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Post by Alan on Oct 11, 2011 22:04:29 GMT -5
Anybody else here making soap? We just got into it recently and are having a blast with it. I'm tending to keep everything as simple as possible using mostly what I have available on the farm.
So far everything is being made using lard and olive oil (some other oils here and there but trying to stay simple in order to be able to recreate if things get tough). I settled on lard because of it's abundant availability and the fact that I will still have it on hand if SHTF due to raising hogs. We have shunned fragrant oils and essential oils and I've even been experimenting with making lye water just in case.
So far we have used well water as a base, home brewed beer, wine, rain water, and cucumber puree and have added honey, coffe, coffe grounds, cut and dried spearamint, chamomile, and pine tar to our soaps and all have turned out well. Kim has my soap book at the moment but when I get it back I'll post some of our recipies. We decided to take the hard path and create our recipies from scratch from the very first batch. This is one of those survival items and self suficiency items I don't see mentioned on here often so I thought I'd bring it up to spur some discussion.
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Post by steev on Oct 11, 2011 23:09:00 GMT -5
What's the cucumber puree about?
Would this be a use for all the bitter, overgrown cukes, since they aren't to be eaten?
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 11, 2011 23:36:34 GMT -5
Alan, we tried it several years ago. We did soap at the farmer's market for a season. Ann Bramson wrote a book on Soap that we used to get started. I was able to get really cheap beef fat from a local butcher. Alas when they made the rules about butchering in USDA facilities, soap was one of the things we quit making. We made a few nice olive oil soaps. The new silicon molds for cupcakes are awesome for making soap. Around here, everyone and their mother are making soap or candles or both.
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Post by atash on Oct 12, 2011 16:25:28 GMT -5
Just in case you need to know:
A number of plants that have botanical names with variations of "sap_n_" are sufficiently rich in saponins to create lather.
Saponaria officionalis is one of them. It's still used to launder delicate fabrics.
In warmish and dryish climates you can grow Sapindus saponaria, the Western Soapberry tree, whose berries are around 30 percent saponins. Don't eat them.
There are quite a few others, containing saponins in various concentrations. Many of the ones whose botanical names allude to their saponin content used to actually be used as sources of soap, some for cleaning, some for bathing.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Oct 13, 2011 11:59:30 GMT -5
I'm still making my own laundry soap. The formula has changed radically though and the last batch included lavender oil and thyme tea.
Bar soap with home made lye is still on my "needtado" list.
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Post by toad on Oct 14, 2011 14:05:58 GMT -5
Horse-Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, is also used as a detergent. I believe it's distantly related to Western Soapberry tree. I've tried it, but without succes, as water here is very rich in calcium, and washing with horse-chestnut only works in soft water.
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Post by spacecase0 on Oct 14, 2011 14:15:24 GMT -5
I have made soap a few times,
I was using sodium hydroxide and what ever oil I had at the time
home made soap is great.
I made one that I skewed the ratio of lye to a higher amount (to 100% reaction and not the usual 90 to 95 %),
it works great for cleaning off oils,
nothing I could find at the store would clean the ice cream maker very well,
but my custom made soap did it with no problem at all (just wear gloves when using it or expect very dry skin)
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Post by honeydew on Dec 24, 2011 18:16:07 GMT -5
I have made soap from scratch for several years.
I have only used vegetable oils as a base, and use several different ones for different reasons. I have a couple of blends of base oils that I find work very well and make a very nice bar of soap. Also nice is using shea or cocoa butter, but very small ratios of your base recipe.
Never, though, do I use fragrance oils. Essential oils, yes. Play around with different blends and you will find some favorites I am sure. Also, you don't have to put lots in if you only want a hint of scent.
I also love using food and flowers in soap. Pumpkin puree, oatmeal, coffee, tea, spices, clays, flower petals add color and/or texture. Next batch I am going to try honey???
My coffee soap has finely ground coffee and coffee essential oil. Can you get your hands on some of that? I found that I have to grind it up as fine as I can get it or it is just TOO abrasive. Beautiful rich dark coffee color. Makes a great gardener's soap!
Making soap is tonnes of fun!
I haven't made laundry soap yet, I am looking for a good recipe for VERY hard water.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 24, 2011 19:24:11 GMT -5
Thomas International in India makes a soap making machine. Very cool.
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Post by cortona on Dec 25, 2011 9:20:03 GMT -5
Holly can you share a link for this web page?
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 25, 2011 13:06:49 GMT -5
thomaseximp.com
We are looking at their Multicrop Thresher $2288.00. We are still working out the details, but they have a lot of very interesting small equipment that we have considered. Candle Makers, Screw Presses for Fruit, Grain Grinders and MultiCrop Huller.
There catalog is full of useful items.
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Post by cortona on Dec 25, 2011 14:12:11 GMT -5
wath a catalog! fantastic!
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Post by atash on Dec 25, 2011 16:16:39 GMT -5
Bookmarked it. Thanks, Holly.
The soap-berry seeds arrived. I'll start them in the spring. I don't think they need to be stratified, just scarified.
Toad, I've heard very mixed results on their use (soap-berries), and maybe water hardness is one issue. Come to think of it, the dishwasher repair man told us to stop using so much dishwashing detergent in the dishwasher, because our water isn't that hard. Harder water, more soap, softer water, less, apparently.
It'll be a while before I get berries, though.
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Post by honeydew on Dec 26, 2011 14:02:09 GMT -5
Is this soap making machine a boiler type? I can't seem to find any description or explanation on it.
Though I don't know much about that type of soap making, my understanding is that it is for mass producing soap products.
Anyone know more about?
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 26, 2011 14:43:12 GMT -5
The way their website is, you actually have to send an inquiry. Then they send a proforma invoice with all the details. Since they are in India, manufacturing for the African market, they equipment is pretty simple. They also send you spare parts at the time of purchase.
The Soap Machine looked to me like something one would purchase if you got into making large quantities of soap for fairs and farmer's markets.
I actually sent the link because the catalog contains machines that do rice! Something several of us were looking for.
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