Soapmaking Instructions
Please read through completely before beginning your adventure
~A link for some soap recipes (with more notes) is at the bottom of this page~
VERY IMPORTANT.....
HANDLE LYE WITH CARE!! Lye is extremely caustic and will burn a hole in your skin if it comes into contact with you. Wear your rubber gloves and goggles, pour slowly, and don't let any drip onto countertops or the floor.
IN CASE OF SKIN CONTACT rinse immediately with COLD WATER and apply VINEGAR (which partially neutralizes lye) as soon as possible.
IN CASE OF A SPILL wipe up immediately and rinse thoroughly with COLD WATER. Discard any towels or mops that were used for this purpose.
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR GLOVES AND GOGGLES WHEN WORKING WITH LYE
That said, on to the fun stuff.....
Things you will need:
--2 plastic or wooden slotted spoons that will be used only for soapmaking.
--1 easy-to-pour container of glass or heavy-duty plastic for the lye/water mixture. A heavy-duty plastic pitcher works very nicely.
--1 container for weighing the lye beads into....I've used an empty cool whip container or margarine container that has been thoroughly cleaned and dried completely.
--1 accurate scale for weighing out your ingredients.
--1 one-gallon or bigger stainless steel or enamel pot (be sure enamel is not chipped or scratched). This is for melting your fats and oils in. Be absolutely sure to never use aluminum....the lye in the raw soap can eat right through it! A stainless steel spaghetti pot works wonderfully for larger batches....just keep it set aside for soapmaking only, and not for spaghetti anymore :-)
--Quality thermometer that reads at least between 80 and 110F (a meat thermometer works great)
--1 pair of rubber gloves. Those nice, heavy yellow ones are good.
--Safety goggles or some other form of eye protection.
--Apron that covers your front from neck to at least your knees.
--1 cardboard box lined with plastic, or a watertight plastic container, and some type of lid to put over it....like maybe another piece of cardboard or thin wood. This is your mold.
--1 blanket or heavy towel.
--Stick blender (optional....works for some recipes, but not all)
And now, let's make some soap!!
First, you need to mix the lye with COLD water (it must be as cold as possible since temperatures can reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit or more). You may want to do this outside in an area where it won't be disturbed by children or pets. Or you may do it directly under a kitchen fan that blows to the outside (be sure that it does not blow back into your kitchen through the vent) And again, make sure there are no children or pets around to get into the lye/water mixture while it is cooling down!
Put on your gloves and goggles.
Weigh out the correct amount of water and set it down where you will be leaving it to cool once the lye is added. Then weigh out the correct amount of lye.
While stirring, SLOWLY pour the lye into the water. Stir for a few minutes, until it becomes clear. Do not breath the fumes.
Weigh out all the oils and fats. Put all into the pan except liquid oils (such as olive) and melt on low heat.
When melted, remove from heat, stir in liquid oils and allow to cool. Both the oils and the lye need to cool to a temperature of between 95 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit before mixing together. You may need to place the lye bucket into a pan of cold water to cool it down faster, if it is much hotter than the oils at this point. If the lye gets too cold, you may put the bucket into a pan of hot water to heat it back up. You may also heat the oils back up on low heat if they get too cold.
When both the lye and the oils have reached the correct temperature, (and while wearing your gloves & goggles), pour the lye slowly into the oils while stirring slowly until all the lye is added. Try not to spatter while pouring.
Now you stir........and stir.......Keep in mind that reaching trace can take anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours depending on the recipe.
This is where the stick blender comes in handy. You can keep stirring until trace is reached, and enjoy each and every stage of the soapmaking process; or if you don't have that much patience, you can use the stick blender to get there faster. It can also be used to incorporate herbs more effectively.
To use the stick blender, put it into the soap mixture and let it touch the bottom of the pan. Then "pulse blend" it all around the bottom of the pan.....don't keep it going for more than about 15 or 30 seconds at a time. If you leave it going too long, it will burn out on you. Only do this for about a minute or so and then stir for a few minutes to see if it has reached trace yet. It can happen very quickly, so you want to keep checking about every minute or so. If it gets to the point where the trace is too heavy, it could seize on you when you add your fragrances.
Trace is when your mixture becomes more creamy.....when you lift your spoon to drizzle a little of the mixture on top, say a "figure 8", you will see that figure 8 for a few seconds before it goes back down into the mixture. It will look a little bit like gravy.
Once it reaches a light trace, you may add your herbs or other botanicals and stir or "stick blend" until incorporated completely. Then, when it has reached a full trace, add the fragrance or essential oils, stir well, and pour into the mold. One thing to remember --always add your herbs before your essential or fragrance oils as some EO's and FO's can bring on a trace very quickly and if you aren't fast enough, they can cause the soap to seize. Then you will not only have no chance of incorporating your herbs, but you could also be spooning your mixture into the mold instead of pouring it!
Cover your mold and carefully set in a place where it won't be disturbed by drafts, and then cover with a blanket or heavy towel.
Let the soap "rest" for 18 to 24 hours, and then remove the blanket. You should now see a wonderful block of nice, firm soap!
It may be a bit too soft to cut just yet, so you might need to allow it to air dry for another 12 hours or so and then remove it from the mold.
You may now cut it into bars, roll it into balls, carve it into fun shapes, imprint designs with rubber stamps.....the possibilities are endless!
Let your creations cure (air dry) for at least 3 weeks and then they will be ready to use. Remember that the longer they cure, the harder they will get and the longer they will last.
Wrap with nice tissue paper, material, ribbons, or whatever else suits your fancy.....
Do you have any questions? Write to me by clicking here
For a printable version of these instructions click here
Click here for some soap recipes and more notes!
Would you like to design your own recipe? Click here
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