My first CP soap, my first soap

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Paradigm

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Joined
Apr 18, 2014
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Today it finally happened, I had the time and the ingredients and it's mixed and molded.
It has all started for me, trying to get healthier. After doing lots of research on the best soaps and cleaners out there to buy, I decided, I'm going to make this myself.
Last Friday, I got bought wood to make my own molds. There was 100% NaOH at the hardware store so picked up 2 bottles of that. Last Saturday I bought some lard from the local farmer. By Sunday I had all my essential oils ordered.
Yesterday, 3 wooden soap molds made.
Today, largest delivery of EOs arrived.
I decided to start with a basic 3 oil soap of Olive Oil, Palm Oil and Coconut Oil.
I've already learned:
The tutorial on lining your wooden soap mold works great for me, not going to be too picky with lines/impressions on the soap just yet.
The lye/water mixture cools down faster than I thought it would and have one clean bathroom drain, thanks to not having an idea on how to reheat it. (Probably not safe, can anyone comment?)
I have learned that trace can take a while when you are using olive oil and it's cold in the garage. But it did happen.
I really need to learn more about EO amounts. I can see this part getting very expensive. I started with a Lemongrass (4 parts), Grapefruit (2), Patchouli (1), Peppermint (1) blend. I don't have any Lemongrass left and if anything I have read is correct it won't be close to having much of a scent in 6 weeks because of the small amount of EOs I put in. Oh well, gotta learn.
I'm rendering my lard right now. That will be tomorrow's adventure in soap making.

Gotta go peak on the "baby";)

First Soap.jpg
 
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Today I spent a part of my day replacing the piping underneath my bathroom sink, which I clean periodically with lye, as it is drain cleaner. I discovered a ton of water in my basement and traced it back to my bathroom sink. On inspecting the J bend, I put my finger right through the paper thin aluminum piping and then, while replacing that, put my finger through the aluminum pipe that leads to the drain. Thankfully the pipe from the sink to the J bend is already plastic.

Be careful of cleaning your sink drain too frequently with lye, if you have aluminum piping.

Your lye water does not need to be warm and in fact, many people make it well ahead of time so it has time to come to room temperature before they soap. Room temp lye water and room temp oils (assuming they are not solid at room temperature) give you the longest time to stick blend and work with it, if you want to to color or swirl or such. No need to reheat it generally.

I hope you had fun with your first batch. First of many, I bet!!
 
Are you stirring by hand? A stick blender will make things much easier, I prefer one with two speeds. Love your molds! Sounds like you will be making more soap!
 
congrats on your first soap! that's a good looking mold you got there btw. please post cut pics when you can.
 
Almost as proud of the molds as the soap

congrats on your first soap! that's a good looking mold you got there btw. please post cut pics when you can.

seven, thanks for the comment on the mold. I made them myself! Bought three pieces of wood borrowed the neighbors saw and the husbands drill and... wha lah...3 wooden soap molds.

OliveOil2, I actually used an attachment bit for my husbands drill. It's usually used to stir paint or grout or cement in small batches, it's more a construction tool. It was much cheaper than an emmersion blender and I don't have to worry about overheating the motor. But the thought crossed my mind that it may have something to do with the light trace I received. Any thoughts?

Newbie, I will learn from your mistake of drain cleaning. I know the pipes are PVC but the pipe attachment out of the sink is some kind of metal.

I will post pics of the cut when it gets there...it's still close to putty like. Hasn't been 24 hours yet though.

I'm going to need more molds, after my next batch of lard based soap, I'll be full. I will say walking around the house today, every container has been considered!
 
I think that a immersion blender would bring the batter to trace quicker than the drill attachment. You don't need to run the stick blender constant, just a few seconds at a time. I have a few different stick blenders, and my favorite is the cheapest two speed that I purchased on Amazon a couple of years ago, about $16. I always reach for that one instead of the Cuisinart. You really don't need an immersion blender, it just makes things easier. I remember making my first batch by hand.
 
Congrats on your first soap!

Your mold looks very nice.

The temperature of your lye water doesn't matter. You can use room temperature lye. It does not have to be the same temperature as the oils.

EO amount should be 2-3% of your soaping oils' weight in order to get a good lasting scent. Some should be used very sparingly (cinnamon, for example). Others don't stick very well in CP soap - citruses for example.

Less expensive essential oils include mint, anise, sweet orange, lemongrass, litsea cubeba (may chang), cassia, rosemary, and eucalyptus. They are much less expensive through on line suppliers than from your local health food store. Camden Grey, New Directions Aromatics, soapmakingresource.com and 1rawplant are economical choices.
 
Couldn't be more excited/happy!

I cut it! It is still very soft but I had no idea my first experience would go so well. I was able to scrape the scraps off the mold liner and rub into the face of two of the bars. Not sure that will work, it doesn't look pretty but it's just for the family.

I've been lurking around here for months, checking out the links and following the conversations. Though you all just met me the other night with this post, I want to thank you all because your knowledge and conversations helped me get here.

There were/are cutting marks on the bars, I cut at 3/4 of an inch vice an inch because that's just how it happened, so I have 12 bars. Zap test is zappy but it is only 36 hours old. In hindsight I should have stuck with my thought that it "smelled zappy" and waited a few more days but I didn't want to report without knowing for sure.

I went back through a lot of the research on the process out there and now see how I put the idea that the lye/H2O mixture and oil had to be at such a high temp. At least I understand the idea of the slower time for the reaction to occur at a lower temperature.

I've spent lots of time researching the EOs and the various providers out there but now with the smallest bit of experience, I know I need to do some more research. Though at cutting the scent is very nice.

Judy Moody thank you for the information you provided. Though I planned this soap for a few weeks, deciding to add the scent was done the hour before I started. Mostly because my EOs arrived in the mail that day. And I WANTED to use a certain scent. I will do better this next time with the oil requirements and I know what I'm using already.

I'm still not sure why I thought it had to be constant stick blending but now I understand how you all don't go through blender after blender. So I'm putting the drill bit mixer on the shelf for now.

Hoping to get to one or two different batches of lard based soap today.

Now to put this baby up for a few weeks, let's see how long I can wait! ;-)

Top Cut.jpg


Cut.jpg
 
Welcome!

It doesn't look like they gelled, so it might take a wee while for the lye to go. On the safe side, if you want the back up check, post your recipe here (oils with weight, lye with weight) and people can double check.

Looks great first soap.
 
OliveOil2, I actually used an attachment bit for my husbands drill. It's usually used to stir paint or grout or cement in small batches, it's more a construction tool. It was much cheaper than an emmersion blender and I don't have to worry about overheating the motor. But the thought crossed my mind that it may have something to do with the light trace I received. Any thoughts?

I thought of using my dremel with the attachment from the stick blender that I have when the motor burns out. Not sure if I'll be able to get the 2 to mate up but if the motor is dead I'm willing to take a gamble. The paint mixer I think might cause some issues. If it's painted then there could be chemicals in the paint that you probably don't want in your soap. If it's not painted then again there are issues with the metal itself that you don't want to mess with unless it's stainless steel.

Good luck!
InNae
 
The attachment Paradigm is talking about is often used by commercial soaping operations, and should be fine. Just use one that has never been used for anything other than soap, and plan to blend at a little warmer temperature to speed trace.

Congratulations on the soap! The first one is so nerve-wracking!

You may be perfectly happy with lard as the only oil, but you might like soap made with coconut oil, olive oil, and lard a little better. I also like adding 5% castor oil for better bubblage. But it is completely up to you!

*EDIT*
Now that I am awake, I found a video to show the drill thing. Skip to 3:10

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPMN_CrzzEM[/ame]
 
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Hello and welcome! :wave: Your soap looks lovely! It looks like you're off to a great start! :) I love those moulds, too!
 
Congratulations!
I've learned so much from every batch I've made (not so many yet, but way more to come!), and I love that about soapmaking.

I started using the room temp method just because it's easier for me. I can't stand for long periods so I get all my stuff lined up first, then measure everything and mix my lye water, then when I'm up to it I melt my hard oils and actually start the process. My point in telling you this is that my lye is ALWAYS room temp, or close to it when I soap, and I've never had a problem.

I love my stick blender....I've learned that less is more (short bursts, then stir by hand) unless you want to reach trace really fast, but it's a great tool. I even used it a bit when I made salt bars. If only to be sure everything is blended really well, it really does make a difference imo.

I love looking at everyone's soap, and your mold is nice!! Thanks for sharing :)
 
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