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There are several advantages and disadvantages to both making soap via melt and pour or the rebatch process. Each process is straightforward and easy to learn. Let’s touch on the main considerations that most soap makers tend to care about. With the exception of glycerin soap, all bar soap is made with lye. The lye is “used up” in the saponification process of soap making, turning the oil into soap.
On its own, this highly corrosive substance can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory system. However, when done properly, saponification turns lye into soap. And trust me when I say, making a batch of homemade lye soap does not have to be complicated. If you are not following an exact recipe, it might take a little trial and error to figure out how much fragrance to add to your soap. A general rule of thumb is to add about 1 teaspoon of fragrance per pound of soap. Crafting at-home soap without harmful chemicals is one hobby to require almost nothing.
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The uplifting scent should effectively take away your stress in the shower. Don’t forget cutlery or cooking items like wooden/metal spoons, jars, bowls. You should have gloves or eyewear to minimize unexpected occurrences.
And, you can substitute things you may already have on hand. And a few people may “poo poo” this idea of melt and pour soap. Melting soap base in the microwave is really easy and doesn’t make a big mess. It is real soap and will produce a bar you can be proud of. Keep the lye mixture under a vent or fan and allow it to cool down while you get the fats/oils ready. Measure the fats/oils by weight rather than amount, then place them into a crock pot to melt, keeping the heat low.
How to Make Old Fashioned Lye Soap
One way that we make it pretty is by rebatching it or partially rebatching soap. The former involves shredding the bars down, mixing with a little water, and melting them to a kind of paste. Afterward, you can add color, scent, etc. and push the soap batter into molds. You do need to make soap from scratch before, though, so that may defeat the purpose of your visit. All of these qualities are important to healthy skin. This makes adding honey to your goat milk soap recipe a great practice.
To make lye water, drill 6 small holes in the base of a barrel and place a 1-2 inch layer of stones on the bottom of the barrel. Add a 3 inch layer of straw on top of the stones and fill the remainder of the barrel with wood ash. Prop the barrel up on sturdy blocks so you can place a bucket underneath and slowly pour rainwater over the ash. After a few hours, lye water will trickle out from the holes into the bucket.
More Melt and Pour Soap Recipes
If you want to make homemade soap then you will need to use a double boiler. To melt soap you need heat, but with too much heat you can actually burn your soap and you will probably ruin the boiler. The end result will be a messy water, with chunks of fat and oil on the surface, which you will never be able to use as a soap. Although lye on its own is considered fairly dangerous, but once it is combined into soap then it is safe to use. If you want to sell your homemade soaps at the farmers market then you might want to check out my recent article What sells best at Farmers Market?
If you want to have thinner, a more fluid, pour into the mold – simply add more liquid during the re-batch process. Also known as hand milling, rebatching cold process soap involves breaking large chunks of soap into small pieces, heating them until they melt, and putting them in a mold. If you have ever done melt and pour, it will seem very familiar. There’s kind of a second way to make soap with lye. Soap makers tend to have a stash of ugly soap – basically, batches that didn’t turn out the way you’d planned.
How to Make Homemade Lye Soap
To avoid having air bubbles on the surface of the soap – you may gently mist it with isophyl alcohol just after pouring into the mold. Once, the bars are solid, gently remove them from the silicone mold. This would also be the time to add a fragrance if you desire. Stir well and repeat until all of the mixture is melted. Enjoy this project with family, kids, friends, it is a great introduction to make soap with honey – and don’t forget to try other honey project ideas. This saves you the trouble and having to be so precise with your measurements.
When coloring the soap you have two options, either use natural ingredients to color it or to use a coloring agent specially made for making soap. Do not focus on how the soap will smell, yet as you will do that in the next step. If your soap base doesn’t have a color and it is clear then the coloring which you will add will be more vibrant. If the soap base is white then the color will be somewhat toned down. You will need to experiment with the measures to find the exact color you are looking for. Just fill the bottom boiler with some water, and place the second boiler on top, this way the soap will not burn as it is not in direct contact with the flame.
Lye is indicated by the sodium part of sodium olivate, and the other soap made by different oils. Wood ashes, when leached in water, create Potassium hydroxide – a type of lye. If it’s cooked with fat, it breaks apart the molecules apart and bonds with them. This process is called saponification and leads to soap being it’s own natural chemical compound.
Every time you handle it, wear your gloves, goggles, long pants and shirts, and close-toed shoes. Make sure there are no distractions or tripping hazards, and work in a well-ventilated space. If you want something even easier, pick up our Quick Mixes.
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