how did you decide on your first soap to make?

[shee]

there are so many choices it is a bit overwhelming. I thought I had it figured out, I was going to do tallow and olive oil and coconut oil. then my tallow won't be here till after thanksgiving (ordered 1/4 beef animal) and yeah, I could get some at the grocery store but it seems silly since I have a bunch of suet coming anyways. but I have no patience. I want to make my first soap NOW. hahaha. so, now I can't decide what to do at all.

how did YOU decide on what recipe you wanted to try out first?

 

[nattynoo]

My first recipe I used what I had in the cupboard 'olive oil'.
It was a total distaster with the lye eating my stick blender.
So glad I didn't waste any good oil on that one.

Just make a small batch with what u have on hand.

 

[MissMori]

I took a class and they decided for us. My next soap of my own formula was castile. Mostly because olive is so easy to find. Since then I've tried just about every oil under the sun and now am back to the very simple, easy to find oils.

 

[American Valkyrie]

I did about 2 months of research, including pricing the oils around town, before I started making soap. A lot depended on what I could find around town. My first recipe was palm/olive/coconut, since I found those at the local Whole Foods, with a Dollar Store drawer organizer as the mold... but I still had to wait for my scale and FO to come in the mail. I used Nag Champa, since it's the most memorable fragrance I've ordered from a soaper friend... had to try it for myself! As for a recipe, I clicked on agriffin's link to her site and found a 1-lb PO/OO/CO recipe. It was perfect, and I didn't have to buy anything additional for it. At soaping time, I was so excited to go and make a batch that I didn't want a recipe that required me to go anywhere and buy anything else. I just wanted to do it!

 

[Hazel]

I followed a simple 3 oil recipe that I found in Anne Watson's book "Smart Soapmaking". I thought " Woo hoo! I've got these ingredients so I can make this batch."

Then I was hooked and started looking for other recipes based on what I had.

 

[ToniD]

Ditto, I used Anne Watson's book and followed her first recommended recipe.

 

[scouter139]

I got snookered into teaching boyscouts about how soap was made back in the old west at a camporee. I researched for months about how it was made, what it was made from, etc. While I didn't actually "make" soap with the scouts, I recreated things like how pioneer's boiled animal fats in water to render it, how they dripped water through ashes to make lye, lots of pictures and tons of information. So, mine was 100% tallow. By the way, I was volunteered to do that by my husband...sometimes I think now he regrets it...I was hooked!

 

[Hazel]

I got snookered into teaching boyscouts about how soap was made back in the old west at a camporee. I researched for months about how it was made, what it was made from, etc. While I didn't actually "make" soap with the scouts, I recreated things like how pioneer's boiled animal fats in water to render it, how they dripped water through ashes to make lye, lots of pictures and tons of information. So, mine was 100% tallow. By the way, I was volunteered to do that by my husband...sometimes I think now he regrets it...I was hooked!

Hee hee! That'll teach your husband a lesson about volunteering you for anything again.

 

[Coop]

Tallow and lard, was my mom's recipe and my first. Now I add olive oil too and it is my favorite. Small lather but so creamy.

 

[Layne]

how did YOU decide on what recipe you wanted to try out first?

well with me it was as much why as how.
I have had alot of injuries from auto wrecks, was stuck on years of heavy meds, the meds started breaking down my body, started getting unhealing sores, docs said must be from liver damage from last auto ejection and years of meds.
also have to wear compresion stocking, sorta like regular but way thicker, cant have rough heals or rough skin on that leg for sure.
each stocking is like $45.00, dont wanna snag a run in that.
Dermatologist said get off meds and find some one who makes all natural soaps and moisterizers for your skin.
Got to keep my legs and skin healed.
couldnt find anyone near me, so started researching making it.
spent a lot of time researching first.
so my first was aimed at saving my own skin.
the goats milk and dead sea salts were instant no brainers for sure.
love salted goats milk done with undiluted evaperated gm cream.
slamin with lipids.
OO, CO, CCO, Palm an a few others.
didnt mean to ramble.....

 

[xraygrl]

I didn't want to order a ton of stuff online so I ordered coconut oil (this was way back before they carried it at walmart), and bought olive oil and crisco from walmart. I didn't have any scent so I made an Oatmeal and honey soap. I used too much water, and the soap was softer for several days, but it eventually hardened up good. As basic as it was, it was a very nice soap.

 

[honor435]

I used to buy " imported " soaps, I decided I was tired of paying those prices and make my own! well I wonder how much more I have spent?! I adore making soap, I have chronic pain and only work pt, so this is my "therapy". I bought a book also, but learned SO much from this forum. I didnt like the recipes in the books so much, so trial and error, make you own recipe I think the first one I made was oo, po, co, castor, in a cake pan, with eos( now I like fos).

 

[MidwestSoaper]

I wanted my first soap to be simple so I did a castile, 100% evoo. It came out great, no problems at all.

 

[my2scents]

I was buying handmade soap & importing it from Canada for myslef & my husband at the tune of $100 every couple months.
So I researched & realized I could make my own.
For my first batch I just used what I could get a hold of & it was a Sandle wood, coconut ,palm,canola oil from the teach soap forum.
I was such a newbie I paid $20 for a small jar of organic food grade coconut oil !!!!!!! YIKES

 

[cerelife]

I'm another one who decided to make her own soap after spending a small fortune buying soap from a New Orleans soapmaker. Their soap made my skin feel soooo good, I seriously thought they must have some magic ingredient, or voodoo maybe, LOL! Total (expensive) addiction to this soap.
My epiphany came when we bought some soap in St.Augustine, FL because we hated our hotel soap. It was wonderful... "light-bulb over head"...this can't be a coincidence! Maybe I can make this stuff??
Tons of research later, I used soapcalc to create my own recipe based on what I had read and what I wanted from my soap, and it turned out great!! I'm having a blast playing around with different ideas.
I don't do animal fats for personal reasons, but still, the only thing I couldn't find locally was palm oil and the FO's.
This was my first recipe:
Olive Oil 39%
Coconut Oil 30%
Palm Oil 26%
Castor Oil 5%
FO at 1oz for a 2-lb batch (I think this may be a little on the low side, but the scent is plenty strong enough for us)

 

[cerelife]

I forgot to mention I used a 10% superfat/lye-discount.

 

[soapbuddy]

I made my first soap with my mother's help, but that's so long ago I don't remember; maybe sometime before 1969?

 

[loveit_latherit]

My 'supplier' never got back to me ... Look! after ya hook someone on natural soap - ya can't cut them off! LOL

Had to make my own Patchouli Lavender. Made a recipe and checked through soap calc CP's and HP'd same day to experience both and they were awesome. I wanted all natural and no animal products.

Now its an addiction and all my freinds and family and DH friends and family are hooked - Was away and as soon as I got back been soaping like a fiend.

Welcome to the addiction :wink:

 

[rubyslippers]

I had never tried homemade soap so had no expectations of what it would be like. As much as I love perfume, and bath/body scents, I can't tolerate all scents (being in a room with someone with a heavy perfume or aftershave can give me a serious headache & cause nausea). I became frustrated with commercial soaps; I'd always sniff at the store & think I could tolerate a scent but when I'd use it I would get a terrible headache/nauseated. I began to wonder if I couldn't make my own, unscented soap so thus began my adventure! I researched online for a couple of months, bought Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch and started with a basic recipe I snagged from the Miller Soapmaking website. It consisted of oo, co & po & used a cardboard box for my mold. (Not knowing any better at the time, I purchased palm oil from a local aromatherapy shop and paid $14.00 for 18 oz!) Once I tried the finished bar I was totally hooked; will NEVER go back to commercial soap.

 

[Soaplady22]

My first was from DH's hunting magazine (20 yrs back) and it was 100% lard soap made with one pound from the grocery store. Used the box as the mold!! Bought lye from the hardware store. No FO as it was for hunters. My husband suggested that I make it - it was all his idea!!

Later we were able to get the internet where we lived and found this forum, and Miller's site. Anyone remember Sherry's Fanstastic Soap??!!

And the rest, as they say, is history!!