According to the author. I admit that I did not plan to create a master class on the topic of laundry soap. But after my publication on the topic of detergents, I realized that this needed to be done for at least two reasons: firstly, to clearly show what real soap should be, and secondly, to replenish the membership of the club of “young naturalists”. I chose laundry soap because it is the easiest to prepare and will be useful to every housewife. Today we will prepare sailors' soap - 100% coconut soap.
Let me say right away that making soap (like cooking) is a painstaking process that requires equipment, raw materials, concentration, patience and compliance with safety precautions. Therefore, you should strictly follow all the recommendations I have given. And one more thing: the cooking process does not tolerate fuss, so make sure you have enough time and no one will disturb you.
You are ready? Then let's start the preparatory part.
We will need:
1. Coconut oil - 1000 gr. (sold in specialized stores for soap makers).
2. Sodium hydroxide ( sodium hydroxide, caustic soda) - 201 gr. (sold there, cannot be replaced with anything!).
3. Lemon acid- 15 gr. (sold in any supermarket).
4. Purified water (or rather, ice and water in a ratio of 2:1) - 380 gr.
5. Silicone mold with a volume of 2 liters, or two forms of a smaller volume (in my case 2 * 1 l).
6. Glass, ceramic or enamel container for mixing soap with a capacity of 2.5 liters (in my case it is an enamel bowl with a capacity of 3 liters).
7. Silicone spoon or spatula.
8. Blender.
9. Scales accurate to 1g.
10. Porcelain mug for diluting lye.
11. Disposable cups for weighing alkali and citric acid.
12. Disposable spoon for pouring lye.
13. Porcelain spoon for diluting lye.
14. Plastic strainer for straining the alkaline solution (metal strainer cannot be used!).
15. Glass rod or spoon for diluting citric acid.
16. A supply of fabric and paper towels, oilcloth to protect surfaces, long rubber gloves.
17. Thermometer up to 100C.
18. Water bath (in my case it’s a deep saucepan), oven with thermoregulation.
Please note that all equipment and utensils that come into contact with alkali or raw soap mass must be specially designated for soap making purposes and should not be used in normal use!
Before starting work, clear the workspace from extra items, we cover the work surface with oilcloth, placing everything we need within convenient accessibility. Special attention we devote work surface for preparing an alkaline solution. It is most convenient to measure and dilute the lye directly in the sink sink (even if you spill or spill something, it will not cause harm), so necessary tools and materials should be placed nearby.
Many soap makers, fearing working with alkali, do not risk starting to make soap from scratch. But, having become more familiar with alkali and firmly following the safety rules, you can engage in this exciting activity without risk to yourself and others.
First, a little theory:
Many people know that soap is a reaction product of alkali and animal fats or oils. To obtain soap, it is necessary for a chemical reaction to take place between alkali and fatty acids (palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.). The process of interaction between alkali and oils is called saponification, as a result we get finished soap.
There is no soap without alkali, just as there can be no pilaf without rice or mashed potatoes no potatoes If you don’t make your own soap from scratch and add lye to your oils, then manufacturers of industrial soaps and soap bases do this for you.
We position soap self made as 100% natural, but how is this possible, considering that we make it using “chemical” alkali?
Those who are familiar with the history of soap making have heard that soap was previously made by mixing animal or vegetable fats with lye, in turn obtained from ash. In this case, the question is removed, but is it really possible that lye is still made from wood ash these days?
No, but it turns out that the raw materials for the production of alkalis are no less natural. Potassium hydroxide is made from potassium chloride, which occurs naturally as minerals, and sodium hydroxide is made by electrolysis of the familiar table salt (sodium chloride).
So, despite the fact that it contains alkali, soap from scratch is really natural product. However, many beginning soap makers still have questions about lye. Which one should I use? How are they different? What are these strange abbreviations HC and CHDA?
Let's try to figure out together what alkali is? Of course, we can all read on Wikipedia that alkalis include hydroxides of alkali and alkaline earth metals that are highly soluble in water, but we will try to formulate a simpler, albeit not entirely scientific, definition:
Alkalis are very caustic substances with high reactivity. Place in concentrated alkaline solution wool threads, wait a little and stir - they will dissolve! When interacting with alkali, many substances are destroyed. This sometimes works to the advantage of soap makers, for example, all bacteria die in an alkaline solution, but, on the other hand, most of the additives also lose their beneficial features. There are quite a few different alkalis, but only two of them are usually used for soap making: KOH and NaOH.
KOH is also called potassium hydroxide, caustic potash, caustic potassium. The chemical name of NaOH is sodium hydroxide, but it is also known as caustic soda or caustic soda.
Many chemical substances, obtained in industry, contain impurities and come in varying degrees of purification. To create soap from scratch, alkalis can be of two levels of purification: chemically pure (CP) and analytically pure (analytically pure). There is also technical cleaning (T). For example, the “Mole” sewer cleaner is NaOH for technical purification. Technical cleaning alkali is not suitable for soap making!
KOH is the most common chemical grade; sodium hydroxide can be purchased in both types. If you have a choice, it is better to take HF, it contains grains same size, they will be easier to dissolve. Externally, this alkali looks like sugar. ChDA contains both larger pieces and very fine dust
Made from KOH liquid soap. Its peculiarity is that it does not dry out over time; in addition, KOH is used to make “potassium paste”, which is the basis of “beldi” and scrubs recipes.
For solid soap, sodium hydroxide is used.
You can buy lye for soap making at any branch of the Stuchki store, but don’t rush to make soap right away, first study thoroughly theoretical basis, including be sure to familiarize yourself with safety precautions when working with alkali.
1. In dry form, alkali is not active. That is, if the alkali is in a jar, and you are about a meter away from it, the alkali cannot cause any harm. But when combined with water, a violent reaction occurs - the alkali breaks down to form sodium ion and hydroxide anion - this is the form in which alkali causes chemical burns.
2. Even completely dry skin has tiny droplets of water on the surface, which are secreted by sweat glands; there is even more moisture on the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth and eyes, and there is also an abundance of water in the air. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the skin from the effects of not only diluted alkali, but also dry skin, otherwise a chemical burn is guaranteed!
3. Alkali vapors are no less dangerous. But in order to get a chemical burn to the mucous membranes and skin, it is necessary that the vapors reach the body in sufficient concentration - for example, if you bend over and breathe over a container with a hot alkaline solution, or when pouring alkali from a jar, when the smallest alkaline dust flies into the air. If even a tiny amount of alkali gets on the mucous membrane of the eyes, sharp, severe pain can occur, and subsequently even loss of vision. Alkali vapor causes a strong irritant effect on the upper respiratory tract, pain develops along the esophagus, in the abdomen, and vomiting with blood may begin. It is clear that there is no need to bring yourself to such a state and inhale alkali vapor.
4. Interaction of alkali with water goes with the release of a large amount of heat, the solution becomes hot and alkali vapor appears. Therefore, it is recommended to use ice cubes and cold water.
5. It is absolutely unacceptable to have small children and pets in the room where you are working with alkali - they are unpredictable. It is also necessary to consider the storage location of dry alkali - the place should be 100% inaccessible to children and animals. On the container in which the alkali is stored, you need to make appropriate inscriptions - for example, “Danger! I".
6. Before starting to work with alkali, protect your hands rubber gloves(latex ones may not withstand high-concentration alkaline solution), eyes - with glasses, respiratory organs - with a respirator (an ordinary gauze bandage is not suitable), and the body - with a work coat or long-sleeved clothing, an apron.
7. You should always pour alkali into the water, but if you do the opposite, then a thermal explosion is possible - a very violent chemical reaction in which a large number of heat and alkaline vapors.
The most important safety rule when working with alkali: pour the ALKALI into the WATER, and not vice versa. Mix in small portions, gradually adding alkali.
8. After mixing lye and water, the solution very often becomes so hot that it boils. Therefore, it is first necessary to cool the water to prepare an alkaline solution or add ice cubes, and also place the container in the sink (even if the solution boils and spills, it can be quickly washed off). You can also turn on cold water and cool the container with the alkaline solution outside with running water.
9. Never lean over a container with alkali; try to work with the alkaline solution at arm's length, in which case it will not cause harm.
10. The room where you work with alkali should be well ventilated - it is advisable to open a window, vent or turn on the hood.
What to do if an alkali solution gets on your skin? The main thing is not to panic. An alkaline solution will not be able to instantly make a through hole in the skin; you always have time to wash off the alkaline solution from the skin with running water, without dropping or throwing anything (but at the same time without delay), and then with a 5% solution of acetic acid or lemon juice. The acid neutralizes the alkali and this will avoid unpleasant consequences.
A spray bottle with an acid solution should ALWAYS be nearby, even if you are sure that you will be careful. At the end of the process, you can rinse the dishes from the lye with it and rinse everything thoroughly with water.
If alkali gets on your clothes, there is always a chance that it got on your body under your clothes. Therefore, contaminated clothing must be removed, and the skin under the clothing must be washed and treated with acidified water.
If dry alkali gets on your skin, you should try to remove it without getting it wet, and then rinse the area with water and vinegar.
If the alkali does not get on extremely sensitive skin or mucous membranes, you always have 2-3 seconds of time to have time to put the damaged area of the body under a water tap or pour acidified water on top. In this case, there will not even be any traces left from skin contact with the alkali. Therefore, when working with alkali, a loosely closed container with diluted vinegar or lemon juice should always be within reach.
If alkali gets on your face and hands at the same time, first of all it is necessary to remove it from more sensitive areas - from the skin of the face, neck, and then from the hands.
Most soap makers consider the first experience of working with alkali to be the worst; later, experience comes and everyone develops the optimal sequence of actions for themselves.
To minimize possible troubles, you can follow the standard procedure for making soap from scratch:
1. Create a recipe for your soap.
2. Prepare the room: if the process takes place in the kitchen, prepare the surface for work: carefully remove all dishes, food, cover with newspapers or oilcloth, so that in case of alkali spillage, you can easily collect all the grains. Make sure you remove animals from the kitchen. It is advisable to close the doors and open the windows, turn on the hood.
3. Prepare dishes for the process.
4. Measure required amount oils and place the batters, if present in the recipe, in a water bath to melt.
5. Weigh the liquid (ice) according to the recipe.
6. Measure out additional healthy ingredients and oils for superfat.
7. Put on protective equipment (goggles, respirator, apron, gloves).
8. Weigh the lye into a glass or plastic container.
9. Place a container of ice for the lye solution in the sink. Or you can put a small basin with ice water or water with ice, and put our measured liquid for alkali into it.
10. Pour in the lye a little at a time, stirring constantly. If you froze the liquid, the ice will immediately begin to melt, if not, then try to pour out the alkali even more slowly and stir so that the liquid does not boil (for beginners, it is recommended to freeze it first)
11. After the alkali has completely dissolved, measure the temperature of the solution with a special thermometer.
12. If your oils have already dissolved, remove them from the water bath, cool slightly and measure the temperature.
13. At the same temperature of the alkali solution and oils, pour the solution into the oil mixture through a strainer (plastic or of stainless steel).
14. Using a blender, combine the lye and oils and bring the mixture to a light trace.
Aluminum cookware is not suitable for making soap from scratch.
All used utensils will have to be donated for your exciting hobby, because for food products it will no longer be suitable.
The utensils and tools used must be made of heat-resistant glass, enameled (without damage or chips), stainless steel, plastic that can withstand high temperatures or special silicone. Cookware made from other materials may react with the lye or simply melt, so be careful!
You can buy all the ingredients for making soap “from scratch” in our stores, as well as order through our online store.
Happy soap making!
I will not argue that soap is the greatest achievement of mankind. And few people can imagine their life without a fragrant piece or a jar of liquid filling.
Professor Yuri Lozovsky blacklisted soap at the end of the 20th century, explaining that - cause premature aging skin lies precisely in the soap familiar to everyone. His research showed that soap destroys the protective fatty layer that prevents bacteria from entering our body. According to his followers, giving up detergent can extend your life by many years.
How does alkaline soap work and why is alkali harmful?
Soap is an alkaline product. Its purpose is to mechanically flush away microorganisms. During the soaping process, grease and settled dirt are dissolved. This is good - no doubt about it, but along with cleansing, soap leads to a shift in the acidity of the skin towards the alkaline side - from 9 to 12, when the norm is on average from 4 to 7.
It turns out, human skin you lose an important defense mechanism against aggressive external factors, without which it is impossible to maintain youthful skin. Moreover, alkali loosens the stratum corneum of the skin, the structure of the epidermis becomes permeable, and the skin becomes dry. Therefore, I strongly recommend not using soap on your face. Lye soap Suitable exclusively for washing hands, which after washing should be generously lubricated with cream.
Let's sum it up: alkaline soap
- destroys protective layer
- loosens the epidermis
- dries out the skin
- should only be used for hands
Which soap should you choose?
1. Composition baby soap contains much less free alkali than regular soap. The children's formula is improved by adding softening components.
2. In the pharmacy you can find dermatological soaps called "Soap without soap." They are enriched with moisturizing and relipidating components, have a mild detergent base and very effectively cleanse the epidermis while being completely safe for the skin (hypoallergenic, without fragrances, preservatives and soap). However, not everything is so simple: instead of harmful alkali, such soaps contain high-quality surfactants. The pH level in products containing surfactants is usually between 5.5 and 7.
3. Can be used Handmade soap. Although it has an alkaline base, it can be classified as a higher quality product because hand-made ingredients predominate vegetable oils. The pH of such a product will be slightly higher than 7.
4. Close to ideal liquid soap, also containing surfactants (surfactants) or syndets, which in small doses do not damage the protective layer of the skin.
5.Ideal is cream soap, the advantage of which is the absence of alkali and a neutral pH level.
I thought for a long time whether to write this review or not. After digging through the soap making thread, I found a bunch of reviews about soap from base and a couple of abandoned topics about soap from scratch.
Let's start with the theory, what is soap anyway?
In “smart” language, soap is a salt of higher fatty acids contained in oils. As we all remember from chemistry lessons, in order to get a salt from an acid, we need an alkali and vice versa. Due to their high reactivity, not many alkaline compounds exist in nature. The oldest of known to people- potash (precipitate obtained by evaporating a solution of ash in water). Moving on to modern language, potassium carbonate. Yes, yes, the first soap was “liquid”. Here lies the first common misconception.
Misconception #1: « Soap with lye is not natural!”
You can't make soap without lye! It doesn’t matter how it was obtained, by evaporating the ash on a fire or in a factory, chemical formula they have the same effect on organic matter. Therefore, any soap can only be made with lye. I'm not talking about artificial and natural surfactants, which are given a similar form and called soap, it's about something else.
*Technically, soap, by the way, is also a surfactant, since it only works on the surface of the skin.
Misconception No. 2: “Alkali is evil, it will eat your skin!” It will definitely dry you out!”
I hasten to reassure you There is no lye in soap! *Let me make a reservation right away: if you have correctly observed the proportions and ripening time, the details will be below.
As I wrote above, when alkali and acid interact, they neutralize each other, forming a salt. For example our salt can be obtained by combining of hydrochloric acid(one of the harshest) and sodium carbonate, which we use to create soap. Those. it is no longer an acid or an alkali. It's the same with soap.
Another question is that soap has an alkaline pH, and if we have a neutral pH of 6-7, then for soap it is 8-9, but it is this characteristic that is responsible for the cleansing properties.
There are two types of soap: solid and liquid (also soft). The difference here is the lye used. For hard soap we take caustic soda, for soft (liquid) caustic potassium.
There are also cold (CS) and hot (HS) methods of making soap, but it’s easier to talk about them with an example, so later.
Safety precautions
I am of the opinion that important and useful skills need to be made into habits. Over and over again, forcing yourself to do what you need to do, then you simply don’t pay attention to it. Therefore, it is better to be patient initial stage, than later to rake in the consequences of sloppiness.
The first thing you need to buy is goggles, a respirator, gloves and an apron with sleeves (I have them combined in a regular raincoat for 10 rubles). The room should be well ventilated (windows are sufficient).
Children and animals must be put outside the door, the door must be locked, and the key must be swallowed! I already told you how my blender malfunctioned and spit out fresh soap mass on the wall (and it’s still alkali).
It is also useful to have a bottle of diluted vinegar on hand. To be honest, in all my time I have never needed it, but you never know what happens.
And two commandments that should be memorized and strictly observed:
ALWAYS PUT ALKALI INTO WATER, AND NOT THE VICE VERSE!
ALWAYS ALKALINE SOLUTION IS POURED INTO OIL, AND NOT THE VICE VERSE!
Inventory
The required minimum, in addition to chemical protection, includes scales, a thermometer and an immersion blender.
To be honest, sometimes I miss the thermometer. The fact is that, in theory, oil and lye should be at the same temperature, otherwise the soap mass may separate. But at first I was rarely able to guess in such a way that I could fulfill this condition, and then, realizing that there was no difference, I simply spat on it, and at the same time on the thermometer. Now I actually bought it contactless and again I do everything according to the rules
We will also need dishes:
- heat-resistant container for dissolving alkali (regular glass jar)
- alkali weighing container
- Large container for soap mass (blender glass)
- spatula for mixing and pouring the soap mass into the mold
- silicone or wooden molds for soap
Now let's go! Master class in pictures on making Aleppo soap
The first thing we do after coming up with a recipe is to calculate the proportions by lye calculator. There are some very skilled people online who count in their heads on paper, but I think this is unnecessary.
You may also find that different calculators calculate the same recipe differently, with a spread of about 3%. This is due to the fact that the saponification of the same oil depends on the place of growth, method of production and many other factors. There is only one piece of advice: where you buy oil, count it there, plus excess fat insures you in any case (it’s called insurance).
The calculator asks us to select the type of soap: solid or liquid, the percentage of water and the percentage of superfat (by default, standard parameters are already set there).
If the rest is more or less clear, then we need to dwell on excess fat in more detail.
Misconception #3: “The more fat, the more less soap dries out the skin"
It is not the presence or absence of excess fat that dries the skin, nor even its quantity. Incorrectly selected oils dry out the skin. I will not go into detail about which acid is responsible for what and what quantities of which acids are contained in this or that oil. I will only say that the soap must be balanced in the content of these very acids and then it will not dry anything out.
As you can see, the calculator considers my recipe not ideal, but that's okay. For the first time, it is better, of course, to get the approval of a virtual consultant, but as practice shows, sometimes even recipes that are not at all successful from the point of view of medical advice turn out to be wonderful and vice versa. Just remember the Castile one (mono-soap on olive oil). But the calculator doesn’t even treat it as soap.
Also in this screenshot you see another “error”. The fact is that it is better not to make soap in small volumes, less than 500 grams. It's easier to make mistakes on small volumes. An error in the scales, oil congealed on the walls of the dish - everything can play a fatal role. And okay, if the soap doesn’t lather well, it’s not a big deal. It is much worse if there is unreacted alkali left in it. Of course, it won’t dissolve your skin, but it will dry it out significantly.
It is for this reason that I set the superfat to 10%, instead of the recommended 5-7.
At the top of the MK you can see your recipe in percentages and grams, as well as the amount of alkali and water, for which this calculator is needed.
Weigh oils, water and lye
IMPORTANT! In the case of oils, grams and milliliters are not the same thing!
We put the solid oils on the stove to heat, and at this time we dilute the lye in the water (remember that you need to pour the lye into the water!) The easiest way is to put the jar in the sink and pour the lye directly into it. I pulled it out for you because it’s very dark in the sink.
You can notice fibers in my solution (they give the white color if you just make a transparent solution with water). These are silk threads.
The trick is that when interacting with alkali, natural silk dissolves, releasing the legendary proteins. Therefore, the caring effect of such soap will be better. But in fact it is an ordinary surgical thread.
When the batters have melted, remove them from the heat and add liquid oils. We measure the temperature of the alkaline solution and oils. Ideally, it should differ by no more than 2-3 degrees.
Pour the lye into the oil (not vice versa!) and begin to whisk until a “trace” appears.
Trace is when the oil thickens and becomes directly soapy. At this point, surface saponification occurs. The trail can be thick and light. In principle, for the finished product it doesn’t really matter to what trace you stirred the soap, but if you are going to make swirls or salt soap, then you don’t need a thick trace. If not, then it is better to beat until it becomes more dense, because... This soap will harden faster.
The trace is so named because it is easy to identify by running a spoon through the mass, if there is any left track- can be poured into a mold.
In my photo the trail is quite dense, because... I didn’t want to do any additional manipulations with Aleppo soap.
Cold way
In this case, add superfat to the mass (if you didn’t add it at the beginning), pour it into the mold, wrap the mold and put it in a warm place (the soap needs to go through the gel).
*There are cases when it is better for soap not to pass through the gel, for example, if you cook soap with milk. Then you need to put it in the freezer for an hour or two. Be that as it may, it is better to either provoke the gel (wrapped) or prevent it (freeze). Otherwise, the soap may crack.
After a while, take it out, if it has hardened, cut it into pieces, if it has not hardened, leave it until it hardens and then cut it into pieces. Place it in a dry, ventilated place and forget about it for a month or a month and a half; the soap needs to “mature.”
The peculiarity of this method is that whenever you add superfat, all the oils will still be exposed to alkali to one degree or another. But at the same time, we practically do not heat the oils themselves (except for butters), so they retain their properties better.
Hot way
In order to prepare soap using the hot method, you need to put it in a water bath or in an oven at 100 degrees for 3-4 hours, covered. Stir occasionally and add water if necessary. When the soap is ready
*the simplest but most accurate way to determine the readiness of soap is to touch it with your tongue. Yes, yes, there is nothing wrong with that (the main thing is without fanaticism), if the soap is not ready, then you will feel an alkaline prick (like from a battery). In general, the battery hurts for the same reason - it contains alkali.
add superfat, vitamins and other benefits. Pour into the mold and leave to harden. Once frozen, cut it and you can use it.
With this method, the additives better retain their properties (unlike the oils that make up the soap itself), plus you know exactly which oil has not been saponified.
A method for the lazy and impatient
This is something I often sin myself. We do it like HS, and then we put the soap on the battery right in the mold. In winter, it boils and the soap ripens in just a few hours.
You may have noticed that the shape has changed. At some point I decided that I wanted to make the soap round and poured it into a vinegar tube. In principle, you can use any form as a form. metal container. To make the finished soap easier to get out, line the mold with baking paper. This does not apply to silicone molds; soap is obtained from them very simply and without paper.
Aleppo soap is a kind of soap classic. It is named after the city of Aleppo in Syria, where, according to legend, the first solid soap was invented. Its properties are very soft, which does not prevent it from having anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties (due to laurel oil).
Where to put this amount of soap? Sell!
There are a lot of platforms on the Internet where handicraftsmen (not to be confused with assholes, although there are some of them) can offer their creativity for sale. The most famous and major resource in the russphere, this is, of course, livemaster.
The story about this site may even turn out to be more story about soap making, so I’ll limit myself to a couple of tips on what to do so that they at least buy something from you.
First of all, of course high quality photos. Very often you can see sad pictures, when soap that is good in description (and not only) is so disgusting and carelessly photographed that it causes nothing but rejection.
I will not claim that I am a skillful photographer of level 90, but at least I try to remove all foreign objects from the frame and convey the aroma, the mood, if you like, through the photo. And yes, they buy soap from me, even though the assortment is not large yet, I think this is an indicator.
Secondly, description. Text support for the work (you can consider it advertising) plays a very important role. It’s not for me, a newbie on the Internet, to tell seasoned authors how to write and what to write. For myself, I have come up with one simple rule: to write a good advertising text, you need to believe in what you write. Moreover, this rule helps to remain honest with customers.
And the third follows from the second. Always try all the products on yourself, on your loved ones, and then put them in the store. This may seem inhumane towards friends, but mine are used to it and have nothing against it, quite the contrary. Sometimes a batch does not survive to be sold and a new one has to be made.
To summarize, I can say that making soap is not difficult and does not take much time. But the process itself brings great joy and profit in the form of natural soap, brewed especially for you.
It never occurred to me before how to make soap at home? I was born in big city, grew up, and there was always soap white Ivory, bought in a store.
Once upon a time I found old book about soap making. And then I became intrigued by ancient recipes for making soap. I learned about many of the ingredients called for in these recipes, particularly oil and lye.
In fact, despite my knowledge of soap-making techniques, I only decided to make my own soap several years later. Before this, I bought handmade soap from a local supplier and was satisfied with everything. When I finally tried homemade soap for our family, I was amazed at how easy it was and how much money it saved!
Making soap with your own hands may seem like a rather scary and dangerous process to many. But this is only the first time. It's actually very simple. Plus, in less than an hour you can make enough soap for your entire family to last for months. You can make soap for less than half the purchase price, even using organic ingredients.
Is it possible to make soap at home without lye?
Often, the biggest concern with the decision to make soap or not is the lye. For me it was also one of the most big problems, and at first I couldn’t even imagine where I could buy it, not to mention how terrible this substance is.
There's a reason lye comes with its fair share of warnings for one good reason: it's dangerous. Depending on the dosage, even the final soap product can be dangerous.
The most frequently asked question is how to make soap without lye? No way!
You can, of course, buy ready-made soap base for soap. But it also contains alkali, albeit at a safer level. Therefore, if you are afraid to brew with pure lye for the first time, it is better to buy a liquid or solid base (your choice).
SAFETY FIRST!
From a chemical point of view, sodium hydroxide is a caustic alkali. This substance can corrode skin and tissue and cause severe reactions with other chemicals.
All soap bases use a crystalline form of pure sodium hydroxide (this is important!). And the alkali must be added to the water, and not vice versa. I don't want to scare you, but please be careful when handling this substance! Anything containing alkali should never be used for food purposes.
But there is no particular cause for concern when correct use alkali properly and in the correct ratio.
Dangerous... isn't it?
But you can't make soap without lye!
Soap, by definition, is an alkaline mixture of fats. When these two components are mixed, a chemical reaction is created through which the soap has its cleansing properties. In other words, without lye, you just have a bucket of fatty oil floating in water.
When making soap, you need to make sure how much lye you put in. A particular soap uses different oils and fats that require different ratios.
If you're wary of touching this stuff but still want the soap-making experience, all is not lost. There are ways you can make your own soap without processing lye, using a pre-made base, melt and pour. But this method is not so cost-effective.
You can add essential oil scents, or other ingredients such as clay, salts when creating personalized soaps.
Necessary materials:
Before we begin, it is important to have a recipe that we can sit down with and necessary ingredients. To learn how to make soap at home from almost any different oils and fats, you need to correctly calculate how much of each ingredient is needed. The main oils for hand soap (and general use) are:
- Coconut oil;
- Olive oil;
- Shea Butter;
- Coconut oil;
- Castor oil (castor oil);
- Avocado oil;
- Mango butter.
Almost any fat can be used, and each type will add various characteristics soap. I really like to add Coconut oil, which creates wonderful bubbles and foam. There are also many recipes for vegan soaps without animal fats. Beef tallow makes beautiful white soap.
Required tools:
- Glass jars and bowls
- Blender
- Plastic cups (optional)
- Metal spoon
- Wooden spoon
- Putty knife
- Soap molds (or old cardboard box lined with parchment paper).
- Gloves and sunglasses
- If you want beautiful soap, then buy special molds.
- A large bottle of vinegar to neutralize the lye mixture in case it spills on anything.
What ingredients are suitable for soap?
- Essential oils
- Dried herbs (for texture or color) - my favorite flowers are lavender, chamomile, calendula or others.
- For color: Natural color options include spices and plant materials such as cocoa, ground coffee (my favorite), hibiscus, beets and others.
- As well as healing clay, salts, oatmeal or any other ingredient.
So, how to make soap at home?
In general, it is better to use special calculators for soap making.
For this recipe you need:
- 900 g butter;
- 130 ml lye
- 210 ml water.
The first step is to weigh the oil and lye using a liquid measuring cup. Then mix lye with water. Dissolving alkali in water requires special preparation. Do this outside if possible, or in a very well ventilated area inside.
Lye is always poured into water, and not vice versa.
You should also ensure that animals or children do not get into the alkaline solution. When mixing, wear safety glasses to protect your eyes. Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon.
While the lye is cooling, you can heat the fat. When the alkali solution is about 30 degrees Celsius, and the fat is about 32 degrees, you can mix them. Better with a blender.
It is a normal rule for mixing that the fat is a little warmer and the lye is a little cooler. Slowly pour the lye solution into the fat and mix gently.
Now add any essential oils for aroma. After some time (possibly up to 3 hours), we check the ph level with special strips. If it is light green, then everything is fine. Pour the mixture into molds. The soap must sit for at least 4 weeks for the saponification process to complete.
The emulsion is created by combining alkali with water and fat in a so-called saponification reaction. After a few days, it will be difficult for the soap to come out of the mold.
To test the soap, try washing your hands with it, if it comes off with some mucus, then rinse your hands with vinegar and let the soap sit for another couple of weeks. Well mixed, fully saponified soap has long term storage