Sonya-m
Well-Known Member
For me it was and still is that mixing water, lye and oil makes lather! Don't know why or where I thought the lather came from?!
When you were just starting out what amazed you the most?
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SpringLily16
Active Member
With all the stern warnings and the 911's ....I was amazed that I didn't burn myself with the lye. 
I also loved how when I stuck the blender into the crock pot to mix the oils and lye water it all came together...it actually came to trace. The last thing that I was amazed with the first time I made soap was when I started running the hot water into the crock pot to clean it out .....the amazing amount of bubbles the running water created.....at THAT point.... I was hooked.
I also loved how when I stuck the blender into the crock pot to mix the oils and lye water it all came together...it actually came to trace. The last thing that I was amazed with the first time I made soap was when I started running the hot water into the crock pot to clean it out .....the amazing amount of bubbles the running water created.....at THAT point.... I was hooked. 
navigator9
Well-Known Member
What amazed me then, and amazes me to this day, is just how good handmade soap really is. I don't think any of us started out making soap because we didn't like the way our soap looked. We probably started because we used a bar of good, handmade soap, and thought to ourselves......OMG, what was that stuff I've been using all my life? Now this is soap! Sometimes we get caught up in making our soap look pretty, but in truth, I would imagine the majority of us make soap because we're still amazed at how unbelievably good it is!
Earthen_Step
Well-Known Member
Pretty much what I was going to say! After my first small batch was used up it really hit me. When I went back to my old commercial soap I realized how terrible it really was -- quickly started another batch and have never gone back.
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I started out using the Cole Brothers blender soap. I was amazed how fast and easy it was. I would not recommend this for newbies; but if you are very careful and follow the instructions, you have soap in no time.
Possum_Magic
Active Member
I was amazed that I achieved trace, and that my first batch was a success!
I went over-the-top with safety- I made the batch outside and I even wore safety goggles, LOL.
I went over-the-top with safety- I made the batch outside and I even wore safety goggles, LOL.
Possum_Magic
Active Member
Yes! I can't fathom why people buy commercial soap AFTER they have tried CP.
What amazes me is all of the above.
Lye + Water + oils = soap that does not make me itch and is luxurious and smells wonderful! I can't even stand the smell of commercial soap anymore, much less the thought of using it and itching all the time.
My son(21 yrs old) has made 5 batches of soap, and each time he is amazed when he puts water in the dishes and bubbles appear. I am not amazed any more at that, but I get an incredible sense of a job well done.
Lye + Water + oils = soap that does not make me itch and is luxurious and smells wonderful! I can't even stand the smell of commercial soap anymore, much less the thought of using it and itching all the time.
My son(21 yrs old) has made 5 batches of soap, and each time he is amazed when he puts water in the dishes and bubbles appear. I am not amazed any more at that, but I get an incredible sense of a job well done.
TVivian
Well-Known Member
Gel phase amazes me, still. I think it's so amazing that oil and lye can make that much heat, and watching a soap go from creamy to translucent before your eyes seems like a bit of magic.
You should wear goggles when making soap! No lol about getting soap batter in your eye, as at least one person can confirm.
For me, it was an is the amount of variations that we can go for. It amazes me how many choices we have and how they all work together.
seven
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what Possum and navigator said. my skin was terribly cracked and dry it was scary stuff, then my mom started giving me goatmilk soap she purchased abroad and i was hooked! i've felt it myself how good natural soap is, it amazes me still to this day.
it also amazes me how soothing and calming soapmaking is. my wedding is in 3 weeks and everyone around me is **** tense like on permanent pms. i was advised to take a break from soaping and close my store for a while and i said no. i cannot imagine how crazy and tense i would be if i can't make my soaps
it also amazes me how soothing and calming soapmaking is. my wedding is in 3 weeks and everyone around me is **** tense like on permanent pms. i was advised to take a break from soaping and close my store for a while and i said no. i cannot imagine how crazy and tense i would be if i can't make my soaps
LittleCrazyWolf
Well-Known Member
It's a tie for me...
I was most amazed at how much BETTER handmade soap felt compared to commercial soaps. I loved the way I didn't have to hurry and slather on lotion after a shower.
and...
I was amazed that I was actually able to make something that was so cool and such a benefit to my family.
I was most amazed at how much BETTER handmade soap felt compared to commercial soaps. I loved the way I didn't have to hurry and slather on lotion after a shower.
and...
I was amazed that I was actually able to make something that was so cool and such a benefit to my family.
As a very new soaper I'm amazed by how changing one thing changes so many others. I'm also surprised by trace, saponification and gelling, actually pretty much the whole process that makes a few ingredients and a couple of tools into a lovely bar of soap. I love that the soap I've made so far is so good for my skin, and I haven't even started playing around with recipes etc
I was amazed at the process....mixing, molding, gelling. Unmolding and cutting....I was amazed that I could make soap! It was so hard waiting weeks to try it, but once I did, I never looked back. No more commercial soap for me...ever. I am going to have to teach my kids how to make soap so that if I ever get too old, they can still make it for me. :-D
Dana89
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I was amazed nothing went wrong, I was shaking the whole time I made my first batch. I had been reading and watching soap videos for 2 months. I was so proud of it, I have never been crafty.
After I cut it into bars and set the to cure I grabbed 1 bar and set it next to me on a napkin on the end table.
I would keep glancing at it and picking it up and smelling of it, I couldn't believe I made it.
My husband always jokes that he is jealous of my soap, that he would like to be tucked in and checked on as much as I do with my soap. This may make me sound like a doormat but it means everything to me that he loves my soap. He used to itch and scratch his way through winter, but the back scratching stick has been retired, and it makes me feel so good.
After I cut it into bars and set the to cure I grabbed 1 bar and set it next to me on a napkin on the end table.
I would keep glancing at it and picking it up and smelling of it, I couldn't believe I made it.
My husband always jokes that he is jealous of my soap, that he would like to be tucked in and checked on as much as I do with my soap. This may make me sound like a doormat but it means everything to me that he loves my soap. He used to itch and scratch his way through winter, but the back scratching stick has been retired, and it makes me feel so good.
Moody Glenn
Well-Known Member
Hello! Same here xraygrl - I was also amazed that I could make this stuff. Here is another surprise for me: after I got used to using the SoapCalc website to compose a recipe and seeing what the potential qualities of each recipe of different oils and fats could be I did a few test batches and was amazed at how even slight differences in percentages of certain oils can change the quality of the soap. Even changing a different oil or fat can make a totally different soap. I am still amazed by this. I don't have a clue what the number of all possible different combinations of oils and fats and all the different percentages is - totally astronomical. But it's OK. I already have the perfect combination. :-D
I can completely relate! :-D
Once I took that first bar into the shower and saw it lather, I could hardly believe that I had actually succeeded at making something in my own home that the majority of people in the world (at least in my little corner of the world anyway) thought could only be made commercially. I felt like I had scored a major coup and was thrilled to the core!
IrishLass
I agree with all the reasons everyone gave. I'm amazed I can take these liquid ingredients and make them into solid soap, and my skin feels great, and my family & friends love it, but.... The most amazing thing to me is the history behind soap making.
We're so fortunate to have lye calculators and people that can calculate sap values for us, chemical distributors that can give us the purity of the lye we're working with plus all the pretty colors and great scents. I'm amazed my grandmother made soap by throwing in handfuls of this, pinches of that, cooking and stirring.... All after she rendered the fat and steeped the ashes to make the lye. AND NO ONE GOT HURT! At least no one's admitting to it in my family, lol. The same soap was used to wash the dishes, clean the laundry, all the surfaces in the house, and all the bodies in the tub. I'm amazed the basic process is still the same centuries later and the tongue zap is still the most reliable method to check for excess lye. The biggest amazement for me is that someone (what, a couple thousand years ago?) in ancient Rome actually figured out how to mix goat grease and spruce ash to make a cleansing product. That's amazing to me!
We're so fortunate to have lye calculators and people that can calculate sap values for us, chemical distributors that can give us the purity of the lye we're working with plus all the pretty colors and great scents. I'm amazed my grandmother made soap by throwing in handfuls of this, pinches of that, cooking and stirring.... All after she rendered the fat and steeped the ashes to make the lye. AND NO ONE GOT HURT! At least no one's admitting to it in my family, lol. The same soap was used to wash the dishes, clean the laundry, all the surfaces in the house, and all the bodies in the tub. I'm amazed the basic process is still the same centuries later and the tongue zap is still the most reliable method to check for excess lye. The biggest amazement for me is that someone (what, a couple thousand years ago?) in ancient Rome actually figured out how to mix goat grease and spruce ash to make a cleansing product. That's amazing to me!
I was amazed with gel phase since the tutorial I followed didn't have any mention of it (I know I know I should have researched more ).
It was a simple OO and CO recipe, everything went well but I got scared when it started to turn into jelly mush. After quick Googling I realised my first ever soap is going to be perfectly fine.
And also, how good is it on the skin, I'm never going back to shop bought stuff.
). It was a simple OO and CO recipe, everything went well but I got scared when it started to turn into jelly mush. After quick Googling I realised my first ever soap is going to be perfectly fine.
And also, how good is it on the skin, I'm never going back to shop bought stuff.
Glen,
I know what you mean. When I first started out I had a couple of books. One was The Complete Soap Maker by Norma Cooney....the way she put it is that you had to make big batches of plain soap, then everything got rebatched to add colors scents, herbs etc. Can you imagine? I thought there had to be a better way than shredding all that soap! Then I came across The Soapmakers Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch. I ended up reading all of her books. And of course she promotes only vegetable based soaps, and talks down lard and tallow as inferior ingredients. So in the beginning I made only veggie soaps thinking that lard and tallow were bad ingredients. Well, let me tell ya, once I tried them in soap, I noticed a BIG difference in how the soap felt. And lard is so conditioning! There is a big difference between all veggie and animal based soap.
I know what you mean. When I first started out I had a couple of books. One was The Complete Soap Maker by Norma Cooney....the way she put it is that you had to make big batches of plain soap, then everything got rebatched to add colors scents, herbs etc. Can you imagine? I thought there had to be a better way than shredding all that soap! Then I came across The Soapmakers Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch. I ended up reading all of her books. And of course she promotes only vegetable based soaps, and talks down lard and tallow as inferior ingredients. So in the beginning I made only veggie soaps thinking that lard and tallow were bad ingredients. Well, let me tell ya, once I tried them in soap, I noticed a BIG difference in how the soap felt. And lard is so conditioning! There is a big difference between all veggie and animal based soap.
