Total Newb w/ Lots of Questions! :)

[annnewjerz]

Hi everyone! I am a complete newb to the soap making world---a soap virgin if you will, since I haven't even started my first batch yet.

I've been reading up here, and looking through a bunch of websites to figure out what's what and I figured rather than get my answers piecemeal it might make sense to ask here!

I'm interested in cold process soap making and although I know I should start out with simple soaps that don't require any EO, FO, added colorants or exfoliants, I would like to eventually like to graduate to more complex soaps, so here are my questions:

1. Where do you buy your oils from? Obviously, I know olive oil is readily available everywhere, but coconut oil, palm oil and some others I've seen I honestly have no idea where to get.

2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil?

3. What size batch should I make the first time? How many bars will the recommended batch size make?

4. Where do you get recipes? Do you come up with stuff on your own, or use recipes you find online? Some types I'm hoping to make in the future would be a coffee soap for the kitchen, a raspberry oatmeal soap and a lemon poppyseed.

5. Do you recommend any particular books/websites that would help me get a better grasp on the whole process?

6. Do I need to buy dedicated soap molds, or can I buy something like a loaf pan, casserole dish, etc. to use solely for soap making?

7. Can you recommend a good starter recipe to try before I jump into more complex soaps?

Thanks so much! I'm sure you all like pictures so my bribe will be in exchange for all of the information you can give me, I promise to take pictures of everything once I get started!!

Ann

 

[soapbuddy]

Most of these questions can be answered right here on this forum. Start reading!

 

[carebear]

Anne - I fully agree with Soapbuddy and would typically tell you to pour yourself a cup of coffee and plan to read here for many many hours, then google and read for many more. But I'm procrastinating writing up a big project so am going to give more detail to your questions:

1. There are MANY suppliers. The answer lies in how much you want, what you want, what else you want, and where you are.
2. Doesn't matter, really - you work by weight.
3. I like 2# batches, some go more, some less. The number of bars will depend on the size of the bars you choose.
4. Yes, we make them up or find them elsewhere. LOTS of chatter about coffee soap here.
5. Probably among the best online places to start are millersoap.com and soapcalc.net . There are many options. Many many.
6. If you are going to scent your soap, use a dedicated mold. You can make them out of wood, cardboard, plastic. You can buy them. You will probably need to line your mold, by the way - as it's next to impossible to get soap out of an unlined rigid mold.
7. Read around the forum and the suggestions you find on step 5.

 

[sosocal]

Hi everyone! I am a complete newb to the soap making world---a soap virgin if you will, since I haven't even started my first batch yet.

I've been reading up here, and looking through a bunch of websites to figure out what's what and I figured rather than get my answers piecemeal it might make sense to ask here!

I'm interested in cold process soap making and although I know I should start out with simple soaps that don't require any EO, FO, added colorants or exfoliants, I would like to eventually like to graduate to more complex soaps, so here are my questions:

1. Where do you buy your oils from? Obviously, I know olive oil is readily available everywhere, but coconut oil, palm oil and some others I've seen I honestly have no idea where to get.

2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil?

3. What size batch should I make the first time? How many bars will the recommended batch size make?

4. Where do you get recipes? Do you come up with stuff on your own, or use recipes you find online? Some types I'm hoping to make in the future would be a coffee soap for the kitchen, a raspberry oatmeal soap and a lemon poppyseed.

5. Do you recommend any particular books/websites that would help me get a better grasp on the whole process?

6. Do I need to buy dedicated soap molds, or can I buy something like a loaf pan, casserole dish, etc. to use solely for soap making?

7. Can you recommend a good starter recipe to try before I jump into more complex soaps?

Thanks so much! I'm sure you all like pictures so my bribe will be in exchange for all of the information you can give me, I promise to take pictures of everything once I get started!!

Ann

I am new too with only about 10 batches under my belt. I will try and help.
1. Where do you buy your oils from? Obviously, I know olive oil is readily available everywhere, but coconut oil, palm oil and some others I've seen I honestly have no idea where to get. I buy my coconut oil from super Wal-Mart for a very good price. You can also get it at a farmer's market - Sprouts, Henry's, etc. Palm Oil - I use Spectrum Organic Veg Oil which is 100% PO. You can check the Spectrum website for which stores it is sold at in your area but I know it is at some Albertson's but it is cheapest for me at Sprouts. Cheaper than the internet even.

2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil? I think the oils are already how they are, no deciding needed. - ie. coconut and palm are usually solid at room temp whereas canola, olive, castor, etc. are liquid.

3. What size batch should I make the first time? How many bars will the recommended batch size make? My first was a 2lb batch but I don't remember how many bars it made. It was quite small.

4. Where do you get recipes? Do you come up with stuff on your own, or use recipes you find online? Some types I'm hoping to make in the future would be a coffee soap for the kitchen, a raspberry oatmeal soap and a lemon poppyseed. I got a book from the library called "The Everything Soapmaking Book". It has been a wonderful resource. Better than the internet even because all the info - including recipes is there. I highly recommend it. I also love soap-making-essentials.com.

5. Do you recommend any particular books/websites that would help me get a better grasp on the whole process? Above

6. Do I need to buy dedicated soap molds, or can I buy something like a loaf pan, casserole dish, etc. to use solely for soap making? I started with a sturdy, lined shoe box. It was a skinny shoe box. I bought a silicone mold but trial and error, the sides expand when I fill it. I have since commissioned my FIL, who is a woodworker, to make me a wood mold. I have also successfully used empty milk containers (lined). However I have found something with firm sides is best. If you could get an appropriate sized plastic storage / food container with straight up edges it would be perfect but it seems most of them do not have straight sides, they seem to veer out for the purpose of stacking the containers. Investing in a good wood mold and not wasting money on cheap crap like I did would be advisable! eBay has some nice ones.

7. Can you recommend a good starter recipe to try before I jump into more complex soaps?This could be better answered by a more experienced soapmaker.

Good luck! It is so much fun. I also recommend investing in some nice colors from TKB Trading and some titanium dioxide for nice, white soap.

I am still yet to find a cheap supplier of essential / fragrance oils.

 

[Hazel]

Hi Ann,

Welcome to the forum!

You've already been given some good advice so I'll just add a few things.

I buy my oils from Columbus Foods at soaperschoice.com and sometimes from places like WalMart, etc. Most of the time I find it cheaper to buy from Columbus Foods even with shipping included.

I really liked Anne Watson's "Smart Soapmaking". After reading several books, it's the one that got me motivated to make my first batch. (Along with encouragement from people on this forum. :wink: ) I generally make 2 lb batches and get 7 bars. I used one of her recipes for my first batch and one of Sandy Maine's for my second. After that, I formulated my own recipes except for my first beer batch. I was very concerned about making soap with beer so honor435 gave me a starter recipe.

A very basic recipe to start

40% Olive oil
25% Palm oil
25% Coconut oil
10% Castor oil

HTH

 

[Fragola]

2. Find out the oil's melting temperature.

3. 1 lb

6. Yes, you can use many household containers, just be aware that:
- that certain materials, are attacked by lye
- getting the soap in the mold is easier than getting it out of the mold - make sure you plan ahead

 

[msnydersoaps]

Here you go!

http://www.millersoap.com/

This is an excellent site. Kathy Miller has spent a considerable amount of time putting together this pretty much all inclusive soap making web site. She has links to suppliers, easy starter recipes, FAQ, trouble shooting, etc.

And it's all in one place! Easy to read, too.

I will answer directly one of your questions: 2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil?

Your oils will be either a liquid (generally called an oil) or a solid (generally called a fat or butter) at room temperature. You will weigh out your solid fats/butters into your container in whatever form they are in. Then you will melt them-slowly. Add your liquid oils to the melted solids. All fats and oils will be in liquid (melted) form when you add your lye water.

Have fun!

 

[ericllucas]

I know others have offered answers to these questions, but I cannot resist offering more thoughts:

1. Where do you buy your oils from?

Wal-mart: Crisco, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil, lard
Sams Club: Crisco, Olive Oil
http://www.pvsoap.com : Jojoba Oil, Palm Oil, Fragrances, everything else

2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil?

It really doesn't matter, as everything has to be liquid to be mixed with the lye/water. I melt all the solid fats first, then stir in the liquid ones.

3. What size batch should I make the first time? How many bars will the recommended batch size make?

My first batches were just over eight pounds. I knew that a mistake of a few tenths of an ounce would not be a big deal in a eight pound batch. If I really messed it up, I knew I could rebatch it. If it worked out fine, gosh, I've got eight pounds of MY FIRST SOAP! Whoo hoo!

My second batch was over eight pounds too, but different oils. All of my batches since them have been three pounds.

Having said that, common wisdom is to make something on the order of a pound or two. You have to be really careful measuring, just like when you're baking or making cookies.

How many bars? How big is a bar? If a bar is four ounces and you make a two pound (32 ounce) batch, you'll get eight bars. I am not that particular about whether my bars are four ounces or eight or ten. I prefer the rustic look in soap (until my new soap molds come in the mail).

4. Where do you get recipes?

There are many recipes available, especially on this site. Whatever you do, however, run the recipe through a Lye Calculator to be sure the recipe is good. Get a scale and weigh everything. Add the lye to the water unless you are making a video of it and will post it to YouTube for us all to enjoy.

The thing I started doing at the beginning was I tried to understand what each oil/fat does in the finished soap bar. After that, I played with a Lye Calculator to get all the proportions and quantities right (I make my own recipe, in other words). That way, I get a finished bar with the properties I'm (okay, my mom) is looking for.

5. Do you recommend any particular books/websites that would help me get a better grasp on the whole process?

You've come to the best resource on the web, in my opinion. You can read a few articles on the web, but in the end, I think this Forum is the best place to get information.

6. Do I need to buy dedicated soap molds, or can I buy something like a loaf pan, casserole dish, etc. to use solely for soap making?

You don't need special soap molds, although they can be nice for making soap that isn't so, um, rustic. Whatever you do use, however, don't use them for anything else. You can use a cardboard box with a Walmart bag if you like really rustic soap. I went to the Dollar Store and a garage sale and got nearly everything I use. I also made a big wooden soap mold out of 2x6 lumber. I'm a guy, so of course I had to use power tools and make grunting noises out in the garage

7. Can you recommend a good starter recipe to try before I jump into more complex soaps?

I think most starter recipes feature a lot of Olive Oil. If you do use a lot of Olive Oil, just be ready for things to move slowly - it will trace slowly and it will firm up slowly. That's okay, though, because Olive oil makes a great bar of soap.

My first batch was mostly Olive oil, but I had some lard and castor oil in there too. I wanted a harder bar (lard) and a creamy lather (castor oil).

Welcome to the Forum. One of the unstated rules is that you can't be shy about asking questions. I've asked my share of blazing newbie questions and am likely to ask more in time. Just don't be shy about asking whatever you're curious about.

Oh, and upload pictures. We love pictures.

Happy Soaping!

 

[fiddletree]

I'll answer the 'how much to make' one.... it depends on how much soap you want. Like, if you want to make soap once in a blue moon, I suggest you make a lot. If you want to make soap all the time, small batches (around a pound) help prevent 'soap buildup' and keep your pocket happier. Most people make 4 oz (113 g) bars, so you'd get 4 bars per pound.

Also, if you want to color or scent your soap, you will probably be best off ordering from an online soapmaking supply store. Make sure that your scents and colors are cold process soap safe.

Aw, heck, I'll answer the mold question, too. One thing a lot of beginners do, although I never tried is, is to use an empty milk carton. I've used silicone bakeware, and that worked pretty well but it warps so you end up with a lot of soap scraps or misshapen soap. Fancy wine boxes work pretty well. It's also really easy to build a simple wooden box. Freezer paper (or if you like in place where that doesn't exist and have to use parchment paper instead) is your friend in the form of a mold liner. Unless you use silicone, and in that case you don't need to line it - though if it is scented you won't want to bake in it afterwards.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Columbus Foods has the best prices on oils, including the shipping. I wish I had found them when I started out. Now if you want some specialty oil and don't want to buy a gallon, thesage.com has some good prices. I find even now I can't get through a gallon of my additional oils.

For a basic recipe, I am very close to Hazel -

30% Olive
30% Coconut
30% Palm
10% fun oil, avocado, shea butter, castor, this one you can experiment with or even split it to 5% of two oils. You can also just add it as olive oil if you don't have anything else.

 

[IrishLass]

Looks like you got a lot of great advice already, but I just wanted to weigh in on how big of a batch to make when first starting out. Due to my own faulty beginnings with larger batches and less than desireable results, I like to recommend 1 to 2lbs at the most for those first starting out. When you are just beginning, it's easy to screw things up, and if you do, it's much less of a chore to fix a smaller batch than a larger one. Also- in certain rare circumstances some botched batches cannot be saved and will need to be tossed. It's better to toss a smaller batch than a larger one.


IrishLass

 

[maryannm]

Right after I made my very first batch in a shoebox, I took myself to a gift shop of sorts and found a nice sturdy giftbox for just a few dollars. Lined with freezer paper by my perfectionist husband worked out great. As soon as he tired of this job, went straight to a silicone loaf mold
To start without shopping on line you can use lard from the grocery, olive oil from anywhere, and coconut from walmart. Soon enough you will be haunting the internet with the rest of us
And lye from Ace Hardware - you have to ask for it
A pringles can makes a good mold that you do not need to line, and is a great excuse to eat Pringles

 

[annnewjerz]

Wowww, what a great response! Thanks so much for all of the informative answers, guys.

I went out last night to start buying some supplies locally and ran into a few more questions you all probably know the answer to:

I know you can use plastic and stainless steel for measuring cups, pitchers, etc. when mixing your ingredients---but does it have to be a certain kind of plastic? I was out at Target last night and wanted to pick up some measuring cups and pitchers, but wasn't sure how to tell if they're the "right" kind of plastic (or if there even is a "right" kind).

Also, what kind of thermometers do you recommend? I saw candy thermometers that seemed to be plastic or maybe glass on the outside and regular stainless thermometers that you clip onto a pot. Is one kind better than the other---or is there one kind I should steer clear of?

Lastly, I hopped over to SoapCalc and I think I understand how to use it, but I'm still not clear on how you go about picking the oils you want to use for a soap. If I had Olive Oil, Veggie Shortening and...Avocado Oil all on hand already, are they okay to use together? Is there a reason to use one kind of oil (palm, coconut, etc.) over another or ones you wouldn't want to ever have in the same soap?

I'm hoping to make a simple batch this weekend, so here's hoping I can find everything I need locally!

 

[Fragola]

For the lye and soap batter, you need something resistant to lye. HDPE and PP (5) are good ones, just keep in mind that plastics don't love heat.

A sturdy thermometer, stainless steel probe. If you go through the trouble of purchasing one, why not get a good one for your kitchen, that can display over 300 degrees and such ...

For soapcalc, double click the oils you choose to add them from the list to your recipe, optionally choose units and finally enter the desired quantities.

Ideally, you should have harder oils in your recipe, like coconut, palm.

 

[Hazel]

What kind of veggie shortening do you have?

Olive, shortening and avocado would make a really soft soap without much bubbles. You can usually find coconut oil in the baking aisle and I highly recommend you get some since it makes a bubbly lather and helps with hardness.

 

[TJ]

1. Where do you buy your oils from? Obviously, I know olive oil is readily available everywhere, but coconut oil, palm oil and some others I've seen I honestly have no idea where to get.

I like to get my oils from Soaper's Choice (also called Columbus Foods).

http://www.soaperschoice.com/cgi-soaper ... 0&cart_id=

They have the best prices on oils but the smallest size you can buy are 7lbs in most oils and sometimes 10 lbs in other oils.
If you're looking for smaller sizes of oils you could buy from any of these websites:

http://www.brambleberry.com/Fixed-Oils-Waxes-C159.aspx [I have never ordered from here before, but I've heard really good things about them and the owner seems very nice.]

http://www.lotioncrafter.com/lotioncraf ... s-butters/ [I've never ordered from here before, but I've heard good things about them.]

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/So ... plies.aspx [I've ordered here before. I don't like this store. I don't like their "service" and some other things about them I won't go into detail about, but they have free shipping on orders over $30 and they have good prices on stuff like colorants. Their oils may be cheaper than other places also (besides Soaper's Choice) but I haven't checked.]

http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/ [I've ordered here before, but never bought oils from them. I like their service they ship extra fast, I receive their package in the mail before I receive any others I order on the same day, and they are super friendly.]

2. How do I know if an oil listed in a recipe is supposed to be a liquid or solid oil?

You can check the melting point. If it melts below 74 degrees F. It's probably a liquid. If it melts above that it's probably a solid. Like coconut oil is solid at room temp. It melts at 76 or you can buy the kind that melts at 92.

3. What size batch should I make the first time? How many bars will the recommended batch size make?

I like making 1lbs batches. I made a 1 lbs batch my 1st time and I still continue to make them that size. I'm able to get 5 bars of soap out of it with my mold. If you do a small batch like that it is recommended you measure your ingredients in grams, not ounces.
If you don't want to make a small 1 lbs batch, then I'd recommend a 2 lbs batch.

4. Where do you get recipes? Do you come up with stuff on your own, or use recipes you find online? Some types I'm hoping to make in the future would be a coffee soap for the kitchen, a raspberry oatmeal soap and a lemon poppyseed.

I use SoapCalc to make my own recipes.

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

SoapCalc will tell you what properties the oils bring to your soap so you can estimate how your bars will turn out.
You can make a base recipe. And just add your extras to it. Like coffee grounds, or oatmeal, or poppyseeds. Just add them to it. No need to calculate them in with the recipe. Just make sure you measure how ever much you'd like to add so you remember for next time.

5. Do you recommend any particular books/websites that would help me get a better grasp on the whole process?

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldp ... cpsoap.htm
AND YOUTUBE! I learned a lot from watching people make their own CP soap on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... .1.0.1l6l0

The videos on the youtube Soap Queen channel are great too. I pulled some of those up in the link above when searching for: "Make CP soap". The woman who does the Soap Queen videos is the owner of Brambleberry; the website I gave you the link to above in question 1.

6. Do I need to buy dedicated soap molds, or can I buy something like a loaf pan, casserole dish, etc. to use solely for soap making?

You can use anything you want for molding your soap. Just make sure it won't leak and it might help to line it with something to easily get the soap out. I like to have molds dedicated to soap making but I think it would be okay if you needed that casserole dish one night for dinner since it had soap in it, thats what you use to clean it lol. Just make sure it's rinsed out really well.

7. Can you recommend a good starter recipe to try before I jump into more complex soaps?

I can't recommend a beginner recipe because from the very start I have used my own and they weren't very "beginner". I like to just jump head first I guess you could say. Although no one really recommends you do this, I was just very ambitious and I didn't want to waste oils making soap I didn't want (I didn't want plain soap). But it worked out well for me and I've never had a recipe fail me... yet...

 

[honor435]

welcome.
I make 9-10 bar batches, even after 3 yrs of soaping. I do hp and cp, like them both.
Soapers choice ( online store), walmart for co, any store for olive oil, spectrum is a very spendy form of palm, at least here in mn.
I learned everything in one book and online, watch some utubes and read!
Many places for frag oils, my fav is Peakcandles.com, make sure you go the "body safe section".
let us know how it goes.

 

[carebear]

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/So ... plies.aspx [I've ordered here before. I don't like this store. I don't like their "service" and some other things about them I won't go into detail about, but they have free shipping on orders over $30

there is no such thing as free shipping. it's rolled into the price of the product.

 

[Hazel]

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Soap-Making-Supplies.aspx [I've ordered here before. I don't like this store. I don't like their "service" and some other things about them I won't go into detail about, but they have free shipping on orders over $30 and they have good prices on stuff like colorants. Their oils may be cheaper than other places also (besides Soaper's Choice) but I haven't checked.]

As carebear stated, it isn't free shipping because the shipping has been included into the price. Also, you have to order a mimimum of $30 or they'll charge a fee (which is whatever amount it takes to bring the order up to $30).

However, there are still some good prices to be found on WSP. You just have to compare them to other suppliers.

 

[TJ]

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/So ... plies.aspx [I've ordered here before. I don't like this store. I don't like their "service" and some other things about them I won't go into detail about, but they have free shipping on orders over $30

there is no such thing as free shipping. it's rolled into the price of the product.

Oh I know it's not technically "free" but if you compare other stores' items and find that WSP has less expensive items of the same type it works out better for the buyer if they can buy them and get the "free" shipping and if it costs $30 or more of course...
I like to order my colorants from them and some other little things that works out less expensive than if I bought from another store, or having to go to 3 different stores to get everything I need.
If I bought 1lb of oil from store: A at $25 but had to pay $11 shipping, it would makes sense to buy the oil from WSP if the same oil costs $30 but you get the "free" shipping. I have found this to help save me money on several items I needed.
Just have to do some browsing around and comparing.