soap in mid-February with a girlfriend of mine who teaches craft classes. When she said come on over, I thought were would going to make the soap from scratch, but it was M&P. Because I was thinking we'd make a really natural product - one color with the point being the ingredients, I hadn't given the slightest thought to anything else. I decided to just layer some colors and I started with a thin layer of white base. She said the clear M&P will give me brighter colors if I wanted to try colorants (as opposed to the white base). So, I poured some green. It was looking extremely plain but I didn't know what to do. She had a bunch of little soap embeds and decorations she'd made in the past - most were way to cute for me. I'm not much for decorating with flowers but I found a little daisy that at least didn't clash. I meant to put it in the center but I accidently dropped it on the corner. I was going to pick it off and try again but the soap was already setting - I work super slow.... I decided to pour a little more soap to help secure the flower in its place. The soap was really cooling off and by the time I finished, a little chunk dripped out of the cup. When I finished, I realized it looked like a stem. It actually improved the look! My second try that same day was an oval shaped bar in three layers- yellow , blue and green. It was so hideous that a couple weeks later, I chopped it up, stuffed it into a 4 oz mold and poured clear M&P around it. It is the second photo. It's nothing special but looks alot better than it did in its original form. The next day, I went online and bought a few jungle molds. I had only seen them in solid colors and it was my intent to pour these molds with solid, muted colors. But, the molds were really small and a little mis-shapen!!! I didn't think they'd make a nice gift for anyone! I ended up pouring different colors and when it set, I put it in a regular 4 oz mold and poured around the little soaps. A sister of mine has traveled alot in African countries and her sister-in-law owns and elephant farm/sanctuary in Arkansas. So, I sent these to her.

I have bought various oils to make cold process soap, but I haven't worked up the courage to try it. I've been experimenting with colors, different designs, and some cute soaps for kids. I'm really impressed at what everyone has done with cold process on their first try! Maybe I'll get my courage up before my oils go rancid ....

Jump in to the CP pool! I have never tried MP but it’s on the list, it’s a long list….

Happy soap-iversary!

I made my first batch of cold process soap late March 2020. I was sooooo nervous the first time I opened a bottle of sodium hydroxide that I’d had in my garage for a good five years. I just didn’t ever feel ready to make soap. Also, I was nervous about working with sodium hydroxide. I watched a LOT of soap videos in that time, though.

When my very productive life came to a screeching halt during COVID lockdown, I desperately needed something to keep me occupied.

I don’t have a photo of the first batch i made and I gave most of the bars away—it was unscented and uncolored. Which gave me a reason to make more soap. And then I made more soap. And more soap. It got its hooks in me pretty deep.

This was one of the first dozen batches of soap I made. It’s still sitting in a box. Not good quality of soap so I’ve only used half of one bar because it make my skin very very itchy. Learned only after how to better formulate recipes. One of these days I want to recreate the design.

View attachment 73101View attachment 73102

Beautiful design!

@dmcgee5034 happy anniversary I'm excited for you as my 1 year anniversary is coming up in September too and I love your soaps they are so amazing. So I started making CP soap last September 4th 2022. I remember because I specifically arranged to make soap on my birthday with my whole family watching that's what I wanted to do for my birthday! It was so fun that I have been making 2 to 4 batches a week since and are house is stalked up with 100s of bars everywhere neatly though. My family and friends want me to start selling it but I'm really nervous and feeling like I'm not ready yet like I barely know the science behind it if you were to take my soap calc away I would be helplessly lost I wouldn't be able to make soap with out it. Plus in Canada it's really expensive to start a soap business so I would have to go at it full time to even cover expenses. There is a little store here in town that wants to see my soaps to sell them but I've been to nervous to bring my soaps there for them to see because I'm not sure I'm ready there is just still so much to learn. Everything I have learned is from all of you helping me and The Soap Queen Lol. BB so much info. So I definitely have to say thank you to everyone on SMF for helping me along. These are my first 2 Soaps the orange one is sweet orange with paprika for color and used a milk carton. The sent faded and I didn't know about gelling my soaps. The second soap was in my first wooden mold my father made me and it was a hony oatmeal soap. It's funny my soaps have shrunk lol a little bit. Here they are.View attachment 73765

What?!??! I thought you ham had been soaping for much longer.

I started soaping fall of 2016. Not sure of the exact date and I don't have a picture of the first batches. This was an early batch, January 22, 2017, fragranced with orange EO which faded. Later that year I figured out I was extremely sensitive to fragrances and it really took the wind out of my sails. I started making what I called “Plain ‘Ol Soap”, uncolored and unscented lard soap. I decided this year that I was going to still make soap that was pretty even if it is not fragranced, since then I have been cautiously trying fragrances. I only recently figured out gelling and that’s been exciting.

 

[dmcgee5034]

@Tammyfarms - thanks for sharing your story! I love that soap! I especially like the bonus little pumpkin you got in a bar.

 

[CLMP]

View attachment 74180
I started soaping fall of 2016. Not sure of the exact date and I don't have a picture of the first batches. This was an early batch, January 22, 2017, fragranced with orange EO which faded. Later that year I figured out I was extremely sensitive to fragrances and it really took the wind out of my sails. I started making what I called “Plain ‘Ol Soap”, uncolored and unscented lard soap. I decided this year that I was going to still make soap that was pretty even if it is not fragranced, since then I have been cautiously trying fragrances. I only recently figured out gelling and that’s been exciting.

Oh wow I love these very nice!

 

[linne1gi]

Happy Soap-Anniversary, I started soaping in January 2010, I started with melt and pour and discovered I hated it. So I went to hot processed, then cold processed. Now I mostly make CP, but still use HP, mostly for naughty fragrances.
I don’t have any pictures of my first soaps, unfortunately. Although I have a picture of my first HP soap, it wasn’t too bad.

 

[Cindy D.]

I'm a little late, but happy soap anniversary!

I started making hot process in May of 2014. My first was a beige hp made a in bread loaf pan lined with parchment paper. The top looked like chicken skin I needed a soap that was actually unscented. All the so called unscented bars I bought were scented from being near scented bars. At that point in my life my asthma was really bad, enough so I stopped going in any stores for awhile. The inhalers didn't work unless I removed myself from the cause of my reaction.

It's only been a couple of years that I've been making CP soap and maybe a year or a little more since I tried micas to see if they'd be OK.