Does anyone make their own soap?

[MadreInglese]

I fancy having a go at making soap, but after googling it seems there are loads of different techniques ranging from taking 5 minutes to a few months!

Does anyone have any tips on the best process to use, and what works well or doesn't work well when added to soaps?

Any ideas appreciated.

will watch this thread with interest...as i have been wondering the same recently

Love the halloween name FMV [frgin]

There is one option that seems to be a simple melt-and-pour-into-mould job, but I don't know if that's just a cop out method IYSWIM. Wouldn't mind spending a little more time on the process if the result was nicer quality.

frgin?

dunno what happened there

wHERE DO YOU GET SODIUM HYDROXIDE FROM?

ssorry, didn't mean to shout but can't be arsed to retype it sans cap lock.

I wonder if you can get it from Sallys...?

this looks like the sort of thing

but I'm terrified at the thought of needing gogles to make it? Either you make nice soap or ......it will eat holes into your flesh

LOL

this is the cheat version I think

god I'm such a lightweight. As soon as the list for anything reaches more than 6 ingredients, I switch off....

think i'll stick to truffles

the longer you leave the soap to dry out the harder it becomes and the longer it lasts when you use it. try making it in small batches and then you can experiment with ingredients. keep a log of what you do and how it turns out.

I used the melt-and-pour stuff for making presents this year, as making from scratch just seemed too involved and too many pieces of equipment required.

It didn't feel too much like a cop out - I chose some natural soap without harmful chemicals in (i've used The Soap Kitchen website, which has a good selection but I don't have anything to compare the quality to).

I added a blend of essential oils which I mixed myself, some extra carrier oil to make it even more moisturising, and dried calendula petals, which make it look nice and rustic ) and meant no need for colourants.

I bought a mould which makes four bars and did lots of batches, but you could use a loaf tin and slice it up afterwards.

Sodium hydroxide is caustic soda which I think (and could be wrong) is drain cleaner. I keep meaning to have a go but am a bit wimpy about the idea of using the sodium hydroxide so haven't actually done it yet.

I don't like the melt and pour soaps, they don't seem the same to me as the traditional method so I might be brave and have a go in the New Year.