I mentioned in my Year of Projects Posts, that I was trying my hand at soap making and several readers expressed that I share my experiences. So here we are!
Firstly, I just have to say, these are my own very limited observations and thoughts, and are not intended to be comprehensive or provide a tutorial or such like.
I have now tried two methods of soap making, melt and pour and a natural soap (a more traditional soap).
Lets start with the natural soap. (I am using a kit - the Natural Soap Making Kit by Kirstie Allsopp as seen
here.)
Now firstly I have to say that it is not finished yet. I went against all my knitting training and did not read through the pattern to the end first! If I had I would have found that when my soap is at the stage it is at, at the moment, it is still corrosive and needs 3/4 weeks to 'age'!! (I will come back to this later).
So it started well, I had a kit so everything was measured out, but I didn't want to make it all , so decided to half everything. This process was easy and then had to put in a microwave till it got to 60 degrees. I don't have a thermometer so just went to when it was all melted together, which seemed fine. I was a little apprehensive about the caustic soda given all the warnings, even though I use it at school. But that too was fine, I used the gloves as instructed and opened a window but I didn't notice any fumes. Then I got to mix together, which all went swimmingly. I was supposed to mix for 10 minutes, break for 5 then repeat until it had started to set. Well it thickened but didn't get to the trace point Kirstie Allsopp wanted. So I read the instructions and they said to heat it back up to kick start the reaction - it didn't say how hot or indeed if you had to get it to trace (leave a trail), so I didn't (being a little fed up of stirring at this point). I went ahead and added my lemongrass and lavender and poured it into moulds.
It took a day but did set ok, and now I have to wait till it ages.
Now the Scientist in me is a little agitated at the lack of a definitive timescale, so I will get some pH paper from school to test it before I use it. Here it is - curing. A little rustic looking, but, I guess, that is the point.
It looks as though it will be nice and lathery (if that is a word!), but is it worth the faff? Probably not - I don't think I have enough patience to get any more of this, but I do have the remaining half kit, which if it sets ok and is not still corrosive (!) I will use with some colouring and different fragrance later in the year.
The melt and pour base.
Now this was a whole different kettle of fish. This was so easy - you just cut up how much you want, melt it in the microwave, add colouring and pour into moulds. I will make some adjustments to my original batch however. I used too much and therefore by the time it was all melting it had formed bubbles which resulted in a white bloom to the finished soap. You can just about make it out on this photo - the top soap was the one with bubbles, the bottom soap made later without.
I so next time I will use less soap and more fragrance. Then the only issue with this one is it doesn't produce a lot of lather, enough but not lots.
In summary, I want this soap for myself and gifts. In truth I think that means it will be the melt and pour base that I get more of for ease and reliability. I will however, use up the kit and will be a little more adventurous if the soaps I have here lather well.
So there you have it - my assessment of soap making!
Lucy, as one who was looking forward to seeing a write up about your soap making experience I found this very interesting. I wonder how any of this is different when cooking soap on the stove top? I've always wanted to try, but now I don't know. I do like that you were able to try a small batch by using a kit. Then again, for all the effort I wonder if I'd be frustrated not having a significant batch at the end. Hmmmm... You've given me some things to think about - and you make me realize there is probably a fair amount of research to do if going about this without a kit. Thank you for the write up! I do think your "rustic" soaps look just perfect. :^)
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 methods of real traditional soap making. The cold method which you mentioned above and the hot method which can be done in a slow cooker. I think the cool method is easier but as you said takes time to cure whilst I've read that the hot process doesn't need curing. I've made a basic soap using the cool method once and have to say I found it easy. If you use a hand held bar mix you will get a trace easy. In fact I got mine too quickly. I don't think I would use a kit though, too expensive when it's easy to buy your own ingredients. Just use a recipe from online or an online soap calculator to give the correct amount of lye to fat. I used olive oil and coconut oil in mine. Aparently the coconut oil gives lather but mine took a long time to harden which I've been told is too high of an olive oil content. Next time I plan to use lard which should give a harder soap. Hope you enjoy your soap.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, I've wondered about giving soap making a try one day. You wouldn't have thought there were so many methods of making it!
ReplyDeleteI have never made soap but I do love reading about the process and appreciate all the work and skills needed to make it!!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to make soap, but the process seems very specific and a little worrisome with the possible "danger" involved. I do love a moisturizing, nicely fragrant soap though.
ReplyDelete