Alfa_Lazcares
Well-Known Member
Hello everybody!
So, story time. About two years ago I came across some youtube videos of people making their own soap. They seemed kinda easy and hard at the same time. Easy because they were making HP soap and it looked to me like they were basically cooking oils and adding lye. Hard because of the crockpots (i still have no idea what are those) the laser thermometers (had no idea those existed) and the palm oil everyone seems to use (i have never seen palm oil in my life). So it was entertaining but not something i was gonna try since i didnt have half of the things requierd.
But then youtube kept showing me soap videos. I watched several melt and pour but i, as a kid, had a tried that (for a school proyect) and while it was amusing for a while it lost its charm since the quality of the soap seemed pretty “meh” at best. But i kept watching because pretty soaps.
Then youtube decided to show me cold process soap and that seemed less daunting. Probably cause it didnt require cooking and crockpots and thermometers but i still had the issue of palm oils and tallow (that i dont even know if i can get here cause never heard of it).
So, i just kept watching people making pretty soaps.
Finally i came across people making soap with oils that sounded familiar to me, so i really started researching the whole thing and found that people actually use things that I can get my hands on. I started by making a list of the oils i could find easily: coconut, olive, soybean, sunflower, canola, castor, avocado, almond, lard... and i already knew where to get the lye. So after several months of searching and getting cold feet, i took the plunge and got myself pitchers, a scale, a stick blender, a mould the oils and the lye. This was about two months ago, and I did it!
I made just a small batch of a simple recipe with coconut, lard, olive and castor, no fragrance and no color.
Yes, its not a pretty soap, it was still a bit sticky when i unmolded it and it is yellow, but i was proud i made it. And then it came the time to use it after 3 weeks cause i couldnt wait any longer.
And i was in love. This soap made bubbles! Like actual bubbles. I am used to soaps making just a “meh” lather and maybe a teeny tiny bubble here and there but mine is creamy, it lathers super well and MAKES BUBBLES! My first bar didnt last long cause i just kept rubbing it and watching the bubbles and the creaminess.
So i decided that yep, i want to do this.
I am still obviously very new to this but i think i am finally understanding the water/lye ratio, the “water discounts”, the “superfats”, and i even made a chart of the oils i can get, their properties, the ratio people seem to like, the aditives i can add...
I made a second batch a few weeks after the first with a recipe from soaping 101 that i havent tried yet, that one has some grounded oatmeal and a bit of lavander EO.
Then i came across the shampoo bar recipe here and made one of those too that its also curing.
Then i also made a second batch of my original soap but with a few changes on the % of the oils (less coconut cause it was just a tiny bit drying) and with EO also added to it.
Today i made my first salt bar too.
So as you can see I am hooked.
Before i really start messing with fragrance and colors I want to keep making small batches of different “basic” recipes (hence the salt bar since its pretty basic on its composition but also quite different because of the salt).
I thought about making the basic castille soap and the bastille one too. Maybe a pure lard one too just for the funsies basically. Maybe even a brine soap. If you know of a simple but staple soap i should get to know please tell me about it. I want to try them because i want to get to know how the different oils affect the soap and how they actually feel.
Like, with the bubbles i was talking about, i read a lot of people talking about them, and the soap calc even tells you how “bubbly” the soap will be, but i never actually thought it would make bubbles! Like: mindblown.
I also make small batches since we are only 3 in my family and if they dont turn out nice i am the only one thats gonna have to use them up.
Though i must say that my mother quite liked the first soap i made. Said it wasnt drying and she also liked the lather.
I havent tried butters yet (mango, cocoa and shea are the ones i can get) because they are quite pricy and if i mess up, i rather mess up with cheaper oils! It is looking like i am gonna go no palm, first because no where to find it and second because all the controversy surrownding it. But since i’m not vegan and i dont mind using lard i think I still can make quite a lot with it.
Finally i want to thank all of you cause when i had questions you all answered me even when I didnt post a question. This forum is full of answers and people explaining things quite clearly.
Here in Mexico i havent found someone that actually makes the soaps from scratch, i have only found small clases of melt and pour, yes they do aditives and colors and stuff but i get the feeling they are mostly decorative soaps and noone seems to talk about making the actuall soap from scratch. And i live in Mexico city, not a small town, so it was quite surprising to me that I couldnt find someone local that could teach me, so, again, i thank you for that.
I even learned some vocabulary thanks to you, i was so confused the first time I read “castor oil” cause “castor” in spanish is an animal (beaver) and so for a while i thought you were talking about making soap with the fat from that animal, turns out, in spanish is called “ricino” and yes i had heard about it, lol.
Anyway, thanks again and I hope i didnt bored you with my story.
I’ll read you soon!
So, story time. About two years ago I came across some youtube videos of people making their own soap. They seemed kinda easy and hard at the same time. Easy because they were making HP soap and it looked to me like they were basically cooking oils and adding lye. Hard because of the crockpots (i still have no idea what are those) the laser thermometers (had no idea those existed) and the palm oil everyone seems to use (i have never seen palm oil in my life). So it was entertaining but not something i was gonna try since i didnt have half of the things requierd.
But then youtube kept showing me soap videos. I watched several melt and pour but i, as a kid, had a tried that (for a school proyect) and while it was amusing for a while it lost its charm since the quality of the soap seemed pretty “meh” at best. But i kept watching because pretty soaps.
Then youtube decided to show me cold process soap and that seemed less daunting. Probably cause it didnt require cooking and crockpots and thermometers but i still had the issue of palm oils and tallow (that i dont even know if i can get here cause never heard of it).
So, i just kept watching people making pretty soaps.
Finally i came across people making soap with oils that sounded familiar to me, so i really started researching the whole thing and found that people actually use things that I can get my hands on. I started by making a list of the oils i could find easily: coconut, olive, soybean, sunflower, canola, castor, avocado, almond, lard... and i already knew where to get the lye. So after several months of searching and getting cold feet, i took the plunge and got myself pitchers, a scale, a stick blender, a mould the oils and the lye. This was about two months ago, and I did it!
I made just a small batch of a simple recipe with coconut, lard, olive and castor, no fragrance and no color.
Yes, its not a pretty soap, it was still a bit sticky when i unmolded it and it is yellow, but i was proud i made it. And then it came the time to use it after 3 weeks cause i couldnt wait any longer.
And i was in love. This soap made bubbles! Like actual bubbles. I am used to soaps making just a “meh” lather and maybe a teeny tiny bubble here and there but mine is creamy, it lathers super well and MAKES BUBBLES! My first bar didnt last long cause i just kept rubbing it and watching the bubbles and the creaminess.
So i decided that yep, i want to do this.
I am still obviously very new to this but i think i am finally understanding the water/lye ratio, the “water discounts”, the “superfats”, and i even made a chart of the oils i can get, their properties, the ratio people seem to like, the aditives i can add...
I made a second batch a few weeks after the first with a recipe from soaping 101 that i havent tried yet, that one has some grounded oatmeal and a bit of lavander EO.
Then i came across the shampoo bar recipe here and made one of those too that its also curing.
Then i also made a second batch of my original soap but with a few changes on the % of the oils (less coconut cause it was just a tiny bit drying) and with EO also added to it.
Today i made my first salt bar too.
So as you can see I am hooked.
Before i really start messing with fragrance and colors I want to keep making small batches of different “basic” recipes (hence the salt bar since its pretty basic on its composition but also quite different because of the salt).
I thought about making the basic castille soap and the bastille one too. Maybe a pure lard one too just for the funsies basically. Maybe even a brine soap. If you know of a simple but staple soap i should get to know please tell me about it. I want to try them because i want to get to know how the different oils affect the soap and how they actually feel.
Like, with the bubbles i was talking about, i read a lot of people talking about them, and the soap calc even tells you how “bubbly” the soap will be, but i never actually thought it would make bubbles! Like: mindblown.
I also make small batches since we are only 3 in my family and if they dont turn out nice i am the only one thats gonna have to use them up.
Though i must say that my mother quite liked the first soap i made. Said it wasnt drying and she also liked the lather.
I havent tried butters yet (mango, cocoa and shea are the ones i can get) because they are quite pricy and if i mess up, i rather mess up with cheaper oils! It is looking like i am gonna go no palm, first because no where to find it and second because all the controversy surrownding it. But since i’m not vegan and i dont mind using lard i think I still can make quite a lot with it.
Finally i want to thank all of you cause when i had questions you all answered me even when I didnt post a question. This forum is full of answers and people explaining things quite clearly.
Here in Mexico i havent found someone that actually makes the soaps from scratch, i have only found small clases of melt and pour, yes they do aditives and colors and stuff but i get the feeling they are mostly decorative soaps and noone seems to talk about making the actuall soap from scratch. And i live in Mexico city, not a small town, so it was quite surprising to me that I couldnt find someone local that could teach me, so, again, i thank you for that.
I even learned some vocabulary thanks to you, i was so confused the first time I read “castor oil” cause “castor” in spanish is an animal (beaver) and so for a while i thought you were talking about making soap with the fat from that animal, turns out, in spanish is called “ricino” and yes i had heard about it, lol.
Anyway, thanks again and I hope i didnt bored you with my story.
I’ll read you soon!
, looks like your off to great start and yes you are hooked. Just keep reading the beginners threads and your right to start making soap without colour and scent to get the hang of it, it's the way to go 
.
Welcome !
