What do you wear?

[heyjude]

Being about as graceful as a moose, I make sure to always cover myself in safety gear while soaping. :roll:

I usually wear a pair of rubber gloves from start to finish, but find them a bit cumbersome while swirling and trying to get the last drops of oil out of my soappot.

I am considering using latex gloves, but wonder if they would give me the protection I need. They do seem thin, but would also seem much more comfortable.

What do you wear??

Jude

 

[rubyslippers]

Well Jude, when I first started making soap I was decked out in my bright yellow near HazMat outfit from head to toe - even the dog barked at me. Now that I am more comfortable, I only wear thin latex gloves (the cheapy ones) and my goggles. These gloves fit better so it is easier to work with them on.

I did wear long sleeves when I quit wearing the bright yellow rubber suit but even those have gone by the wayside which may not be very wise. Today as I soaped in my short sleeve shirt I got a nasty burn on my arm . Guess I brushed my arm on the rim of the pan after pouring soap and came into contact with raw soap. No big deal - it will heal. I've gotten worse burns cooking dinner and guess that hasn't given me reason to stop cooking!

 

[heyjude]

ooooooo...sorry about the burn.

I would love to have more control over my soaping. Have a bag of cheapo gloves which at worst case I could double up in case one got a hole in it.

Jude

 

[IrishLass]

The first time I ever made soap I looked a lot like what Rubyslippers described. I was completely covered from head to toe with my 2 eyes being the only parts of my body that were visible as they peeped out through my goggles.

I've grown much more comfortable over time, but I make sure to always wear eye protection and my Mr. Clean brand rubber gloves.

I used to do the long sleeved thing, but I quit doing that after having accidentally dripped a few drops of raw soap on my sleeve that seeped through my shirt to my skin and proceeded to burn me. I had to drop everything I was doing right in the middle of my soap session to get my gloves off to take my apron off so I could take my shirt off so I could take care of the offending spot. That was a hassle and gave the lye more contact time with my skin than it would normally have had if I had worn short sleeves instead. My skin turned out fine, btw.

There's definitely advantages and disadvantages to certain protective gear, but I would never go without gloves and eye protection.

IrishLass

 

[amanda131]

Have you guys seen the hot pink gloves at Wal-Mart that have the swirls on them that come up to your elbows?? Yeah, I got em! My husband cracks up at them but hey, no one takes em'!!!!!

 

[MyNaturesArt]

I did the complete opposite..LOL

I was raised as a little girl at my grandma`s doing soap over the stove. No protection, heck, half the time was barefoot and in shorts!!

After I grew up and stopped soaping..many years later started making soap again..did the same thing..barefoot and whatever I wa sin..jammies, ect..you name it. The soap bug hit me, i hit it back! I have had splatters hit my feet and a very slight burn, just ran to the tub and ran cold water on them..lol never gotten a serious burn..lets all pray the soap fairies love me for a long time..LOL

 

[MyNaturesArt]

ee gawds Im a terrible mentor! Dont ever ask me to teach anyone!!!

hee hee hee

 

[Guest]

Most of the time I wear my tshirt nighty and gloves, I wear glasses, so I think that is sufficient eye cover. The nighty cause I always soap at night after closing my store. Havent been burned yet, when and if that happens is when I will probably become more safety conscious. Not a good mentor either

 

[cwayneu]

Billie and I have probably gotten WAY over confident. Case in point, one of the frequent comments we got from our newest YouTube video was "Great video, where were your gloves and goggles?". We certainly set a bad example for any newbies. We do have goggles and gloves and should use them, but honestly only use them when we're batching several lots of lye. The eye protection is, to me, the most important.

You can get a box of 100 pairs of industrial vinyl gloves at Harbor Freight for $5, and goggles as well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... umber=8934
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=66538

 

[rubato456]

i have worn thin latex gloves (100/box) w/ no problem, until the last time i soaped and was trying to make textured tops. i fussed w/ the soap for an hour or so, and as i was fussing trying to get the texture just right, i managed to work some of the soap into (under) the latex gloves. my hands were burning like crazy but fool that i am i didn't want to stop until the textured tops were are good as i wanted.

i have two large holes in the sides of my fingers that hurt like @#$%^

and i can't imagine how long they are going to take to heal. i will never do that again. i have heavier gloves but i was too pig headed to put them on. not a good idea.

for eye protection i wear my regular prescription glasses, but i really should wear goggles.....

i wear a cloth kitchen apron over whatever i am wearing. i also usually wear closed toe tennis shoes.

 

[holly99]

Well, like others here, I started with goggles, an apron, thick gloves and shoes. Now I soap with gloves and DeWalt eye protector glasses. The goggles would fog up and I couldn't see through the plastic. The DeWalt ones are so much better, just like sunglasses without the tint. They fit right up to my cheek so I still don't have to worry about splatters.

 

[Saltysteele]

mynaturesart, you must be mentor.

i've got my rx glasses on, but that's it. i use an old tupperware koolaid pitcher to mix my lye/water, so it's pretty deep, and i mix it with a whisk, so not much splashing. have had a drop here or there, but it hasn't bothered me. just rinse it off and good to go.

i've messed with the fresh soap, and no problems. have had plenty of contact time with the raw soap in the making containers. skin gets a little dry after, but that's it

 

[Guest]

Goggles , disposable gloves ,apron , closed toe dawgs.

 

[TessC]

Jeans, old tshirt, a good pair of goggles that fit well and don't annoy me (those were well worth every penny spent on them), old tennis shoes (I don't fancy burning my poor wimpy feet), and a pair of rubber gloves.

 

[cleanwater]

mynaturesart, you must be mentor.

i've got my rx glasses on, but that's it. i use an old tupperware koolaid pitcher to mix my lye/water, so it's pretty deep, and i mix it with a whisk, so not much splashing. have had a drop here or there, but it hasn't bothered me. just rinse it off and good to go.

i've messed with the fresh soap, and no problems. have had plenty of contact time with the raw soap in the making containers. skin gets a little dry after, but that's it

Saltysteele, I'm with you and mynaturesart... rx glasses, shorts and a t-shirt (barefoot). I think diff people are more or less sensitive to the lye. I'm less. I've stuck my fingers into raw soap to embed shapes. A little dry skin is all. But I wouldn't recommend it to a newbie.

 

[Milla]

Goggles, yellow latex gloves, old house coat to go over my clothes, and my indoor clogs to cover feet. My skin is very sensitive to to soap. If I want thinner protection for my hands I wear my blue nitrile disposable gloves. They offer better chemical protection than latex. I get them at Fleet Farm in the cow section.

I just have to tell people to please wear better eye protection. I wore my prescription movie watching glasses once without thinking and got cooked HP soap splattered in my eye when I was whacking it on the floor. I ran my eye under water forever, went to the dr. and he said I scratched the white part of my eye and that was it. It hurt for over 2 weeks. I even went to an ophthalmologist for a 2nd opinion and that's when he gave me better eye drops. Eye is all better now, but I was freaking out. My vision was always fine, it just hurt.

I think that was my first HP batch too and I put it in the mold molting hot. Stupid me. You should see how careful I am now. I just thank God that I am okay.

What's funny is that the first Dr. was just super amazed that I made soap. He couldn't get over it. Made me feel better. The second Dr. thought I was crazy and said my eye was fine. Those drops were awesome!

That's my lesson for y'all!!

 

[Guest]

I don't think you are less sensitive , I think you are very lucky .

 

[holly99]

Ouch Milla! My eyes watered up just reading that!

 

[Milla]

I don't think you are less sensitive , I think you are very lucky .

You are right on both. VERY LUCKY! I still get a pit in my stomach when I think about how stupid I was.

 

[cleanwater]

milla, based on that i will start using proper eye gear.

I don't think you are less sensitive , I think you are very lucky .

I think I must be either less sensitive or less concerned with the occasional dry spot, because I have definitely gotten raw soap on my skin.[/u]