Re: Liquid Lye Soap Lotion

October 30, 2010

Is this cheaper than esp soap? When you say small peices are you talkin of lye,

where do you get lye? I like this notion alwys wonted to make soap myslef.

Thanks

>

> LYE SOAP LOTION - HOW TO MAKE IT ( same process to make shampoo, dish soap

and plant spray as well )

>

> To make a lotion out of the soap it is really very easy. In fact it is a good

way to recycle those small pieces left over from the shower. To make the lotion

just take several small pieces and mix them with water. We recommend you use

either a spring water or a distilled water. Something that has the impurities

removed. Especially if your using the lotion for a skin allergy or something of

the like. They put so many things in city water any more you don't know what you

may be mixing into your lotion thus maybe even irritating your condition

further. Also you may need to add a little heat when trying to get the soap and

water mix if the pieces are really hard. Not much heat just a bit. Anyway just

mix in enough water and stir it until you get the consistency you want for your

lotion or dish soap or shampoo, whatever it is your making the mix for. Now be

sure to put your mix into something relatively air tight so it won't dry right

back out. If you need to take it with you in your purse or something just get a

small squeeze bottle or a zip lock bag that your sure won't leak. We have also

been told if you thin down the solution enough you can use it as a plant spray

to keep unwanted bugs away from your plants.

>

October 30, 2010

Not sure if its cheaper, for sure cheaper if you make your own. A bar that

weighs 4.5 oz at Ace hardware is $4.00. Our local feed mill now carries the same

brand as Ace for $3.50. Ace also sells the lye for making soap. Here is a simple

recipe for soap. Just Remember ALWAYS add the lye to water NEVER the lye to

water. You can substitute oils.

http://www.delcitysoap.com/soaprecipe.htm

A SIMPLE SOAP RECIPE

I have had many people tell me that they wanted to try soapmaking, but were

discouraged by some of the soapmaking books they read. Often books have only

recipes containing costly and hard to find ingredients. Most recipes list their

ingredients by weight, because that is the most accurate way of doing things,

but this can be another stumbling block for beginners. Most folks don't want to

invest in a suitable scale just to try out a new hobby. But I want to help

anyone who wants to make soap for themselves, so I am sharing my recipe for Tiny

Angel Castile, because its has simple ingredients you can find at the

supermarket and a mild basic nature that makes it a perfect place to start. I

have calculated the recipe so that you don't need to weigh out ingredients, you

can measure by liquid volume with a measuring container. If you do make soap

using this recipe, please drop us a line and let us know how it turned out.

This recipe is carefully calculated for just the ingredients listed below, do

not make any substitutions or attempt to reduce the size of this recipe! Each

oil has its own specific saponification number, which is the amount of lye

needed to turn that oil into soap. Changing the oils used or changing the size

of this recipe would require recalculating that ratio, you cannot simply reduce

or replace components of the recipe without changing everything else. This is a

recipe for beginners and people who want something simple. If once you have

tried this recipe you want to get into using more exotic oils and ingredients,

get some books and start experimenting...get a scale, calculate your own

recipes, and have at it!

Before you get started...

Lye is potentially a very dangerous substance and must be handled with extreme

caution. With the proper safety precautions, there is no reason for you to have

any problems. That means rubber gloves, protective eyewear & clothing, no kids

or animals running amok underfoot, etc. Never leave mixed lye-water on the

counter or table unattended, you must find a safe and secure location for it to

cool. Never use Aluminum utensils or pots for soapmaking, Lye reacts very badly

with Aluminum. Lye (also called Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH) is available in many

supermarkets across the U.S., a common name brand is " Red Devil " and it now

comes in an 18-ounce plastic can (it used to come in a 12 ounce can). Make sure

it says " 100% Lye " on the container. Do NOT use Drano, it is not pure Lye.

Olive Oil makes a great soap, a very hard, low-lathering bar that is

long-lasting, cleans well, and is very mild. This recipe calls for Berio Olive

Oil, as this is the most common and inexpensive brand in our area. If you can't

find this size or brand, then just measure out 20 cups of any other Olive Oil,

you should still get fine results. About stirring: Olive oil soaps can take a

very long time to reach trace with just hand-stirring, so we strongly recommend

" hurrying it along " through the (careful!) use of a stick blender. Stick

blenders are a terrific invention and a real boon to the soapmaker. Some folks

swear by hand mixers, but I don't recommend them. Hand mixers have a tendency to

splash things around, which can be quite hazardous, and they really do not seem

to get the job done in the way a stick blender can.Overuse of blenders can cause

premature emulsion of ingredients, to avoid this use them in short bursts, about

30 seconds or less at a time, then hand-stir for a little bit, then use the

stick blender again and continue alternating in this way. Don't skimp on this

step, a plain Olive Oil Soap that does not achieve full trace in the pot will

NOT make good soap in the mold! With mechanical assistance, full trace should

generally take less than 10 minutes.

The Mold I suggest for this a plastic Rubbermaid box, the size we have is

roughly 13 " x 9 " x 6 " deep, with a snap-on plastic lid. Any plastic or wooden

container of similar dimensions will work fine, as long as it has a lid. Once

you fill the mold and snap on the lid, you will need to cover the mold with

blankets to insulate the soap, this allows the saponification process to

continue. During saponification, the block of soap will heat up a great deal and

liquefy again, then cool off slowly and harden. Leave your block of soap

undisturbed for at least 12 hours, then take a peek and see how it looks. It

should be quite firm to the touch by this point, but don't unmold the soap yet

if the mold or the soap still feels hot. If the soap is warm, just leave it

alone until it cools completely. When you unmold the soap, you may notice some

liquid on the soap block and mold, this is condensation from the heat of

saponification. Just leave it, and it will be quickly reabsorbed into the soap.

It is advisable to cut your block of soap into bars as soon as possible after

unmolding, Olive Oil makes a very hard soap and it can be difficult to cut

" perfect " bars without any chipping or breakage if you wait too long.

Simple Olive Oil Soap Recipe

One 18-ounce can of Lye (also called Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH) Red Devil is a

popular brand

5 cups of Distilled Water (Chemical & mineral impurities in plain tap water can

cause soapmaking problems)

20 cups of Olive Oil (by liquid volume measure)

1 heat-proof container (Pyrex, Stainless Steel, Heavy-duty Plastic) for mixing

the lye (at least 2 quart size)

1 large stainless steel or enamel pot for mixing soap (at least 2 gallon size)

1 spatula or spoon (Rubber or silicon)

1 plastic container with a lid

Pour your distilled water into the heat-proof container, then add the Lye and

stir carefully with rubber spatula to mix and dissolve. This stuff will get

hot, so watch out! It will also produce fumes for a few minutes, so it is best

to mix it up and get away from it quickly until the fumes disperse. Then make

sure to set the lye-water mixture aside in a safe place to cool off.

Once your lye has cooled to the point where the container is just warm to the

touch, pour Olive Oil into your large mixing pot and heat on the stove. We want

to heat the Olive Oil to approx. 100 degrees F, if you have a thermometer you

can measure this exactly. Otherwise, just heat it up until the outside of the

pot feels very warm to the touch, then remove the pot from the heat source.

Pour the lye-water mixture into the warm oil, very slowly and carefully to avoid

spills, stirring the oil all the while with your spatula. The mixture will

incorporate and become smoother, continue stirring for a couple of minutes to

make sure everything is well-mixed. Then start using your stick blender or

beater, for short intervals, hand-stirring in between. You will soon notice the

mixture getting thicker and more opaque, that means trace is occurring. Keep

stirring until you get a rather thick pudding-like consistency.

Pour soap mixture into mold, snap on lid, and cover with blankets. When it is

ready, pop the block out the the mold and cut it into whatever sizes you like.

Stack your soap on brown paper-lined shelves in a well-ventilated area, this

soap should be aged and cured for approx. 4 weeks before use. Makes more than

10 pounds of soap.

> >

> > LYE SOAP LOTION - HOW TO MAKE IT ( same process to make shampoo, dish soap

and plant spray as well )

> >

> > To make a lotion out of the soap it is really very easy. In fact it is a

good way to recycle those small pieces left over from the shower. To make the

lotion just take several small pieces and mix them with water. We recommend you

use either a spring water or a distilled water. Something that has the

impurities removed. Especially if your using the lotion for a skin allergy or

something of the like. They put so many things in city water any more you don't

know what you may be mixing into your lotion thus maybe even irritating your

condition further. Also you may need to add a little heat when trying to get the

soap and water mix if the pieces are really hard. Not much heat just a bit.

Anyway just mix in enough water and stir it until you get the consistency you

want for your lotion or dish soap or shampoo, whatever it is your making the mix

for. Now be sure to put your mix into something relatively air tight so it won't

dry right back out. If you need to take it with you in your purse or something

just get a small squeeze bottle or a zip lock bag that your sure won't leak. We

have also been told if you thin down the solution enough you can use it as a

plant spray to keep unwanted bugs away from your plants.

> >

>

October 30, 2010

Another simple good recipe. You can blend in flower of sulfur in the final step,

or make liquid lye and blend flower of sulfur into olive oil then blend into

liquid soap.

A beginner's recipe to stir the imagination

There are endless combinations in soapmaking, limited only by your ingenuity,

budget and natural law. Keep your first batch simple.

Very simple soap

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Crisco

1 1/3 cups olive oil

1/4 cup Red Devil lye

6 fluid ounces cool distilled water

Arrange for two hours without interruptions. Wear long sleeves. Put on safety

glasses and gloves. Keep vinegar at hand for lye splashes.

Measure the cool water in the heatproof cup. Place it in the sink, where it

can't be knocked over. Working in a well-ventilated area, measure the lye. Hold

your breath (not because of the danger, but because there will be fumes) and

pour the lye slowly into the water, stirring until dissolved. The lye solution

will top 175 degrees.

Place the Crisco in the stainless-steel pot over low heat until it melts (about

20 minutes). Add the olive oil. After another 15 minutes, take the soap pot off

the heat.

Within five minutes, both the pot and the heatproof cup should feel toasty

(about 115 degrees if you have a glass candy thermometer) but not hot. Slowly

pour the lye solution into the fats, stirring steadily. The mixture will lighten

and start to thicken.

Looking for trace. Stir diligently for 15 minutes, or until the soap traces.

Trace occurs when a bit of raw soap, dribbled from the spatula across the

surface, leaves " traces " for a few seconds before sinking back in. If you don't

get trace after 15 minutes, take a 10-minute break. Stir another 15 minutes.

Repeat. Your soap should eventually trace. (If it doesn't, recheck your

measurements. You may have to start over.)

At trace, stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons scent and pour the soap immediately into the

mold. Insulate. Scrape the leftover soap in the pot onto a paper towel and toss

it.

Wash the utensils in hot water.

The cure. Leave the soap undisturbed for 24 hours. It will heat up as it goes

through its chemical reaction, then cool. When the soap is firm, cut into four

to six bars and put them in a dry, well-ventilated place, away from kids and

pets.

Vegetable-based soap needs at least two weeks to tie up loose ends, while soaps

made with animal fat seem to take twice that long to lose their " bite. " Be

patient.

Otherwise, you'll arouse unnecessary suspicion if you offer your creation with

the words: " Here is your mild and moisturizing bar of homemade soap, but don't

use it for two weeks, OK?