How to Make Soap - Soapmaking Guide for Beginners

[TheGecko]

Thank you! I appreciate all the starting advice but I do want to know about the TD! Lol

Get an oil soluble TD and watch Lisa with I Dream In Soap on YouTube.

 

[melinda48]

Hi everyone,

Overall is very well written, but I also can not agree with:

"Nonreactive pitcher or container to mix lye into water (NOT PYREX OR GLASS!!!!)"
-
PYREX is tempered glass compound and can be used in oven at much higher temperatures. And glass (incl. Pyrex) is one of the most nonreactive surfaces we have ...except for hydrofluoric acid... I always use Pyrex pitchers for mixing lye and soap and and they look as new as before.
Better to add a note - "GRADUALLY stir lye into water". I actually use COLD BATH for Pyrex pitcher where I disolve lye to:
(a) prevent irritating fumes from hot lye and
(b) better control temp before mixing - I hate to wait the whole eternity until it gets cool enough to mix.

I also use soaping containers and stick blender (stainless steel full immersion length) without any hesitations for FOOD - lye and fresh soap is CAUSTIC, NOT TOXIC, normal basic soap is practically "food-grade" safe, the safest soap to wash the dishes, actually. SO why to be afraid of using same utensils??
Oh! and remember - pretzels are actually bathed in lye solution before backing to get that chick "Bretzel" look and special taste, so much for lye "toxicity"... if it is pure of course (but any other would not do good for soaping either).

One should be careful using some fragrances perhaps... But then again - if everything should be non-reactive (on which I totally agree), it will not pick up any of it either (here Pyrex is definitely better than plastic).

Pyrex becomes etched and weakened over time due to the lye. I use plastic (#5) juice containers from the Dollar Store and never have to worry about glass breakage.

 

[Katsbe]

An outstanding guide for beginners! A couple of suggestions to clarify for beginners that might be helpful:

• Define what "nonreactive" means for the beginner
• You might include pictures of non-common items for a beginner like an immersion blender or examples of soap molds
• I would change the font color to redand bold it for two of the bullet points under "Safety Notes" to emphasize the danger and caution needed for the bulleted points that start with:
  • "Lye is a caustic..."
  • "Mixing the lye into the water..."
• Maybe give an example of what kind of pitcher to use under the "Preparation" section for this bullet point since you've stated what not to use:
  • "Nonreactive pitcher or container to mix lye into water (NOT PYREX OR GLASS!!!!)"

Can I ask you a question. What will happen if you use reactive type equipment like an Emerson blender that’s reactive?

 

[Firefly24]

Can I ask you a question. What will happen if you use reactive type equipment like an Emerson blender that’s reactive?

How is an immersion blender reactive? I only use an immersion blender.

 

[AliOop]

Some stickblenders are made with aluminum, which reacts with NaOH to degrade the aluminum and produce toxic off-gases. If I'm not mistaken, it can even cause a fire. @Katsbe assuming that's what you meant by "reactive," don't use that SB to make soap.

 

[melinda48]

Can I ask you a question. What will happen if you use reactive type equipment like an Emerson blender that’s reactive?

What is it doing that makes you think it is reactive?

 

[Katsbe]

What is it doing that makes you think it is reactive?

Nevermind. I was just being paranoid. It was a random tj max find and had no item description so I pondered weather it could be metal. But I found the same one on Amazon and in the description it says that it is stainless steel. ‍

 

[AliOop]

Nevermind. I was just being paranoid. It was a random tj max find and had no item description so I pondered weather it could be metal. But I found the same one on Amazon and in the description it says that it is stainless steel. ‍

The only one I've heard of that contains aluminum is the Bamix brand. There may be others, but that's the only name I've heard mentioned.

 

[Relle]

Nevermind. I was just being paranoid. It was a random tj max find and had no item description so I pondered weather it could be metal. But I found the same one on Amazon and in the description it says that it is stainless steel. ‍

There are different grades of S/S, some rust, my bamix went black when it came into contact with the lye, it was chrome plated, dh told me, it's meant for food as are most stick benders, I purchased a cheap one and haven't had any problems since, the blades are stainless.

 

[Mary_soaplover]

I would like to recommend this quick course on udemy I found that was really good. She explains very clearly and gives a step by step guide on how to make soap. It helped me with my first attempt and the soap turned out really nice. She was also very friendly and helpful and answered quickly to my questions unlike other instructors on udemy.
Sometimes reading long texts can be difficult for me so I preferred this method of learning. There was a downloadable pdf with all the info in the course, but also videos with the text read out loud, as well as the step by step video and a certificate of completion in the end. Might not be for everyone, but it made the whole thing a lot easier for me since I find the topic interesting, but kind of complicated to get into without having to to research so much.
Anyways that was long, here is the link if anyone would be interested: www.udemy.com/soapmaking for beginners