Friday, November 14, 2014

Making Lavender Soap

For many years, Mr. DIY  said he wanted to make soap.  I'm not sure why, but he did.

A while back, he finally made some.


After watching a lot of Youtube videos and finding a recipe on Pinterest, Mr. DIY ordered some supplies that he needed and gathered some out of our pantry.






If you make soap according to how he made his, do so at your own risk as some parts of the soap making process can be dangerous.


Here's are the instructions for how he made the soap:
Mr. DIY's Awesome Soap
         16 oz. Coconut Oil
         16 oz. Palm Oil
         13.5 oz. Olive Oil
        16 oz. Distilled Water
         6.5 oz Lye

         1 oz. Lavender Essential Oil - optional

    1) I measured all of the ingredients by WEIGHT, not volume. 


I then mixed the Palm, Coconut and Olive oils together after measuring, in a stainless steel pot and heated it to about 100-110 degrees then set aside. 


2) Only distilled water should be used. City water often contains chlorine which can chemically alter the way  soap saponifies and it may not set up.
I put the water in another stainless pot (do not use aluminum as the lye will eat through it fast) and while stirring with a wire wisk, I poured in the dry lye, and mixed until it dissolved. Wear gloves and safety glasses. A caustic solution splashed in your eyes can blind you. When lye is added to the water, it will immediately get to 180 degrees in a second, and the fumes are hard to breathe, so I do that part outside. It takes maybe 20-30 minutes to cool down to 100-110. DO NOT ADD WATER TO THE LYE. It will react violently.




3) Once both oils and lye solution are at 100-110, I added them together. I used a stick blender to mix them and blended them until they got to the “trace” point, which is when it thickens. Once it was like pudding, I added  lavender essential oil. If  the lavender is added  before trace, it can do weird things and not set up properly. 









I lined my wooden mold with waxed paper.



4) I poured the soap mixture into the mold, then let it sit overnight to harden. 


The next day I took it out of the mold and sliced it into bars. 

Soap with lye in it must sit/cure for several weeks to allow the pH to drop and the saponification process to complete. The soap will continue to harden as time goes by and a couple more weeks will make the soap lather a lot more. 




Aren't they pretty? They smell so good too!


Mr. DIY has now made 3 batches of soap and has plans to make more. I highly doubt I will ever have to buy soap again. His next batches will be coconut mint and a rose soap. Can't wait!
Is there anything you've always wanted to make, but you just never get around to it?
Would love to hear about it.


Pam




6 comments:

  1. How great that your hubby wanted to make soap and lavender is my favorite!...love the label!...They would make great gifts!

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  2. That's absolutely fabulous! I wouldn't want to do that process…but would love the end result. So, does Mr DIY use his soap??? What a perfect present for everyone you know. Love it Pam!

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  3. How neat is this! Lavender is a favorite scent! I didn't know it takes so long for the soap to be ready to use. I see gifts for others coming out of this!

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  4. Wow! This is quite a process, a bit more involved then the glycerin one I tried. I bet it smells and washes wonderfully! I love his soap mold, I bet he made it too didn't he? Love it!

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    1. Thanks Mary! The soap he makes is wonderful and lathers up nicely. Yes, he made the soap mold, as well.

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  5. Lavender is also popular here in czech republic, also alchymist work in soap crafting:) I only made lavender alcohol yet:D And well...to your question - yes I always wanted to build a castle ;))
    Your creations are amazing, you could make decorations for movies. Have a nice time with beauty

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