New to soap making!

[AshleyR]

Hi everyone,

My name is Ashley and I've just decided that I want to get into soap making.

I really have no idea where to begin. I've ordered a few books off Amazon.ca on how to get started, and have been researching quite a bit over the last few days but still feel like I have so much to learn!

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions for a beginner? What supplies should I start stocking up on so I'm ready for my first batch, and where should I get them from?

I live in a tiny remote town and don't have access to a lot of "fancy" supplies, so if anyone can recommend a good website to order supplies from (at a good price!!) I'd really appreciate it.

I can't wait to learn more about this and get started soon!

 

[Chay]

www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com is a good place to start.
Welcome to the forum

 

[SimplyE]

Hi Ashley! Welcome!

I am still new at soaping, too. I really sat down and read the book that I picked up cover to cover twice before I attempted soaping. It is so much fun and addicting, but I also wanted to be prepared, especially with handling the lye. I started really simply so that I could get the technique down, and not worry about ruining a bunch of good oils. I just made a basic castille soap, which is just olive oil and only made a #1 batch to start small. I like cold process, but the olive oil/castille takes longer to cure, therefore not as quickly rewarding. There are other simple recipes that you can use with things from Wal-Mart, if you have one close by. Look for Paul's Wal-Mart Recipe on the forum. I think it is in the recipe section.

The other thing that you probably should get familiar with once you decide you want to play with creating your own recipe is a soap calculator. There are several out there, and www.soapcalc.com is a common one that is used. I am not very familiar with the others, yet. It can be intimidating, but is so very helpful!

Good luck and can't wait to hear how it is going for you! :wink:

 

[MikeInPdx]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I agree with wholesalesupplies plus, and Paul's Walmart Recipe is a great way to start.

Can I recommend a good reference book for you? My favorite book is "The Everything Soapmaking Book" by Alicia Grosso. It has pretty much "EVERYTHING" in there. In addition, her methods are up to date and safe, and you can go as simple or as fancy as you like with her soaps....same with expense. There's everything in there from plain old veg shortening soap to luxury butter soaps to clear soaps, soap geodes, soap casting, rebatching. It's a very comprehensive work and I look at it every time before i start a batch.

Once you're ready to go forward, there are several online suppliers that sell good quality supplies for reasonable. Oils, I choose http://www.shayandcompany.com or http://www.soaperschoice.com. Then there about a million places for good fragrance oils and essential oils. I usually use http://www.saveonscents.com out of New York....decent stuff for CHEAP.

Please feel free to ask questions and PM me if I can help at all.

Take care,
Mike

 

[SimplyE]

Can I recommend a good reference book for you? My favorite book is "The Everything Soapmaking Book" by Alicia Grosso. It has pretty much "EVERYTHING" in there.

DITTO! That is what I use as a beginner and it ROCKS! So easy to understand.

 

[doolittle]

Hello and Welcome

 

[beachgurl]

I too love the Everything Soapmaking Book. I know they have it in stock at Barnes and Noble (that's where I stumbled upon it) but you can probably get it cheaper off of the internet. It's has wonderful recipes and great explanations. Wholesale Supplies Plus and Brambleberry are great soapmaking suppliers. Can't say enough good things about them. You'll love it here, everyone's great. Welcome to the forum

 

[Tabitha]

Welcome!