Looking for newbie recipes (with specifics)

[MadTeddyBear]

For your first few batches stick to ingredients you can buy near you. I also started recently and ended up ordering a lot of oils and butters I can't use. The recipes earlier in this thread are great recipes to start with. I've heard you can get pure palm oil vegetable shortening at whole foods, lard should be at your grocery store.

Failure is going to happen, but you can minimize it by using a mold that can make a small batch. I made a wood mold that can shrink down to do two bars, but you can use almost anything. Some suggestions I've heard were the free small USPS first class boxes, dollar store tupperware, or pvp pipe and endcap to make pucks. If you are using something that's harder to line, the cheap office wastebin bags work well. The edges might be a little rough but it's good enough to try something before committing to a large batch.

Don't buy an expensive hand blender. A hand blender is used to make a stable emulsion which virtually any stick blender can do. The only other feature I'd look for is detachable blade, anything else is overkill. If you want to shop around, check reviews for how well it makes mayo since it's essentially the same process. Check amazon warehouse deals, right now there's a few options under.

I also got this thing to help with cleaning up: https://www.sciplus.com/polyester-pad-with-absorbent-side-61844-p
Not sure what it's supposed to be used for but it contains messes very well.

 

[dixiedragon]

Brambleberry has this kit:
https://www.brambleberry.com/natural-soap-kit-for-beginners-p6607.aspx

It has everything you need except water, a bucket or pot, and a stick blender. And free shipping!

 

[cmzaha]

I have not read all the above threads, my bad, but this site has very good recipes broken down to types of soaps such as vegan, shortening etc. http://www.millersoap.com/

 

[Jill B Blasius]

I'm very new to soaping. I've made one basic 3 oil CP batch for myself, have tried one bar, the rest is still curing. Turned out great so far.

Wanted to make soap for Cmas gifts, but rather than experiment on my friends and possibly end up with a huge fail, I bought some Grated Goats Milk soap. Made oatmeal and some oat/pumice for the guys. All the "science" has been done for you, just add add-ins, colors and fo. No real "risk" and guaranteed ready for Cmas giving.

Hope that helps!

 

[earlene]

I would also suggest reading about what equipment you will need, and looking for the best buys you can find. Thrift stores can be your friend when looking for good buys on some soaping equipment. Mixing bowls, lye pitchers, even soap molds and stick blenders can be found in thrift stores. Check the bottoms of the plastic containers for the recycle numbers and only use #2 or #5 for your soapmaking bowls and pitchers. Silicone bread or cake or cupcake molds are great for soap, so getting those in thrift stores can save you a lot of money. Soapmaking bowls with a handle and pour spout are pretty nice, but you want them to feel like they are pretty sturdy and not flimsy. The flimsy ones don't hold up well when full of batter and you try to pour it into a mold.

As for a stick blender, although you really don't need one, you can get a decent one for around $10-13 at WalMart with a removable arm. The one I use when I travel cost me $13 at Walmart and it's still going great. (Yes, I make soap when I travel - not all the time, but often enough to have a travel kit.) The best advice I can give you on stick blenders is that it have a removable arm so it is easier to clean.

As a new person you probably want to make a soap that you can use sooner than a year after you make it, so although I do also suggest a 100% olive oil soap early into your soapmaking, it requires a long cure, so pick a recipe for a faster curing soap, too. That way you can make a soap you can use sooner as well as a soap that has to cure for long time. Pure olive oil soap benefits from a good long cure. I like it best at no sooner than 18 months, myself and it's even better at 2 years, so that's not what I would call the ideal beginner soap. It's ideal for practice, but it's a long wait before it's ideal for use.

So where to find some good recipes? Reading around here, you'll run across lots of suggestions for good basic recipes and I would suggest you try out some of them as long as you can source the oils locally for a reasonable price. Always run any recipe you find through a lye/soap calculator to ensure of proper proportions. Typos happen, even in books. Books are good resource as well. I borrowed every soap making book available from my library and tried some recipes from books as well as ones I found online. Not all in books are good, just as not all you find online are good. So if you post a recipe to the Recipe Feedback Forum you'll get some help analyzing it before you use it, if you want that kind of help.

I am sure you'll have lots of fun with this and if you run into a few glitches along the way, they will be learning experiences. Even with the mistakes I've made, and everyone is going to make a mistake or two along the way, only once or twice did something turn out bad enough that I felt it wasn't worth trying to find a fix for it. Most of the time, failed batches can be saved.