What protective gear do you wear?

[serfmunke]

Curious what other soapers are wearing and at what water percentage they use. Reason? I want to know how smart or dumb I am when it comes to protecting myself and I don't want anyone to know if I am being really careless

 

[AmyW]

A t-shirt and jeans. And my glasses cause I'm blind without them.

I had a stroke that made the feeling in my hands (and my grip) less than ideal. Goggles make it hard for me to see. If I put gloves and goggles on, it's an almost guarantee that I would lose my grip, or the bowl would slip, or I'd trip and have raw soap all over me and the kitchen. The small lye burns I get are nothing compared to the alternative lol I usually wash and then dab whatever oil I'd got closest on the burn and it's healed by the next day anyway.

Also, with gloves on, I wouldn't know if I had raw soap on my hands if if my nose itched... ow. At least with raw soap on my hands, I know it's there and can wash immediately instead of getting it everywhere I touch.

If I was a slow healer I'd probably be a bit more careful than I already am. My hubby is diabetic and if he got a lye burn it'd take months for him to heal (cause he's a twit and lets his sugars get too high too often).

 

[Tegan]

Heheh I'll go first.

I wear....nothing. I do wear glasses for vision correction, so if I get a little splash they'll protect me some, but I know they aren't real protection. I use a 38% water percentage on average.

I do however require goggles, gloves and aprons when I teach a class, and I always mix the lye solution before hand so no one but me is exposed to the fumes.

I've had lye, lye solution, and raw soap on me. I've sucked in the fumes on accident. I'm not dead or seriously maimed yet....I'm pretty sure I don't even have a scar at all.

I know the risks and I choose to do it this way, I'm only hurting myself and would never tell another person not to use the gear.

 

[debbism]

I started off wearing a chemical apron, gloves, dust mask and goggles. The dust mask would cause my goggles to fog up and make me more dangerous than needed. And the apron became a pain to wear as it is very heavy.

Now, we just wear a face shield and gloves. This way I can still wear my glasses.

 

[Guest]

Casual shirt and shorts, no shoes, no socks, no gloves, no glasses... I think I'm about as careless as you can get. Sometimes I even mix the lye in my bedroom.

I wore gloves the first couple times I made soap, but I choose not to wear them for comfort. I also find I'm more carless when I use the gloves: If I make a mess on my hands with gloves, oh well, they're just gloves; If I make a mess on my hands without gloves, i'm in big trouble so I better be careful!

I hope nobody else is as careless as me... but I think my carlessness helps me be extra careful.

 

[Sunny]

I don't wear anything special, though I do wear eyeglasses, which have come in handy often for dodging lye to the eye.

But if I had to make a suggestion, I'd say definitely wear something on the eyes and possibly long sleeves. I typically get splashed on the face and arms.

 

[Fullamoon]

I haven't made CP or HP soap in months because I don't have air conditioning and I get too hot with my protective garb on. I wear long sleeves, long pants, plastic gloves and goggles. I can't wait for the cooler fall months! I have plenty of supplies ready...

 

[frieda]

I am still a beginner...maybe that is why I am still wearing gloves, long sleeves, socks, shoes, and if I think about it, I off my eye lenses and put my glasses on. Never put on a mask tough... and only put on my gloves at the moment I put the lye in the water and while mixing up the oils and the lye...

 

[serfmunke]

Wow, OK so I am in the middle of all you so far so I guess that is good. Nice to see I am not under protected or over protective

I soap with my H2O at 33%, 2.3:1, and wear gloved and protective glasses not goggles. Husband wants me to wear a face shield and smock. I am really careful and rarely splash or breathe fumes. I am not too into cumbersome clothing but am considering the face shield since one splash to the eye could be a bad thing, right?

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Because I don't want to go blind, I wear my reading glasses with a clear face shield over the top. I wear rubber gloves for part of the process and whatever clothes I happen to be wearing are just fine. I'm not normally messy as I make small batches. :wink:

 

[carebear]

Wow, OK so I am in the middle of all you so far so I guess that is good. Nice to see I am not under protected or over protective

I soap with my H2O at 33%, 2.3:1, and wear gloved and protective glasses not goggles. Husband wants me to wear a face shield and smock. I am really careful and rarely splash or breathe fumes. I am not too into cumbersome clothing but am considering the face shield since one splash to the eye could be a bad thing, right?

watch face shields. they sound great but if you have your head over the lye solution the fumes are trapped under it.

 

[Kenaslan]

PPE is something one should not play around with. It only takes one drop to make you permanently blind.

I use gloves and approved chemical goggles for soap making.

As for mixing/moving the NaOH as I make it in 5gallon batches of 50/50 I use approved chemical gloves that go to my elbows, goggles, chemical splash shield (fyi a chemical splash shield will NOT trap vapor as it is open/vented above the head) and a full length chemical apron.

But as an engineer I work in heavy mining and chemical plants, so PPE is second nature for me.

Don't be afraid of the chemicals, just respect them.

 

[serfmunke]

Oh I respect anything that can injure me, I would like to keep my parts as long as I can :wink: I may get goggles since the eye wear I have are just plastic glasses with no more protection than glasses. I work in small batches but they lye part is pretty intense. When I pick my head up and peek at the lye mixing, I can feel how strong it is and keep my distance for sure!

 

[Kenaslan]

Just please don't tell me you are mixing NaOH inside unless you have an ASHRAE fume hood

 

[Moonblossom]

I also only wear my glasses because as a previous poster put I'm also blind with out them occasionally I will wear gloves but rarely.

 

[judymoody]

Full length sleeves and pants, closed toe shoes. Safety goggles and gloves always.

If I'm using oxides, micas or fine particulate surfactants, a mask with particulate and vapor filters (the Darth Vader kind). Not for mixing lye, though. I hold my breath, give it a stir, and walk away. I mix it out in the garage in our utility sink.

 

[Sunny]

Just please don't tell me you are mixing NaOH inside unless you have an ASHRAE fume hood

okay, I won't tell you.

 

[Kenaslan]

Full length sleeves and pants, closed toe shoes. Safety goggles and gloves always.

If I'm using oxides, micas or fine particulate surfactants, a mask with particulate and vapor filters (the Darth Vader kind). Not for mixing lye, though. I hold my breath, give it a stir, and walk away. I mix it out in the garage in our utility sink.

Purple filters I hope

 

[carebear]

Just please don't tell me you are mixing NaOH inside unless you have an ASHRAE fume hood

Ken, we know you are a chemist. We get that. We are also a community of crafters without fume hoods or that other lovely equipment you have access to. We do our best.

 

[Kenaslan]

Nope not a chemist. I am an electrical engineer. And I have worked as a safety engineer.