I get people asking me all the time, "Is soap making difficult?"
I don't think so, however when i first started the whole process seemed SO daunting and difficult. But once i gave it a shot and actually tried it (okay, i tried it 4 times before my soap turned out right. True story.) it didn't seem so bad! You just need to get into a habit of doing things a certain way. It takes a lot of time and practice but eventually you can easily make soap without a problem. It's fun and you create a useful and practical product for yourself!
Here are some photos and i'll explain the process!
The first thing I do is put on gloves and protective eyewear. I didn't even think to take that photo until just now.. anyway, after I do this i pour my Lye into a container to measure it out.
I then measure my water out in a different container, and add the lye to this water. When I'm adding the lye, it's very important that i do not inhale and of the fumes from the lye. I usually cover my face with a bandana, then cover my face as i mix the lye mixture in a very airy area. I like to turn a fan on as well to try and get air circulation out a window when i'm making soap.
This is the mixture of lye and water cooling down.
I measure out my liquid oils into my mixing container.
Then i put solid oils in a separate container. Here are butters such as shea, cocoa butter, or mango butter.
Coconut oil as well.
After these oils have been melted i add them to the container with my liquid oils
After everything is at room temperature i add my cooled down lye water to the oil mixture. I do this slowly while mixing.
After all the lye water has been added and mixed into the soap i use a stick blender to mix it up well. When this happens the soap goes into a stage called "trace" where it thickens and starts to look like pudding. This photo shows the first signs of trace, or a Light Trace. I add scent to this soap usually at about this stage, and mix some more.
After all the mixing has been done i pour the soap into my lined mold with a bit left on the sides. I color the soap on the side 2 different colors then combine them into the main soap mold and swirl it around.
This is what a finished batch of soap looks like in the mold.
Unfortunately i messed up on this batch and the soap got weird spots in it, i didn't notice my lye had crystallized so the batch was off. :( Thats what you get for focusing on taking photos while making soap! Doh.
