Okay so I made soap and this is not just a spur of the moment thing for me at all. I have been thinking about this for over a year(I know…it is just soap for God’s sake!!) but if you know me then you will understand. I have a toddler running around, I break, I drop and I spill everything! and soaping involves LYE, LYE is very, very dangerous it stings and burns, hence it took me over a year to decide. I have read and still reading books(on kindle mostly)about soaps,Lye safety, etc. And watched a lot of videos just to see the way things go when it comes to soap, But I don’t have a lecture on soaps, so if you are interested in soap making then you can go to https://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv/videos for everything you need to know about soap and Lye safety and there is a lot of books that can be downloaded on Amazon Kindle for free for as low as £0.77 and you don’t need a kindle you can download it on your phone or iPad. I got the soap recipe from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Soapmaking-Traditional-Luxurious-Handcrafted-ebook/dp/. It is definitely a book to read if you are considering soap making.
The Original Recipe
225g Coconut Oil
595g Olive Oil
225g Distilled Water
116g Lye
My Version
225g Coconut Oil
595g Olive Oil
112.5 Rose Water
112.5 Distilled Water
After trace I also added dried rose flowers because I don’t like colors or too much scent in my soap, so i am sticking to dried flowers and herbs even for future projects at least for now.
- I made my Lye solution(don’t forget to wear a covered shoe, rubber gloves,eye goggles, you basically have to suit up because Lye is really dangerous) by measuring the water and rose-water and mixing them, then I gently poured the lye into the water stirring all through.
Note: Never pour the water into Lye,always pour Lye into water.
- I measured all my oils and when the Lye and oils were at a close temperature I poured the oils into the Lye solution.Because I mixed my Lye at my back garden (You need a ventilated environment to mix Lye because the fumes that comes out of it while mixing is toxic), I did the pouring outside too.
- I used my hand blender to mix and get to trace, I have to say that it did not take long at all to reach trace ( trace is when the mixture is thick and milky and if you use a spoon to make a mark, you can actually see the mark)
- I then poured it into a silicon mold, made a rough design on it and sprinkled with dried roses. You have to wait at least 12 hours to unmold and cut and because this is a cold process method I decided to wait 2 to 3 weeks to allow it to cure before using it. As long as you follow a recipe accurately and run it through a Lye calculator then your soap should be okay. I have to say that due to my impatience I did not wait the whole 12 hours before removing it from the mold and trying to cut so the soap was a bit moist but it is perfectly fine and lather really well and creamy.
I got all my supplies online at: http://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/. And like I said earlier,everything and anything on soap making is online so go soap surfing!.
Test for PH level
Put a little bit of water on the of the soap and use your finger to rub on it to make a small paste then put a PH strip in the into the paste, the soap should show numbers in the range of 7 to 10 but if it shows higher, then just put aside and let it rest for a few days or weeks.
Thank you!.
