More handmade soap

[susie_flo]

Just a drive-by to mention that I made four more batches of soap...    and my flat smells amazing.





This lot needs to last me a good couple of years, because I suspect I won't be able to faff about with chemical nonsense for quite some time.   (More pics and full details of each batch are blogged here...  http://susiefhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/05/handmade-soap-fest.html)

Comments

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

The Soap Kitchen is a great place for online supplies. I bought a lot of my recent soap oils from them as well as essential oils.

In general with soap it is normal to measure by weight, even when using liquid oils such as olive oil, so ideally you need a set of digital scales that can measure by the gram. You can make soap entirely from liquid oil such as olive but including some solid oils like coconut and palm is easier and makes for a good all-round soap. Each oil adds different properties. (Just beware of liquid coconut oil - for soap you need to use the solid version)

Also brace yourself... once you start it all gets a bit addictive!

[lebeautemps.livejournal.com]

Looks amazing. Almost edible in fact.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

The real challenge is not dipping your finger in and having a taste - at its most caustic stage it looks like nothing more than delicious custard in the pan.

(For the first time ever, I got a tiny micro-splash of the lye mixture on my nose while stirring... a couple of days later there is still a little red, inflamed pin prick where it landed.)