I have done some reading for maybe 2 weeks before jumping into making my first batch of soap. The reason for making my own soap was that I wanted to bath my dog in something not loaded with chemicals and things I can't pronounce, much less guess what it is. I do plan to use the soap myself as well. Below is the information to my first try.
Equipment
glass 2-cup measuring cup (oil mixture cup)
glass 1-cup measuring cup (lye mixing cup)
small spatula
oz scale
4 quart crock pot (oil mixture warmer)
safety gloves and eye wear
infrared thermometer
2 shot glasses (for extra oil and essential oils)
stick blender
lye cup and spoon (for measuring the powder out)
Recipe (one I made up after researching and sticking through a calculator)
Oils
5.0 oz Olive Oil (2.5 oz was infused for 1 week with Lavender and Calendula)
3.0 oz Coconut Oil
2.0 oz Palm Oil
0.5 oz Sweet Almond Oil (0.3 oz saved for at trace)
Lye/Liquids
2.0 oz Goat's Milk (not added into lye solution)
1.7 oz bottled water
1.5 oz lye
Other
0.2 oz Lemongrass Essential Oil
0.1 oz Lavender Essential Oil
Basically, I melted the oils and heated them up by pouring oils into the 2-cup glass measuring cup and placing that into the 4 quart crockpot which had water in it. I had it set to low. Almost like a double boiler system. I measured out all my ingredients (excluding lye) and prepared the mold while the oil warmed up. I also put the milk into the oil mixture.
I had the water in the freezer in the 1-cup glass measuring cup until it was a little frozen.
After the oil was warmed up, I removed the glass cup from the crockpot and set on table. I put on my safety gear and mixed the lye solution.
When the both mixtures were close to 100F, I poured the lye solution into the oil mixture while stirring. After stirring for a few minutes, I used the hand blender. I pulsed it a few times until the mixture was thicker. Then I hand stirred until trace.
Then I mixed my remaining amount of sweet almond oil and essential oils. Then I poured into the mold. I didn't cover the mold, but placed a lid loosely on it. I read that the sugars in the milk can burn.
An hour or two later, I saw it was gelling. It didn't gel all the way to the outer edge though. I also do see micro droplet sweats on the parts that didn't gel.
It is now at least 4 hours and is opaque again. So I guess I will wait until tomorrow to unmold it and cut. I plan to shred some of it to mix with water and hopefully make liquid soap. The rest I will let cure for 3+ weeks.
I am infusing some more Olive oil using the crock pot this time to make the process quicker. I am hoping to use Aloe juice instead of water for the next round and also adding in ground up lemongrass. Maybe eventually adding powdered goat's milk to make it 100% goat's milk.
What I wonder is, if you grate a 1-day old soap and then mix it with water. Will it be cured enough to use or would that be too harsh? When you rebatch, does it cure faster when it is reheated?
Thanks for reading. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. This is my first time making soap after all.[/b]
Equipment
glass 2-cup measuring cup (oil mixture cup)
glass 1-cup measuring cup (lye mixing cup)
small spatula
oz scale
4 quart crock pot (oil mixture warmer)
safety gloves and eye wear
infrared thermometer
2 shot glasses (for extra oil and essential oils)
stick blender
lye cup and spoon (for measuring the powder out)
Recipe (one I made up after researching and sticking through a calculator)
Oils
5.0 oz Olive Oil (2.5 oz was infused for 1 week with Lavender and Calendula)
3.0 oz Coconut Oil
2.0 oz Palm Oil
0.5 oz Sweet Almond Oil (0.3 oz saved for at trace)
Lye/Liquids
2.0 oz Goat's Milk (not added into lye solution)
1.7 oz bottled water
1.5 oz lye
Other
0.2 oz Lemongrass Essential Oil
0.1 oz Lavender Essential Oil
Basically, I melted the oils and heated them up by pouring oils into the 2-cup glass measuring cup and placing that into the 4 quart crockpot which had water in it. I had it set to low. Almost like a double boiler system. I measured out all my ingredients (excluding lye) and prepared the mold while the oil warmed up. I also put the milk into the oil mixture.
I had the water in the freezer in the 1-cup glass measuring cup until it was a little frozen.
After the oil was warmed up, I removed the glass cup from the crockpot and set on table. I put on my safety gear and mixed the lye solution.
When the both mixtures were close to 100F, I poured the lye solution into the oil mixture while stirring. After stirring for a few minutes, I used the hand blender. I pulsed it a few times until the mixture was thicker. Then I hand stirred until trace.
Then I mixed my remaining amount of sweet almond oil and essential oils. Then I poured into the mold. I didn't cover the mold, but placed a lid loosely on it. I read that the sugars in the milk can burn.
An hour or two later, I saw it was gelling. It didn't gel all the way to the outer edge though. I also do see micro droplet sweats on the parts that didn't gel.
It is now at least 4 hours and is opaque again. So I guess I will wait until tomorrow to unmold it and cut. I plan to shred some of it to mix with water and hopefully make liquid soap. The rest I will let cure for 3+ weeks.
I am infusing some more Olive oil using the crock pot this time to make the process quicker. I am hoping to use Aloe juice instead of water for the next round and also adding in ground up lemongrass. Maybe eventually adding powdered goat's milk to make it 100% goat's milk.
What I wonder is, if you grate a 1-day old soap and then mix it with water. Will it be cured enough to use or would that be too harsh? When you rebatch, does it cure faster when it is reheated?
Thanks for reading. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. This is my first time making soap after all.[/b]
