Soap

So, over Labor Day weekend I did make soap. I ordered more oils and got sodium hydroxide. Bought new orange and lemongrass essential oils. My peppermint and tea tree seemed fine. Got Rosemary new also just in case. And pulled out my pans, saved milk cartons, old towels and thermometers. I did wear safety glasses while working with the sodium hydroxide but didn't wear gloves. Raw soap in tiny cuts on my hands didn't feel good. So, here's a few pictures of the process:

stuff ready to go

oils melting (and heating up a tad). One batch is olive, coconut, and palm oils and fair trade cocoa butter. The other has those oils and a variety of stuff I had left over from the last time I made soap like avocado, shea, jojoba, and grapeseed. The 2nd bunch of oils made a really soft soap. I am hoping it hardens up!

The sodium hydroxide cooling down. When you mix it with water it goes to 180degrees fast. Yes, I poured it INTO the water and not the other way around.

Once the temps were right here is the first pot of raw soap before being mixed with the stick blender. And before coloring, scenting, and all that. The batch with the big mix of oils traced within 2 minutes - almost too fast. (Trace means ready to pour)

The Chocolate-Mint soap

The soap all wrapped up and hardening up.

The soap after about 48 hours ready to cut. One batch was really ready after 24 hours but the other was still fairly soft.

This is the "soft" batch of unscented baby soap, a citrus mix, and a peppermint-rosemary.

A light lavender with no coloring, a orange-lemongrass, and a chocolate mint. The Choc-mint is the prettiest by far. The orange-lemongrass is crazy bright red from the red clay I used to color it. The Choc-mint is colored with spinach powder and fair trade cocoa powder.

I used natural colorants this time and am so far happy with that choice. I also got fair trade, organic, and/or wildcrafted everything. But I have found from doing even more research that some of that is just an expensive title and certification that really might not mean much. I have since talked with some suppliers that use direct sources and confirm safe and fair working conditions but aren't certified fair trade. I do like the quality of their product so I will use them again in the future. I wonder if we are getting too carried away with the fair trade title and need to instead look for direct sourcing, wildcrafting, and just good suppliers. I will still buy fair trade coffee, cocoa, and diamonds. :0)~ (ok, I don't buy diamonds)

So, there is my soap adventure so far!