Soap Making

By Pauli Voelkel

600297973.jpg

I recently started making homemade soap with my dad. He found a book at the library and then he asked me if I wanted to make some. We watched a couple of videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcCOruzFTgQ is where we got the recipe), and thus we have made around more than 30 bars of soap. The process is dangerous because we use sodium hydroxide, more commonly know as lye. It is a strong alkali that can cause serious damage when touched. So it's smart to wear gloves and long sleeves when working with it and especially goggles (it can blind you if you get it in your eye). There are two methods of soap making: hot process, and cold process. The one that we use is a cold process. We don't have to heat the soap in any way; and it takes a long time until the soap is ready to be used (6 weeks). The soap is excellent for gifts, and we hopefully will try selling it for fundraisers in the future. 

IMG_20191127_152745.jpg

The ingredients that you will need are

- 337 grams of lye

- 787 grams of ice water

- 683 grams of melted coconut oil

- 1,680 grams of olive oil

- about 3 ounces of fragrance (optional)

- a couple spoons of colored mica (optional)

Step 1: Pour the lye into the ice water (DO NOT add the water to the lye or it will boil over and potentially explode, lye goes into the water, not the other way around) for this step make sure that you have a bowl that can stand the heat (glass is good). Mix until lye is melted (use a stainless steel spoon, not wood). The solution should be between 100 and 130 degrees before the next step.

Step 2: Combine the oils with the lye slowly to prevent splashing. Mix with a food processor (use a food processor strictly for soap) until you get it to the consistency of pancake batter or trace (when you drip the soap on the top, it leaves a little line of splotches). Then add the color and the fragrance.

Step 3: Find or make a mold that is the size of your soap. Line it with parchment paper. Slowly pour in the soap mixture and make sure it's even.

Step 4: If you want some texture on the top, wait for an hour, and then add scallops with a spoon or sprinkle something on top. Cover it with a cloth so that nothing falls in it. Then after 24 hours, cut the soap to whatever size seems fit.

Step 5: After 6 months, the soap will be ready to use. Enjoy!