Giving my first soap making lesson soon.

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I have had both my shots so I am ready to let people in my house. I have been asked to teach someone how to make soap and I am thinking a very simple recipe with inexpensive grocery store oils, pringles or milk carton mold and natural colorants.

I want to try to make this as inexpensive as I can as I know they don't have a lot to spend on this.

I am thinking GV shortening, CO and GV OO. Should I go 20% or 25% on the CO? I am going to have a recipe printed out and lye solution ready to go, but I want to mix a batch of lye with her to show how it is done.

I am thinking paprika oil for the colorant. Can someone suggest something else that might be pleasing and in the pantry. My only other thought was cocoa powder.

Any suggestions?
 
I've watched a lot of soap makers teach soap making on YouTube and one thing that always bugs me is is that they can't just teach how to make soap...they got to jazz it up with colorants, scents and sprinkles on top of the soap.

When I taught a friend to make soap I started with the fundamentals...why you need Lye, Lye Safety and a plain Jane soap. Once she made that first batch of soap...then we talked about colorants, scents and additives.
 
@KiwiMoose how long did it take to fade. I like the idea of turmeric and lemongrass EO. Maybe paprika and turmeric together.
I'll find a pic, hold the line please caller....
The first is a couple weeks into the cure, and the second was after six weeks (can't really see it in the second. I had calendula petals in the top layer, uncoloured, and the turmeric in the bottom which was pretty much mustard yellow when I poured it.
 

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maybe you can make the lye solution with her because its basic and important to learn how to do it and not being intimidated by it
I was thinking of making it with her but having some already cooled. I don’t want to get into the wine while waiting and goof up the soap lol

I'll find a pic, hold the line please caller....
The first is a couple weeks into the cure, and the second was after six weeks (can't really see it in the second. I had calendula petals in the top layer, uncoloured, and the turmeric in the bottom which was pretty much mustard yellow when I poured it.
i see what you mean but the color is still okay. If it fades to a light orange it will still look nice.
 
I agree that the first lesson should be about the basics, and should include a basic simple soap. Then if you want, you can do an advanced or maybe an 'introduction to swirls' lesson the following month (and have them bring back at least one bar of their first soap so you can see how they turned out after a 4-week cure and talk more about cure time.) During the second lesson, you can go into more detail about colors, fragrances, even additives and do a simple swirled soap. Or an 'introduction to colorants & fragrances in soap' or whatever.

Paprika oil that you have made ahead of time would make a lovely color. Make sure you show them how to strain out the actual spice so they don't end up with bits that might irritate mucous membranes (tender lady parts). Of course that depends on if you use sweet or mild paprika to make your oil (re: capsaicin content.)

I would avoid anything that will create a longer cure time, so keep your OO percentage low, and also not a salt bar. Your student(s) will not want to wait long for the cure of their very first soap.

Adding a fragrance of some type would be nice, if the student so desires, so maybe offer two or three options from your stash, but let them know fragrance is optional. Same for colorants; offer 2 or 3 options and maybe provide a handout with url's to look up info on natural colorants if they want to make soap at home from their pantry.

For natural colorants, maybe buy a small baby food container of puréed carrots, or purée some you have on hand. Others to suggest for color: steep some tea, but leave the leaves out of the soap for a beginner; depending on their skin type, it may end up being too scratchy. In fact, for your student's, I suggest no exfoliant additives. Plain soap is best for a first time soap, IMO.

CO percentage, the highest I would recommend for a beginner is 20%, but if it was me, I'd probably go no higher than 18% (for myself, I go lower still.)

Would HO Sunflower or HO Canola be cheaper than Olive? If so, I'd go with one of them. Not the regular versions because they would raise the linoleic acid content too much.

I am assuming you are talking about the GV shortening with tallow and not the GV vegetable shortening? If you are talking about the vegetable shortening (that's the only one sold at my local Walmart), then the linoleic acid content would be really high in the end product, and I would suggest including a chelator as well to help prevent DOS. I don't personally use Citric Acid, but it would be something your students should be able to find in a grocery store.

Anyway, it is so cool you are going to do a lesson in your home. Good luck and have fun!
 
I agree with Earlene on the CO percentage. Maybe 15% CO, 60% Walmart GV Shortening and 25% OO or any other HO oil.

Colorants, your choice, but I wouldn't color it at all for the first time maker to learn.

I would show them how to add fragrance oil though. And definitely show them how to measure and mix the lye and water.

I know it is easy but you gotta emphasize the procedures for mixing the lye and doing it right. Very important IMHO.

I might also mention castor oil and how it helps lather. Walmart's does have castor oil in the pharmacy section usually, so she could find it when shopping. (She could add 5% and reduce the OO by the same amount.)
 
What about using a small amount of carrot or pumpkin puree? In a smallish batch you could get by with dividing out a portion and adding a tsp without upsetting the lye concentration. What about clays?
 
What might be a nice thing to take away, depending on how much you're willing to spend, might be a small mould and a printed recipe to fit it... Maybe even the mould you use in the lesson.
I have this one from Amazon which is a nice size for a beginner, and is not expensive. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WD34722?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Of course you'll still go over soap calc etc so she knows how to formulate her own recipe in the future, but if she can make her next few batches at home without having to worry about that, it might be useful.
 

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