New here...plan on making soap soon

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My name is Jennifer. I have been dying to make my own homemade soaps

for a while and have decided to go ahead and do it. I am trying to

buy everything I need to make a batch, and so far have purchased some

essential oils, coconut oil, and palm kernel flakes. I still don't

know what recipe I will use, so I want a little of everything I

guess. I need to know where I might buy a scale at a reduced price,

as well as where do you buy lye? Or do I need lye? Can I make good

soap w/out lye? Thanks for answering my questions & glad to be here!

Jennifer H.

[Guest guest]

You will probably get tons of answers to this but yes, you do need lye.

No lye, no soap. And you can get it at most grocery stores (I actually

haven't been to one that you CAN " T get it) in the cleaning section.

Usually marketed under the brand name Red Devil. Don't know about the

scale..

 

Karen J

 

 

Hi,

My name is Jennifer. I have been dying to make my own homemade soaps

for a while and have decided to go ahead and do it. I am trying to

buy everything I need to make a batch, and so far have purchased some

essential oils, coconut oil, and palm kernel flakes. I still don't

know what recipe I will use, so I want a little of everything I

guess. I need to know where I might buy a scale at a reduced price,

as well as where do you buy lye? Or do I need lye? Can I make good

soap w/out lye? Thanks for answering my questions & glad to be here!

Jennifer H.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Jennifer,

 

Welcome aboard great to have you here. Make yourself at home and get

comfy!

 

So, you're gonna make soap, huh? I hope you're prepared for a very

addicting hobby *lol*

 

Here is a great site to get some recipe ideas ... http://millersoap.com/

 

Always be sure to run your recipes through a lye calculator, even ones

you read online ....

Here is a good one http://www.the-sage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php

 

I don't know where you can get a scale at reduced price. You want to be

sure its an accurate scale. You can get a good food scale and it

shouldn't break the bank

 

Now, on to the lye question - You MUST use lye. You CANNOT make soap

without lye. The only way you can make soap without lye is to use a soap

base that somebody else prepared, and THEY used the lye See, soap is

a chemical compound (sodium salt or potassium salt) which is made by

combining lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide), fat of some

kind and water. So, no lye means no soap

 

I do hope you enjoy your leap into soap making. Don't let it intimidate

you,and remember, almost any soap disaster can be saved. In fact, I've

personally not run into one that couldn't be saved So have fun!!!!!

 

We're here to help!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

<http://www.the-sage.com>

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

 

 

 

Jennifer [jenser1981]

 

 

Hi,

My name is Jennifer. I have been dying to make my own homemade soaps

for a while and have decided to go ahead and do it. I am trying to

buy everything I need to make a batch, and so far have purchased some

essential oils, coconut oil, and palm kernel flakes. I still don't

know what recipe I will use, so I want a little of everything I

guess. I need to know where I might buy a scale at a reduced price,

as well as where do you buy lye? Or do I need lye? Can I make good

soap w/out lye? Thanks for answering my questions & glad to be here!

Jennifer H.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Jennifer,

To make soap like someone else on the list said you have to use lye. You can

use melt and pour soap base to make soaps, but that was originally made with

lye too.

When soap is made properly, when it has cured - There is NO LYE left in the

product.

When I first started making soap, I was so cautious, that I spent about 3

months researching, reading soapmaking email lists, and getting my supplies

together.

There are safety precautions you want to take while working with lye. Such

as covering your body from head to toe. Lye burns right through skin. So you

want to be as careful as possible. And also wearing a mask, when you are

mixing the lye water. Because of the fumes. Many people mix their lye in the

garage or outside to keep the fumes from being in the house.

Here are a few sites to begin:

http://www.tlcsoaps.com/soapmaking.htm

http://members.aol.com/oelaineo/directions.html

http://www.essencesupply.com/instruction/instruction.html

http://millersoap.com/soapproc.html

That should be enough to get you started. There are many materials you will

need, more than just lye, oils and water

There is also techniques you need to know to know when for instance your

soap has come to trace, that the oil and water is incorporated into each

other (which is what the lye is for) If it doesn't come to trace you will

end up with a gob of gloop! LoL Or it might separate all together.

Starting to see now why I took so long getting around to actually making

some?

You basically need a good recipe and get an idea on how much you want to

superfat your.(Superfatting is the moisturizing content of your soap) You

don't want a drying bar of soap!

Well anyway there is honestly too much detail to go into on the list.

If you'd like a list of soapmaking email lists feel free to email me and

I'll send a huge list back to you.

 

There are other people on here who know a lot more about soapmaking than I

do, Hoping they will chime in also, with their ideas!

 

Happy Soapmaking,

Jennifer