I'm thinking about trying to learn soapmaking

**Jamauk** · 01-19-2009, 06:14 PM

Any tips to a newbie??

**IntlMom** · 01-19-2009, 06:15 PM

I wanna know too.....

and by the way Jessica - where HAVE you been?

**brenda67** · 01-19-2009, 06:19 PM

I second that... where have you been?? How's your new home? Glad to see you back my friend.. I also would like to know how to make my own soap..

**peanut** · 01-25-2009, 03:05 PM

This is going to sound funny. I taught my daughter how to make it when she was a teen, but darned if I can remember what we did! However, I do have some links I think still work...

Turtle soap

Miller's Homemade Soap Pages

Hope that helps you.

Jean

**Momto2Boyz** · 01-30-2009, 07:35 AM

A friend and I have been gearing up to do this all winter. Once spring hits, we are going to be hitting my backyard and making some soap over the open campfire!

I'll let you know how it all goes once we do it!

**Peaches** · 01-30-2009, 11:19 AM

Be warned...once you start making soap, you cannot stop. It's an addiction!

There are two kinds of soapmaking; cold process and hot process. Cold process is when you combine the lye solution and oils, then mix to trace and add fragrance, colours, botanicals, clay and anything else you want to use. Then it's poured into a mold and left to harden. When it's hard, you remove it from the mold, slice it, and leave it to cure for a minimum of a month.

Then there's hot process, where you mix the lye solution and oils, mix to trace and then cook the mix until it reaches gel stage. At that point, you add your other bits and pieces, mold, and unmold when fully cool. You can use this soap immediately, although soap is like wine - it's better with age - so I usually leave mine to cure for about a week. I do hot process using an old crock pot.

The best place to start is about, which has a fantastic cold process tutorial.

I'll post more information in detail as soon as I get a minute!

**madhen** · 01-30-2009, 11:35 AM

I listed a bunch of pics with step by step instructions in my self-sufficiency album. It was a lot easier than I worried it would be. It pretty much makes itself. Mine was a very simple goats' milk soap, no fancy ingredients, and took about 2 hours total, I think, not counting curing time. I'll have to make some more, as I gave a lot of it away at Christmas and now my sister is demanding more.

**Michelle** · 01-30-2009, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by madhen

I listed a bunch of pics with step by step instructions in my self-sufficiency album. It was a lot easier than I worried it would be. It pretty much makes itself. Mine was a very simple goats' milk soap, no fancy ingredients, and took about 2 hours total, I think, not counting curing time. I'll have to make some more, as I gave a lot of it away at Christmas and now my sister is demanding more.

Loved your step by step photos, madhen

What did you use to cut the soap?

**madhen** · 01-30-2009, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by Michelle

Loved your step by step photos, madhen

What did you use to cut the soap?

I just used an old kitchen knife. I *did* relegate everything I used to a soap-making classification (i.e, not to be used on food anymore), but that was pretty much one measuring cup, a bowl, and the knife.