My Foray Into Soap Making

I've wanted to learn to make soap for years.  I've bought books.  I've read blogs.  I've done lots and lots of research.  A few things have always held me back.  One is that I've always had so many other "hobbies" that I just don't see where I really have time for one more. 

In all honesty, the biggest one is that I've been afraid!  True soap making requires the use of lye and fats to create soap.  I'm sure with enough caution I could do it just fine (I mean, for heaven's sake I use power tools on a near daily basis!), but I've also seen Fight Club and watched the chemical burn seen just one too many times.

Instead of all that, I've started my journey into soap making with melt and pour bases.  You really have to shop around to get a decent price on the stuff, but using some good old frugality I've been able to get about $40 worth of soap base for $23.  Not bad, and makes the whole process a little easier to deal with.

I spent most of yesterday melting bases, mixing in additives, and pour into molds.  I've made several different soaps, and am looking forward to experimenting even more.  Soon, my soaps will be available on the Etsy site I am building, so stay tuned!

The first soap that I made was a Coffee Scrub.  Very simple, just melt Glycerin Base and stir in a desired amount of Coffee Grounds.  I'd read online that this soap mix will take most odors off of your hands, and it really seemed to work.  I've put a bar in the kitchen, and I love that the grounds work as exfoliates.

Next up was a Black Raspberry and Vanilla infused concoction using Shea Butter as the base.  I found that it takes a LOT of colorant to get even a small batch to change color, but this came out a very pretty light pink.  It smells fantastic too!

My third batch was a recreation of a great soap that I got at the Luxor Hotel when we stayed there years ago.  It was a honey and oatmeal scrub bar.  So for mine, I used a little glycerin soap base, Goats milk base, honey, and some finely ground oatmeal.  I used some of this the minute it had hardened and am in LOVE!  The oatmeal of course works as an exfoliant and the milk and honey are great moisturizers.  I felt that even with the oatmeal it lathered really nicely and I liked the smell.

Finally, this morning I've made a batch of Aloe and Vitamin E.  Goats milk and Glycerin bases were used, and I harvested my own Aloe Gel and Juice from plants in my kitchen.  The Vitamin E was purchased from Wal-Mart for just a few dollars.  I also added a little green colorant.  Very pretty and smells very good.  Can't wait to try it.

I'm hoping to continue to work with the melt and pour bases, and then plan to experiment with melting down regular soap and working with those.  Once I'm comfortable, I plan to move onto trying the traditional Lye method. 

I don't think that will be any time soon though....    ;-)