Making Soaps...
My soap drying (aging) like fine wine
This had to be one of my most exciting but nerve racking things I tried. Not because it was difficult, but the idea of creating something from a caustic ingredient like Lye is pretty scary to the first timer. As I researched the basics and then went into the in depth recipes I realized maybe I should have paid more attention in chemistry class. That is basically what you will be doing when making soap, mixing ingredients (compounds) together in the correct amounts - and if it is done correctly, having a great result in the form of a bar of soap. You can buy the kits in stores where you are actually starting with a base soap, usually castile, then melting it down and adding scent before you pour into molds to harden. I thought about just doing that but there again you are using premade soap - what is in it really? No if I am going to make soap I wanted to make it from the beginning. That means starting with Lye.
What is lye? (See photo below)
Here is what Wikipedia had to say:
Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide (NaOH, also known as 'caustic soda') or historically potassium hydroxide (KOH, from hydrated potash). Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes. Today lye is commercially manufactured using a membrane cell method.
Solid dry lye is commonly available as flakes, pellets, microbeads, and coarse powder. It is also available as solution, often dissolved in water. Lye is valued for its use in food preparation, soap making, biodiesel production, and household uses, such as oven cleaner and drain opener.
You can see it is caustic as it is used in drain cleaner! Yup - good old Drain-O drain cleaner has Sodium Hydroxide in it to help dissolve all the clumps of hair and grease from your drains when they get clogged! Ewwe yuk do we really need to use it to make soap? That is a 100% affirmative... You can not make soap without Lye. It is needed for its chemical reaction to the oils/fats to create saponification the process of making suds to put it plainly.
Now that we know what it is, where does it come from? Well originally way back when, barrels where kept of ash from the fireplaces or stoves and once full, 2 or 3 gallons of rain or soft water like from a dehumidifier was added and allowed to leach through the ash. This sits a few days then add more ash or drain the water and pour it back in again from the top. This is done repeatedly until a raw egg floats 1/4 of the way out of the water. Then you drain the water (lye) into a container and the lye is ready to use. There really is more to it than that but this is just a basic outline of what the old timers had to do. The number of times it is cycled is how strong of a cleaner they needed.
I don't know about you but man that is a lot of work for lye...I also will need a barrel like is used in brewing whiskey or wine $$$$. Ok so how easy is it to find lye already made? This wasn't as difficult to find as I thought as so many people are now into making soap. What farmers market have you been to where there wasn't at least one or two vendors selling soap? I went online, did a search and came up with at least 100,000 different vendors selling lye. Now you could find it in a hardware store in some locations but don't be fooled into thinking you can use any drain cleaner as most are commercially made with additives for anti-caking and aluminum which you definitely do not want in your soap! You need 100% food grade Sodium Hydroxide (lye). Now I should mention that lye is also used in making bombs (or so I am told) so many stores will not carry it anymore as they will need special permits to buy it in quantity. I opted to buy from a company I found online and they were having a sale! BONUS!!! (see below picture)
Besides lye the only ingredients in soap are distilled water and oils/fats that can come from animal, vegetable or mineral depending on what you are looking for in a soap. The old timers used fat from the butchered animals (lard) as that was what was readily available. Now a days, we are so spoiled! We have all the makings of the worlds most amazing soaps in every grocery or health food store. From Avocado oil to Ylang Ylang oil and everything in between! One great source I found online is: Soap Making Resource. They also carry a full line of pure Essential oils and list some reputable sources for lye purchases as well as great tutorials on how to make different soaps. It is a great resource for sure!
So lets move on to the next page which will be what you will need to make soap!
See you there....
What is lye? (See photo below)
Here is what Wikipedia had to say:
Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide (NaOH, also known as 'caustic soda') or historically potassium hydroxide (KOH, from hydrated potash). Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes. Today lye is commercially manufactured using a membrane cell method.
Solid dry lye is commonly available as flakes, pellets, microbeads, and coarse powder. It is also available as solution, often dissolved in water. Lye is valued for its use in food preparation, soap making, biodiesel production, and household uses, such as oven cleaner and drain opener.
You can see it is caustic as it is used in drain cleaner! Yup - good old Drain-O drain cleaner has Sodium Hydroxide in it to help dissolve all the clumps of hair and grease from your drains when they get clogged! Ewwe yuk do we really need to use it to make soap? That is a 100% affirmative... You can not make soap without Lye. It is needed for its chemical reaction to the oils/fats to create saponification the process of making suds to put it plainly.
Now that we know what it is, where does it come from? Well originally way back when, barrels where kept of ash from the fireplaces or stoves and once full, 2 or 3 gallons of rain or soft water like from a dehumidifier was added and allowed to leach through the ash. This sits a few days then add more ash or drain the water and pour it back in again from the top. This is done repeatedly until a raw egg floats 1/4 of the way out of the water. Then you drain the water (lye) into a container and the lye is ready to use. There really is more to it than that but this is just a basic outline of what the old timers had to do. The number of times it is cycled is how strong of a cleaner they needed.
I don't know about you but man that is a lot of work for lye...I also will need a barrel like is used in brewing whiskey or wine $$$$. Ok so how easy is it to find lye already made? This wasn't as difficult to find as I thought as so many people are now into making soap. What farmers market have you been to where there wasn't at least one or two vendors selling soap? I went online, did a search and came up with at least 100,000 different vendors selling lye. Now you could find it in a hardware store in some locations but don't be fooled into thinking you can use any drain cleaner as most are commercially made with additives for anti-caking and aluminum which you definitely do not want in your soap! You need 100% food grade Sodium Hydroxide (lye). Now I should mention that lye is also used in making bombs (or so I am told) so many stores will not carry it anymore as they will need special permits to buy it in quantity. I opted to buy from a company I found online and they were having a sale! BONUS!!! (see below picture)
Besides lye the only ingredients in soap are distilled water and oils/fats that can come from animal, vegetable or mineral depending on what you are looking for in a soap. The old timers used fat from the butchered animals (lard) as that was what was readily available. Now a days, we are so spoiled! We have all the makings of the worlds most amazing soaps in every grocery or health food store. From Avocado oil to Ylang Ylang oil and everything in between! One great source I found online is: Soap Making Resource. They also carry a full line of pure Essential oils and list some reputable sources for lye purchases as well as great tutorials on how to make different soaps. It is a great resource for sure!
So lets move on to the next page which will be what you will need to make soap!
See you there....
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