SoapMakerDeluxe
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2014
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 19
Hi all,
I'm new to soapmaking (recently ordered my first soapmaking kit from BrambleBerry.com) and have been going thoroughly through some recipes to make sure I don't make any wrong turns when the time comes to make the stuff.
I went through her basic recipe, and wrote down any Q's I had remaining after that.
I'm a big stickler about knowing my lye safety, so I was hoping you could indulge my exhaustive questions here:
1. What should the temperatures of the lye-water and oils be before I mix them? How close should they be?
2. Should I get separate thermometers to use in each the lye and oils as I prepare them to reach those temperatures?
3. It seems that most people do their lye + water before doing the fats, because you can set aside the lye water and let it cool in the meantime. Is that the way to go?
4. What are the best mixing bowl and stirring spoon materials? I'm leaning towards stainless steel.
5. Does the stick blender need to be any special type, or is any plastic stick blender good enough?
6. Material for gloves--should be rubber, right?
7. If I pour too much lye when weighing, what's the safest way to get some back into the bottle? I imagine just carefully pouring it back?
8. What's a good way to clean my lye water container after using it? I've seen hot water but isn't vinegar or a vinegar-water solution better?
9. How do I clean everything that touched lye or lye water afterwards? Like the thermometers and spoons?
10. If I use a spoon to mix lye water, can I use it later to smooth off the top of my traced (and freshly poured into a mold) soap? Just curious if any lye water residue could affect the soap.
11. I saw to hand-wash stuff afterwards with hot water and detergent. What detergent? Does it matter?
12. When I cut the soap out of the mold the next day, is it safe to touch and use on a regular surface? And in cutting, can I use a regular knife that's washed a regular way?
13. How often should I turn soap as it cures?
I'm new to soapmaking (recently ordered my first soapmaking kit from BrambleBerry.com) and have been going thoroughly through some recipes to make sure I don't make any wrong turns when the time comes to make the stuff.
I went through her basic recipe, and wrote down any Q's I had remaining after that.
I'm a big stickler about knowing my lye safety, so I was hoping you could indulge my exhaustive questions here:
1. What should the temperatures of the lye-water and oils be before I mix them? How close should they be?
2. Should I get separate thermometers to use in each the lye and oils as I prepare them to reach those temperatures?
3. It seems that most people do their lye + water before doing the fats, because you can set aside the lye water and let it cool in the meantime. Is that the way to go?
4. What are the best mixing bowl and stirring spoon materials? I'm leaning towards stainless steel.
5. Does the stick blender need to be any special type, or is any plastic stick blender good enough?
6. Material for gloves--should be rubber, right?
7. If I pour too much lye when weighing, what's the safest way to get some back into the bottle? I imagine just carefully pouring it back?
8. What's a good way to clean my lye water container after using it? I've seen hot water but isn't vinegar or a vinegar-water solution better?
9. How do I clean everything that touched lye or lye water afterwards? Like the thermometers and spoons?
10. If I use a spoon to mix lye water, can I use it later to smooth off the top of my traced (and freshly poured into a mold) soap? Just curious if any lye water residue could affect the soap.
11. I saw to hand-wash stuff afterwards with hot water and detergent. What detergent? Does it matter?
12. When I cut the soap out of the mold the next day, is it safe to touch and use on a regular surface? And in cutting, can I use a regular knife that's washed a regular way?
13. How often should I turn soap as it cures?