Making Soap

Since one person asked, I decided to post how I make soap - these instructions here are basic and simple, the recipe is about the simplest you'll find out there. It's great to do for Christmas gifts/party favors - and if you have young adults, especially if they're homeschooled, its a great lesson in chemistry.

OK...making soap...where do I start...
OK, first off, I got my recipe from millersoap.com - lots of great tips and articles there. It includes a great list of troubleshooting questions and answers too so if you have a failed batch, you can pretty easily find out why and how to reclaim it. Making soap is like a really cool chemistry experiment - do it right and its awesome...do it slightly wrong and it can get really bad : /

Ingredient list for MY soap (makes 32-38 bars):
12 oz Pure Lye - you can find it in the plumbing section with other drain cleaners.
45 oz All vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
20 oz Olive oil
20 oz Coconut oil (you can find it in the same section as other solid fats)
2 bottles of nice-smelling essential oil or home fragrance oil (I got mine from the body shop - picked gingerbread and vanilla spice scent - yummy!)

Supplies needed:
A large heat-proof glass bowl (like pyrex)
A large 5 qt stock pot (stainless steel only)
A kitchen or postal scale
An electric hand mixer with a whisk attachment
a plastic spoon
paper towels
vinegar (to keep on hand to neutralize the lye JIC)
A candy thermometer
A shoe-box sized rubbermaid container
Saran wrap (I like to use press and seal)
Pam or other non-stick spray

OK - first, the lye - be VERY careful. It is a very strong base and it will burn if it comes in contact with your skin. Some websites tell you to wear rubber gloves and eyegear when handling it, but I don't bother - I'm just really careful and if there's a spill or contact with my skin, I just flush immediately with vinegar and rinse with water.

Measure 12 oz of Lye using the kitchen scale.

Fill the glass bowl with 5 cups of cold cold water. Carefully pour in the lye gradually - mixing with a plastic spoon constantly. If you do not, the lye will crystallize and harden on the bottom - it'll just make it that much harder to dissolve completely. Mix it thoroughly being careful not to inhale the fumes - open a window if you can. The fumes will dissipate once the lye is completely dissolved. It will heat up to more than 200 degrees within about 1 minute. So set it aside after its mixed.

In the large stockpot on the stove, measure into it 45 oz crisco, 20 oz olive oil, and 20 oz coconut oil. Warm on med/low heat and stir constantly until completely melted. Turn off burner and allow to cool.

Now wait, and wait and wait...At this point, it's a good idea to prepare the container/mold for the soap. What I do is line it completely with Press'n'seal cling wrap, leaving a bit extra to cover the top with. It may help to lightly tape it in place too. Then spray the inside of the Saran with non-stick spray.

After a couple hours, take the candy thermometer and take the temperature of the lye and the oils separately, wiping it off with a towel in between. The lye solution must cool to between 70-75 degrees (and it takes longer to cool than the oils). The oils have to get down to 110-115 degrees. The temperatures are very important - if they're not just right, the substances may not mix well. If the oil is cooling off too much before the lye has cooled off enough, go ahead and apply low heat to the oil, being careful not to heat too much.

Once they have reached their ideal temperatures, plug the electric mixer in. Start mixing on high speed as you pour the lye solution INTO the oil. And mix, and mix and mix...it takes a while. Eventually the mixture will thicken and take on a pudding-like consistency. When you can trace a line in the top of the mixture and it forms a thick ring around the inside of the pot, it's at what is termed "trace stage" and you're ready to mix your scents in - pour both bottles in and blend with the mixer thoroughly.

Quickly pour it into your pre-prepped container and carefully fold the saran over the top of it - poking it with a needle to release air bubbles. Layering the top with Saran helps prevent an unsightly layer of white "ash" on the top (its not really ash, that's just what its called). Put the container on top of a cookie rack and cover with heavy blankets or towels so that heat is not released too quickly but air flow is still allowed somewhat. (Its ok to peek at it/smell it every so often.)

Note: The first time I made soap, my batch didn't do this so when I made a second batch this last time and it did this little transformation, I FREAKED until I realized that it was normal and expected...That said, your soap will undergo a gel phase shortly after you pour it into the mold. There will be dark spots forming on the surface - it will almost look like the oil is separating. The dark spots will spread until the entire batch is dark and gel-looking, instead of the creamy pudding color it was before. It will also heat up probably past 150 degrees - DON'T PANIC. This is one phase of the Saponification process and is totally normal. It will look like yummy pudding again within 24 hours.

After it has sat for 24 hours, take the saran off the top and use it to carefully lift the batch of soap out of the container. Peel it away from the sides and start cutting! I like to just use a sharp butcher knife to cut it all apart into soap bars. Put out newspaper or wax paper somewhere and line them all up to sit out and cure. They have to cure for 3-4 weeks before they're ready to use. In fact, the longer they're allowed to cure, the harder they'll get and the longer they'll last.

Happy soap making!