I had one or two people ask me a bit more about soapmaking, and requested I start a thread.
First, the definition of soap is the salt of a fatty acid. If you remember your high school chemistry, the process of saponification takes fats and alkalai (lye) and makes a new substance, which is soap.
So, in order to make soap you need lye. The pioneers would use wood ash, but we have lye (sodium hydroxide). Remember that it is a strong base, and is caustic! I buy my lye from a soap making source, but it's available at Ace in my state as Rooto 100% lye and it works just fine.
For fats, there are many choices. Most people like coconut oil and lard, but there are many other choices as well. Things like palm oil, tallow, and various other oils make great soaps.
I tend to use olive oil (pomace grade), coconut oil, palm oil, and shea butter, along with smaller amounts of castor oil and other oils.
Homemade soap is not nearly as drying to your skin (no detergents!) and there are no weird added ingredients. Soap is, well, just soap. You can add more oils than can be saponified, and that is called "superfatting" so that the soap has a bit more oil, for a less drying effect.
Soaping is easy, and the process is easy. The thing to remember is that lye is caustic, and the lye/water and oil mixtures get HOT. Not only caustic, but hot as well. So googles, gloves, and long sleeves are strongly recommended along with an area with good ventilation.
I will continue this tomorrow, with photos, and recipes, and helpful hints so that anybody can make a batch of soap. Please let me know of any questions in the meantime!
First, the definition of soap is the salt of a fatty acid. If you remember your high school chemistry, the process of saponification takes fats and alkalai (lye) and makes a new substance, which is soap.
So, in order to make soap you need lye. The pioneers would use wood ash, but we have lye (sodium hydroxide). Remember that it is a strong base, and is caustic! I buy my lye from a soap making source, but it's available at Ace in my state as Rooto 100% lye and it works just fine.
For fats, there are many choices. Most people like coconut oil and lard, but there are many other choices as well. Things like palm oil, tallow, and various other oils make great soaps.
I tend to use olive oil (pomace grade), coconut oil, palm oil, and shea butter, along with smaller amounts of castor oil and other oils.
Homemade soap is not nearly as drying to your skin (no detergents!) and there are no weird added ingredients. Soap is, well, just soap. You can add more oils than can be saponified, and that is called "superfatting" so that the soap has a bit more oil, for a less drying effect.
Soaping is easy, and the process is easy. The thing to remember is that lye is caustic, and the lye/water and oil mixtures get HOT. Not only caustic, but hot as well. So googles, gloves, and long sleeves are strongly recommended along with an area with good ventilation.
I will continue this tomorrow, with photos, and recipes, and helpful hints so that anybody can make a batch of soap. Please let me know of any questions in the meantime!