Today I made soap using the cardboard soap mold I made yesterday.  The recipe I use is from the Soapmaker’s Companion, by Susan Miller Cavitch. It’s called the Soap Essentials bar made from olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil.  Very simple, and so luxurious.  I’ve made this recipe before, in fact, it’s my go to soap recipe, but I usually make it in 40 bar batches.  Today I only made enough for 15 bars.

The soap making process never fails to amaze me.  How someone figured out to mix oil and lye (sodium hydroxide) and end up with soap baffles me.

Now despite the fact that I’ve made several batches of soap over the years, I’m still wary of the chemical process.  The instructions in the book are excellent and I had an amazing teacher, but I’m always nervous I’m going to mess something up and waste a batch.  So far I’ve not had to throw anything out, so maybe my nervousness is a good thing.  I will put a caution here:  LYE (sodium hydroxide) is not to be messed around with.  It’s an incredibly corrosive alkaline and both wet lye and dry lye solutions are highly caustic and may cause chemical burns, permanent injury or scarring, and blindness. Lye may be harmful or fatal if swallowed.  Don’t take this lightly and by all means make sure you have eye protection, latex gloves and keep your limbs covered. And make sure your pets and children are no where in sight.

Here are my steps to making a simple batch of soap (abbreviated version):

1.  Mix lye with distilled water (let sit until the temperature drops to 80 degrees)

2.  Mix oils together and heat to 80 degrees

3.  When both lye and oils reach 80 degrees slowly drizzle lye into the oil stirring constantly.

4.  When you’re able to see a trace of oil on the surface, mix in the fragrance (a combination of lavender and English rose) and pour into the mold.

I don’t have any pictures of my soap in the mold because at that point you have to move really fast to get it covered.  I will tell you the cardboard mold worked beautifully.  I’m going to whip up a few more and match some more soap with different fragrances. I will take a picture tomorrow to show you how it looks in the mold.

Tomorrow’s the last day of the {DIY From Scratch} series and yes, I’ll be making homemade doggie treats.  I have three creatures here that are giving me two paws up!

Until tomorrow,

I can’t believe my ears… Are we really getting homemade doggie treats tomorrow?  Finally!!!!