The Soap Corner                                    

  Magic In The Kettle

The other container is in the same comforting zone. 

Finally, the time for magic has arrived. Slowly, I combine the ingredients and stir, as a wonderful batch of handcrafted soap is creating itself right before my eyes. 

The fragrance of pure soap penetrates my nose and I know that what is happening for me has been part of history since days long past.

Ok it isn’t magic it is science… but every time I make soap it has that thrill of magic. 

My name is Cindy Whitaker and I have been making handcrafted soap since 1996. 

Why would anyone make soap you are asking? Many reasons come to mind, for starters, the pure enjoyment that comes from handling Essential Oils, letting my creative side play and knowing EXACTLY what is in it before using it on my body. 

Handcrafted soap can be made by anyone in kitchen. 

Soap is really just a combination of oils (fats), lye, and water. From these basics you can make soap that is gentle, fragrant, and beautiful. 

Handcrafted soap bears almost no resemblance to the detergent bars that are commercially produced and sold as “soap” in the market.

The ingredients used in making handcrafted soaps can be found in grocery stores, health food stores, and from online suppliers for soap and toiletry makers. 

Goat milk, honey, oatmeal, aloe vera juice, rosemary, lavender, calendula petals, mints, clays and pigments are wonderful additions to soap. 

Essential oils make handcrafted soap all the more interesting in texture and fragrance. Many of these items are also beneficial to your skin. The possibilities are just endless.

Soap can be made from simple ingredients such as olive oil, shortening, and coconut oil. This is a very basic bar blend. 

As you progress in your soap making skills you can incorporate cocoa butter, emu oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, sunflower oil, and apricot kernel oil just to name a few.

Please note, this recipe is not intended to be instructions on how one should make soap, it is just to show you how easily they can be made in the kitchen. 

There are many wonderful books, internet sites, chat lists, and classes that cover all the safety issues and the finer points of soap making. 

I highly recommend that you learn a lot more before attempting this recipes.

12 ounces Olive Oil

12 ounces Coconut Oil

19 ounces Soybean (canned Crisco is fine, do not use the liquid oil here)

6 ounces Sodium Hydroxide (Red Devil- it must state 100% Lye)

16 ounces Distilled Water

1/2 to 1ounce Lavender Essential Oil

All ingredients are weighed and measured out. 

First I measure my distilled water into a sturdy plastic pitcher. 

Next I weigh out the Lye (sodium hydroxide). 

Outside I go with both items and  slowly pour the Lye into the distilled water and stir with a long handled plastic or wooden spoon. Do not breath the fumes.

This solution is left to cool to approximately 100 degrees.

Weigh out each of the oils and place in a stainless steel cooking pot. Gently warm on the stove until melted and let this solution cool to about 100 degrees.

When the Lye/Water solution is at the same temperature as the oils in the pot, I set the pot in my sink, and slowly add the lye/water while stirring. 

Do not get this solution on you. It will burn your skin. From this point on the soap solution will also cause burns if it comes in contact with your skin.

I continue to stir the now forming soap until it starts to thicken, then I add the essential oil. 

Now it is time to pour it into a mold. Even a sturdy box lined with plastic will work. 

After it is poured, I wrap it in a blanket and leave it alone for 12-24 hours. 

At the end of this time, I remove the soap from the mold. If the soap is to be cut, then I can usually cut it now. 

Then comes the hard part of soap making. The soap must be cured. I set it out of the way and allow it to just sit for four weeks. 

During this time the extra water leaves the soap and it becomes very mild. At the end of four weeks my soap is ready to be used and enjoyed.

I do hope you have enjoyed this small amount of information regarding soap making and why I make soap. 

I'm going to end this article with titles of books and websites that helped me to learn this wonderful craft. 

 If you would like to see some of my creations you my visit my web site, www.windmillsoaps.com  

Windmill Soaps was created because friends and family were constantly encouraging me to sell my products. I have enjoy the experience immensely.

Here is a site for soap supplies.

The Sage

Books:

'The Soapmakers’s Companion' by Susan Miller Cavich (The Bible of Soap making)

'The Soap Book - Simple Herbal Recipes', Sandy Maine (Recipes, Instructions)

'The Natural Soap Book', by Susan Miller Cavitch (Recipes, Instructions)