Food Storehouse – by Ben Tanner
Have you ever thought about how you are going to get clean if anything happens in the world? Well I have done a ton of thinking about it and from what I have come across is that soap is bloody expensive. Things like laundry soap which I wrote a blog on making your very own soap which has been plastered all over the internet before but it really does save you money and there is a HUGE benefit to not having extra chemicals floating around in your stuff but what about your body?
How about making your own soap for you and your kids? Well you can do just that without much work and you don’t even need to go through the chemical lye process either.
If you buy a base like Shea butter which is hypoalergenic and absolutely wonderful for all types of skin you will be set. Now you can use a premade mold which you can buy anywhere craft supplies are sold but you can also buy them online from soap supply companies. I find that using things around the house do just as well.
You can use things like milk cartons or even PVC piping with connection ends that plug it up if you wanted round soap. There is endless supplies around your home already which you don’t have to pay someone else. Sometimes soap making equipment can get pretty expensive so using what you already have will help you out a great deal.
Now once you have your base and you’ve found your recipe you’re ready to get started but what kinds of things can you put into soap? Well anything you want! You can use herbs both dried and fresh to get a wonderful smell or even for their healing or energy benefits.
You can use essencial oils to make them smell wonderful or you can use all natural food colouring which will allow you to tint them or even doing this project with your kids so they can have their very own soap. Without using the chemical lye method you can get the kids involved without issue. You will be able to use kid friendly molds for little hands like ice cube trays or even those cake pop molds.
Making Soap At Home! by Ben Tanner
My first batch of cold process soap is curing as I write. Hubby, myself, and one of our children whipped it up in no time on 1/4/14. Will be ready to use Feb. 8. Required VERY little time to put ing. together, whip to trace state, pour into mold(glass brownie pan),then set up to cure. No need to get alarmed when using the lye either. Lots of warnings about it, don’t let it freak you out. Since my first batch of which I spent more than was necessary, I’ve come across an inexpensive formula, as follows.
9.4oz crisco vegi shortening
6oz. olive oil(not virgin) get cheap stuff
6oz. coconut oil(louana is what I used)doesn’t have to be exensive
7oz. water(distilled)
3oz. lye(must be 100%) got ours from Ace. It’s household drain opener.
.9oz fragrance oil or essential oil if you want to smell it up.
This recipe came from about.com (Sandy Maine’s 3-oil soap recipe.)
Lots of info. on the net about soap making. Check it out, pick the one you like and start. The research was also interesting by the way. If anyone has any questions, please ask.
By the way, you’ll see that most folks recommend a digital scale. This piece of equipement is essential in my opinion. Got mine off Amazon for 36.00. Have also used it for baking,etc. Well worth the expense. Also, picked up a stick blender at thrift store which makes the whipping to trace quick. Making the soap at home took less time that driving to store and back. Hot process soap can be used in about 2 days. Have fun with it!
You know with all of the ingredients that you need to buy for the recipe, it almost seems cheaper just to go out and buy the damn soap.
My wife has been doing this about 2-3 years now……she makes her own lye with from wood stove ash…and gets here tallow from rendering beef or chicken fat down in a crock-pot,…but yeah NC…the cost can get up there…especially for the coconut oil.
Yup on the herb infusions too…ground fresh sage can be used in the soap for an antibiotic…works well if you deal with farm animals…also good for summer time monkey-butt if you sweat a lot
Make your own soap…?
Oh, yeah saw that movie :p