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Author Topic: Soap making?  (Read 10634 times)

Ina

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • South Aberdeenshire
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #15 on: October 13, 2013, 09:25:45 am »
Does any of you experts have an idea how to slice olive oil soap? You know the one - used to be quite popular some time back; comes in large blocks (1 kg I think) - and I've been trying to slice it/break it or whatever way to get it into usable size bits for years now! Tried all my large kitchen knives, but the best I achieve is some uncontrolled breakage.  ::)

escapedtothecountry

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • www.escapedtothecountry.com
    • Escaped to the Country
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2013, 09:30:06 am »
Thanks plums! Agree. We made a fee jars of pickles but just for fun took a food hygiene and safety course that inching many local authorities recognise! Too many people don't do the right thing. Will look into all what you have pointed out.

JulieWall

  • Joined Aug 2013
  • Cornhill, Banff
    • The Roundhouse
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2013, 09:49:57 am »
Ina, olive oil soap does go very hard as it ages but it keeps really well. I think a rustic looking chunk of soap has it's own charm anyway, just take a swing at it with the meat cleaver and stand well back ;)
Permaculture and smallholding, perfect partners
http://theroundhouseforum.co.uk/

JulieWall

  • Joined Aug 2013
  • Cornhill, Banff
    • The Roundhouse
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2013, 09:51:03 am »
Ina, olive oil soap does go very hard as it ages but it keeps really well. I think a rustic looking chunk of soap has it's own charm anyway, just take a swing at it with the meat cleaver and stand well back ;)

A hot cheese wire might do it though if you're determined to have it neater.
Permaculture and smallholding, perfect partners
http://theroundhouseforum.co.uk/

escapedtothecountry

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • www.escapedtothecountry.com
    • Escaped to the Country
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2013, 10:14:09 am »
Ordered some of the melt and pour stuff that comes in a bucket or so it seems. Best method of getting it out? Ice cream Scoop?

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #20 on: October 13, 2013, 10:31:10 am »
Slicing hard soap = a guitar string or cheese wire.  I use a slicing block now with a guillotine.

Plop the melt and pour into a polythene bag for ease of use - then you can cut off the bits you need to. You'll want to find out how much the mould takes and then measure out equal in m&p and that's easier if you can cut into chunks.

Retaining EO fragrance - I found that using a certain type of essential oil that is widely available on the high st left me with soaps that lost their scent very quickly (about 5-6 weeks) so I now buy quite pricey ones, I've not had any problems since. I tend to use 2% (unless the EO cannot be used at that strength)  also blending beeswax into your mix will hold EO for longer. Citrus EO's are notorious for fading but you can mnix them with others to hold longer.   
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

Min

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Edinburgh
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #21 on: October 13, 2013, 11:11:15 am »
I just leapt in with the sodium hydroxide but then I am a lab technician and do much scarier things at work.  ;D

Have been using (and liking) my very first bar of soap but it seems to become rather soft if it doesn't get a chance to dry out between uses.

I used a book called Self Sufficiency Soap Making by Sarah Ade which I really like but I did actually change the recipe completely since all of hers use palm oil and I didn't want to use it. It is probably going to make me a bit nervous about experimenting with different oils since it takes a long time to make and uses a lot of ingredients.

Can't wait to make my next block though. It is going to be soon since my husband complained of the hippy oil (patchouli) I used in the first batch.  ;D

Ina

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • South Aberdeenshire
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #22 on: October 13, 2013, 12:48:07 pm »
Thanks for your tips re cutting! I think I'll have to borrow a meat cleaver...  ;)

plumseverywhere

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Worcestershire
    • Its Baaath Time
    • Facebook
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2013, 12:52:36 pm »
Do you have a soap ladder Min? I sell them on my website as I explain to my customers (as you know) that no preservatives can mean a softer bar of soap - the ladder allows the air to circulate and keep the bar harder.
I'm with you on the palm oil 100%  :) 
Smallholding in Worcestershire, making goats milk soap for www.itsbaaathtime.com and mum to 4 girls,  goats, sheep, chickens, dog, cat and garden snails...

Min

  • Joined Apr 2013
  • Edinburgh
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #24 on: October 13, 2013, 08:50:06 pm »
I have a slatted wooden soap dish but the soap ladder looks even better. :thumbsup:

JulieWall

  • Joined Aug 2013
  • Cornhill, Banff
    • The Roundhouse
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #25 on: October 17, 2013, 09:57:34 am »
I dry my soaps on old grill pan racks which I stand in oven trays to contain any bits. It gets the air all round the bars so they dry evenly.
Palm oil, totally agree, it's awful stuff, it makes the bars go yellow as they age.
I use a 45% olive oil, 35% lard and 25% coconut oil as a basic mix but have found that adding cocoa butter or beeswax - or both - makes a much harder bar. Virgin olive oil will give you a lovely fresh scent and pale greenish colour for a no additive soap.

Have a read of Kathy Miller's website, you can't get a better education in soap making In my opinion. Here's a link to the page which gives the properties of different oils - very handy stuff to know when designing a soap recipe.
http://www.millersoap.com/soapdesign.html#Properties
Permaculture and smallholding, perfect partners
http://theroundhouseforum.co.uk/

JulieWall

  • Joined Aug 2013
  • Cornhill, Banff
    • The Roundhouse
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #26 on: October 17, 2013, 10:00:29 am »
forgot to say;
Also, avoid rape seed oil, it is notorious for making the soap develop yellow spots of rancid oil where it has gone off.
Permaculture and smallholding, perfect partners
http://theroundhouseforum.co.uk/

escapedtothecountry

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • www.escapedtothecountry.com
    • Escaped to the Country
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #27 on: October 17, 2013, 10:34:43 am »
One cost £4.50 and one I made.....

JulieWall

  • Joined Aug 2013
  • Cornhill, Banff
    • The Roundhouse
Re: Soap making?
« Reply #28 on: October 17, 2013, 12:44:49 pm »
A nice simple recipe is just to make a pure olive oil soap (Castile)  which is just lye and O/ oil. It makes a very hard bar, lovely silky feel to the bar and a slippery, low suds creamy lather which is very moisturising. Kathy Millers recipe for Castile soap is a good one. I have a couple of 3 year old pieces made to her recipe which still smell lovely, I'm kind of keeping them, curious to see how long they will stay nice for tbh  ;)
Permaculture and smallholding, perfect partners
http://theroundhouseforum.co.uk/

 

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