Where did you learn to soap?

[Jackie H]

Hi and welcome! I am still a baby soapmaker with right around 25 small batches under my belt. My first passion is dairy goats, so I thought goat milk soap would be a fun way to use extra milk. (If using up gallons of extra milk is your soapmaking goal, you're better off making cheese and yogurt instead of using 10 oz at a time making soap!)

I started by watching tons of youtube and Brambleberry videos. My husband bought me a Brambleberry kit for Christmas that ended up sitting in the closet until the next Christmas when I finally made my first CP soap. I followed the directions, except I substituted frozen goat milk for the water. After that, I learned to use a soap calculator, joined this forum and have been working on perfecting a recipe I like while learning fun techniques.

While YouTube videos are very helpful, nothing can replace the help that is found on this Soapmaking Forum. The ladies and gentlemen here are so kind, helpful and encouraging, and you'll learn more from them than anyone else!

Warning. I have NEVER been a person who thought twice about anything "bath and body." I'm in my mid 40s, my hair is turning gray, my skin is wrinkling and I don't give a hoot about any of it. But since I started making soap, I have suddenly become a soap snob and I can't stand using grocery store detergent bars or even nice melt-and-pour. Even my 10-year-old son exclaimed that he washes his hands a lot more than he used to because he likes my soap, and it takes pitch off his hands after he helps his dad on the sawmill. When little boys start washing voluntarily, you know you've got to keep making more soap!

I’m in the don’t give a hoot category too!

Thank you so much for your replies everyone!!! I can’t reply to them all but have read and enjoyed each one!

 

[cmzaha]

Self taught from old books, (lot's of mistakes),when there were not many around. No forum or youtube, it's a lot easier to find what you need now.

Same here.

 

[McKherring Farm]

Years ago my daughter helped a 4H friend show dairy goats which of course, led to her acquiring a couple of dairy goats of her own for show. That turned into getting them bred....which led to babies....and milk...and it has just carried on from there. We used lots of milk for Angora goat bottle babies. 4H days are long gone, but the goat herd has grown and is here to stay. I read and read and read anything I could find online about goat milk soap as well as hitting the public library in a nearby town. I finally had a freezer literally full of frozen goat milk so I took the leap, ordered lye from Brambleberry, and followed a cold process recipe for goat milk soap from a homesteader's blog online. She linked to a lye calculator and my first several batches worked out well. At that point, I only wanted to use "natural" colorants so the research went on. At some point along that time period, I found my way to this forum which has been a wealth of ideas and experiences! I stalked for a while (LOL), then got brave and joined. I continue to learn every time I log on!

 

[ackosel]

Wow, lots of us started making soap because of goats! How fun!

 

[jcandleattic]

Honestly can't remember it's been so long. I know YouTube wasn't even a thing back then, or at least was very new, so pretty much was only music videos, - I think I just got a whim, read a book and off I went. LOL Close to over 25 years now.

 

[bookworm42]

Bought soap from a lady moving out of our neighborhood and got hooked. Then the royalty soap shorts on YouTube popped up in my recommended. Loved seeing the designs and different things. From there it spiraled into I could probably make my own. Did a bunch of research and found this place.

 

[Ekuzo]

Wow, lots of us started making soap because of goats! How fun!

"The horned one made me do it" - it's all starting to make sense now

 

[lucycat]

One of few but I took a class. I had a friend who let me watch and help one day and did make a couple of batches before I took a class at a folk school where I vacationed for a week. It was a very good experience. The teacher pushed basics and I learned to calculate lye by hand as well as to think/plan on fatty acid profiles for my ideal soap. I saw mistakes and successes of the 9 other women in the class while we made a lot of soap. They also inspired me in setting goals on what I wanted in my soap oil wise, but also set my ideas of color and fragrance. I left ready to practice and wanting to do a craft fair.

 

[VikingChick]

I’ve learned some online and some from books. And a lot from this forum. I made my first batch after my daughter (who was in college at the time) told me that she and a friend had made soap to donate to a battered women’s shelter. I was intrigued by the idea of making something useful that no one else that I knew made. I knew that oil + lye = soap (probably from organic chemistry in college) so had a basic understanding of the process even if I didn’t remember the details. I asked my daughter what recipe she used, and she sent me a link to a recipe on The Nerdy Farm Wife’s website. I bought the stuff and went for it. I’d gotten a small lye burn way back in a college chemistry lab (30 years ago and I still have the faintest resemblance of a scar on my knee…I’ll never forget it because it ate through the knit pants I was wearing and I was like, holy crap!), so I knew how to respect lye and didn’t really fear it (much). Fortunately, Jan’s recipe was good because I didn’t know enough to validate it with a lye calculator or anything. At that time, I just want do to see if it would work….and it did!!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Wow, lots of us started making soap because of goats! How fun!

I want a goat, too - total goat FOMO over here!

 

[AliOop]

I want a goat, too - total goat FOMO over here!

MEEE TOOO!!! I miss my chickens and want more of those, as well.

 

[ackosel]

MEEE TOOO!!! I miss my chickens and want more of those, as well.

I've got goats and chickens coming out my ears! Goat math and chicken math are real! Plenty to go around. Come and get 'em!

 

[GracieRose]

I learned how to make soap from Brambleberry. I bought a kit and watched Soap Queen on line.

 

[Relle]

MEEE TOOO!!! I miss my chickens and want more of those, as well.

Well, I need eggs, there is a shortage here as there has been a virus and chooks had to be killed.

 

[Momma Hoot]

Also self taught here.
My main reason for attempting to make soap was that I have sensitive skin, and am often prone to eczema from certain soaps. So many of the commercial soaps would leave my skin & hands dry, and itchy. I read through a lot of books in between watchin a number of YouTube video's. Still not convinced that I could do this, I ordered more books and did more reading. And then I took the plunge and made my first batch! Thankfully it turned out okay, and I was hooked. Not all recipes were a success but where would the challenge be, if all attempts turned out, right?

I also joined this forum, and am thankful that I did as As I believe this is where I've found most of my answers to questions I had regarding soap recipes that worked for me.

 

[Jackie H]

One of few but I took a class. I had a friend who let me watch and help one day and did make a couple of batches before I took a class at a folk school where I vacationed for a week. It was a very good experience. The teacher pushed basics and I learned to calculate lye by hand as well as to think/plan on fatty acid profiles for my ideal soap. I saw mistakes and successes of the 9 other women in the class while we made a lot of soap. They also inspired me in setting goals on what I wanted in my soap oil wise, but also set my ideas of color and fragrance. I left ready to practice and wanting to do a craft fair.

What a cool experience!

I’ve learned some online and some from books. And a lot from this forum. I made my first batch after my daughter (who was in college at the time) told me that she and a friend had made soap to donate to a battered women’s shelter. I was intrigued by the idea of making something useful that no one else that I knew made. I knew that oil + lye = soap (probably from organic chemistry in college) so had a basic understanding of the process even if I didn’t remember the details. I asked my daughter what recipe she used, and she sent me a link to a recipe on The Nerdy Farm Wife’s website. I bought the stuff and went for it. I’d gotten a small lye burn way back in a college chemistry lab (30 years ago and I still have the faintest resemblance of a scar on my knee…I’ll never forget it because it ate through the knit pants I was wearing and I was like, holy crap!), so I knew how to respect lye and didn’t really fear it (much). Fortunately, Jan’s recipe was good because I didn’t know enough to validate it with a lye calculator or anything. At that time, I just want do to see if it would work….and it did!!

I think the Nerdy Farm Wife was the one who put the idea in my head her and Lovely Greens

Also self taught here.
My main reason for attempting to make soap was that I have sensitive skin, and am often prone to eczema from certain soaps. So many of the commercial soaps would leave my skin & hands dry, and itchy. I read through a lot of books in between watchin a number of YouTube video's. Still not convinced that I could do this, I ordered more books and did more reading. And then I took the plunge and made my first batch! Thankfully it turned out okay, and I was hooked. Not all recipes were a success but where would the challenge be, if all attempts turned out, right?

I also joined this forum, and am thankful that I did as As I believe this is where I've found most of my answers to questions I had regarding soap recipes that worked for me.

I have sensitive skin too and am prone to skin infections. I’m hoping by making my own soap I can add some things that help prevent the infections. I figure if the scent of EO’s survive the process the anti microbial effects probably do too

 

[Servant4Christ]

I started out reading all the soapmaking books from my local library. The only ones I found that were helpful to me at the time were Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson and the Everything Soapmaking Book, but I usually had more questions after reading the books. (Example: Why didn't that recipe show me the superfat?") Then, one day as I was watching YouTube videos from Brambleberry and getting annoyed with the number of oils, colorants, fragrances, and self promotion of all the things, I stumbled onto Elly's Everyday Soapmaking channel and I thought, "Now THIS is what I was looking for!" There were videos that showed more than just how to make soap! There were videos that explain how to build a recipe, how lye concentration works, how to calculate recipes to fit your mold, how to line your mold (I still cannot line mine the way she does), ect.... Watching her videos is what made me realize that I can absolutely do this. Soapmaking is definitely math and science, but it ain't rocket science! Later, I found Modern Soapmaking and Classic Bells, which helped me immensely. I accidentally found this forum when Googling soapmaking questions. Seriously, every soapmaking question I searched showed answers from this forum so I decided to investigate. I've learned soooo much from the members of this forum over the years, both before and since joining.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Honestly can't remember it's been so long. I know YouTube wasn't even a thing back then, or at least was very new, so pretty much was only music videos, - I think I just got a whim, read a book and off I went. LOL Close to over 25 years now.

I have a relative (well, my husband has a relative) who used to make/sell soap before YouTube was a thing. I was always interested but we lived far enough apart that we never really had the opportunity for her to teach me. She had long since stopped making soap when I started so when I called her with specific soapmaking questions, she didn't really remember/know the answers to the kind of questions I had. In her defense, I don't think she (like many others) cared as much about the actual science of soapmaking as much as she just wanted to know her ingredients were all natural and safe. Thus, to the library I went and eventually to the internet, too! I studied and pondered soapmaking for YEARS before actually diving in.

 

[Jackie H]

I started out reading all the soapmaking books from my local library. The only ones I found that were helpful to me at the time were Smart Soapmaking by Anne Watson and the Everything Soapmaking Book, but I usually had more questions after reading the books. (Example: Why didn't that recipe show me the superfat?") Then, one day as I was watching YouTube videos from Brambleberry and getting annoyed with the number of oils, colorants, fragrances, and self promotion of all the things, I stumbled onto Elly's Everyday Soapmaking channel and I thought, "Now THIS is what I was looking for!" There were videos that showed more than just how to make soap! There were videos that explain how to build a recipe, how lye concentration works, how to calculate recipes to fit your mold, how to line your mold (I still cannot line mine the way she does), ect.... Watching her videos is what made me realize that I can absolutely do this. Soapmaking is definitely math and science, but it ain't rocket science! Later, I found Modern Soapmaking and Classic Bells, which helped me immensely. I accidentally found this forum when Googling soapmaking questions. Seriously, every soapmaking question I searched showed answers from this forum so I decided to investigate. I've learned soooo much from the members of this forum over the years, both before and since joining.

I love Ellys Everyday! The only recipes I’ve made so far have been hers

 

[Servant4Christ]

I love Ellys Everyday! The only recipes I’ve made so far have been hers

I've only actually used one of Elly's recipes which was for a liquid soap. I used her videos as a common sense guide to understanding what I was doing and why/how to do things from a mathematical perspective, if that makes sense. Elly's videos show how straightforward and accessible soapmaking can be without overwhelming you with all the extras that you can choose to (or not to) experiment with later.