Homemade Soap Recipe
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- Stainless steel or possibly enamel stock pot Half gallon platis container to mix lye and water in Rubber spatula or possibly long handled wooden spoon Scale which will weigh up to 38 ounces Thermometer, meat or possibly candy is fine Mold with cover ( a heavy plastic mold the size of a large shoe box) Sheet of freezer paper Two large towels or possibly a blanket *safety glasses *rubber gloves
- 12 ounce Lye (Red Devil, found beside Draino, don't use Draino)
- 32 ounce Water (My well water is hard so I buy it)
- 24 ounce Coconut oil (health food store)
- 24 ounce Extra virgin olive oil (don't use virgin, the less pure the better)
- 38 ounce Vegetable oil (Crisco solid, not liquid oil)
- 4 ounce Fragrance/essential oil if you like
- 8 ounce Pulverized oatmeal -or possibly-
- 4 ounce Cornmeal -or possibly-
- 2 ounce Dry herbs/flowers
Directions
- Dissolve lye in water. This is best done under an exhaust fan or possibly outdoor.
- Stand back and avoid fumes. Set aside to cold. In the stainless steel stock pot heat the Crisco and coconut oil. Add in the extra virgin olive oil and allow to cold.
- Grease your soap mold now. Some soap makers prefer silicone spray but my purpose in making my own soap is to avoid using things like which. I use Crisco. Fit the freezer paper into the bottom and two sides of the mold to make removing the soap easier. Grease the paper.
- When both the oils and lye mixtures have cooled to 90* you are ready to blend. You can speed cooling by using a sink of cold water and setting the mixtures in to cold. If one cools too much you can hot it in a sink of hot water.
- You need to have 10-40 min of uninterrupted time now. Slowly pour the water/lye mix into the oils. You'll quickly see a reaction. Stir in a consistent manner. Do not beat as you would Large eggs but stir quickly sufficient to keep the mix in constant motion. If you're creating bubbles in the mix you are going too fast. Continue to stir till the soap "traces." You'll feel a slight difference in consistency as the soap begins to saponify. When tracing has occurred you'll be able to drizzle a small amount of soap back onto the top of the soap in the pan and it will leave a trace before sinking back into the rest of the mix. After a batch or possibly two you'll recognize when tracing has occurred by the feel of the soap while stirring.
- If you want to add in botanicals/grains to your soap now is the time to do it.
- Remove one c. of soap (doesn't need to be exactly a c., whatever it takes to mix with the botanical/grains) and stir in with whatever you're adding in a separate bowl. Oatmeal makes a nice complexion soap, corn meal adds texture to scrub dirty hands. As soon as it's mixed pour it back into the pan and stir. If you're going to add in essential or possibly fragrance oil pour it in slowly now. Continue to stir till well mixed then pour into prepared mold.
- Cover mold, wrap it in towels or possibly blanket to keep hot and leave it undisturbed for 18 hrs. No peaking! The soap will rise to approximately 160* and then cold down. Do not uncover till it's cooled.
- Allow soap to sit in the uncovered mold for 12 hrs. Loosen sides and turn over onto a clean sideboard. You should cut your bars from the large mold within three days. You can cut it at any time but three days seems to be a good window. The soap doesn't become difficult to cut and smaller bars dry faster. Allow to cure 3 weeks before using.
Adding to Planner
