I'd love to give it a try, I'm wondering how involved it is? I know lots of us make laundry soap, so what about bath soap? Does it end up being cheaper just to buy it?
I make my own soap. The traditional Lye and oil and stir until it changes into soap. We love it!! I have a book called Soap making and enjoying it. It is a little dated but has great recipes! I use a stick blender to stir now and it makes it a lot faster. The set up time is the only drawback it takes several weeks to set up. It is fun to make your own though!! Lots of options and scents to play around with. Happy soap making!!
From a hobby store I purchased a soap melting pot and some molds. Then I ordered the soap base here: www.glorybeefoods.com I use the glycerine base. I melt this down and add vitamin E, jojoba oil, essential oils for fragrance, and finely chopped oatmeal or lavendar or chamomile leaves. When I bought the box of soap base and what I wanted to add into each bar of soap I recall it was under 90 cents a bar. I was buying bars of soap from local health stores and they were ranging from $2-$5. So for me it was a cost saving. I looked into the lye based soaps. Someday I will venture there. This works for me now. I still have plenty of glycerin bars to melt down.
We made soap from a kit. We got it from these people... http://www.nussbaumfamilysoaps.com/SoapKits.html We're using it has hand soap; I like it. I don't think it is cost effective, but it was fun.
For traditional soap making supplies you can check out www.snowdriftfarms.com they also have some recipes on the sight.
I copied this from millersoap.com: Beginner's Recipe: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco 1 1/3 cups olive oil 1/4 cup Red Devil lye 6 fluid ounces cool distilled water Arrange for two hours without interruptions. Wear long sleeves. Put on safety glasses and gloves. Keep vinegar at hand for lye splashes. Measure the cool water in the heatproof cup. Place it in the sink, where it can't be knocked over. Working in a well-ventilated area, measure the lye. Hold your breath (not because of the danger, but because there will be fumes) and pour the lye slowly into the water, stirring with wooden spoon or stick until dissolved. The lye solution will top 175 degrees. Let it cool Meanwhile, place the Crisco in the stainless-steel pot over LOW heat until it melts (about 20 minutes). Add the olive oil. After another 15 minutes, take the soap pot off the heat. Within five minutes, both the pot and the heatproof cup should feel toasty to touch--above luke warm (about 115 degrees if you have a glass candy thermometer) but NOT HOT. Slowly pour the lye solution into the fats, stirring steadily. The mixture will lighten and start to thicken. Looking for trace. Stir diligently for 15 minutes, or until the soap traces. Trace occurs when a bit of raw soap, dribbled from the spatula across the surface, leaves "traces" for a few seconds before sinking back in. If you don't get trace after 15 minutes, take a 10-minute break. Stir another 15 minutes. Repeat. Your soap should eventually trace. (If it doesn't, recheck your measurements. You may have to start over.) At trace, stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons scent and pour the soap immediately into the mold. Insulate. Scrape the leftover soap in the pot onto a paper towel and toss it. Wash the utensils in hot water. The cure. Leave the soap undisturbed for 24 hours. It will heat up as it goes through its chemical reaction, then cool. When the soap is firm, cut into four to six bars and put them in a dry, well-ventilated place, away from kids and pets. (I've not tried this recipe. In fact, I'm buying my soap now, but in the past I've enjoyed making soap. Have fun!)
Thanks for the recipe, I like to collect them. I've been making my own soap for a while and I've started to make some fancier ones lately. I discovered a place that sells everything I could want in terms of soap making supplies, including exotic oils and obscure scents. I'm having a great time with it and at Christmas my homemade bars made great gifts. I'd like to get some cute animal molds and make some little soaps for my daughter and her friends. My daughter loves to get crafty with me. :love: Joanna
