How 'bout some soap recipes???

[Bug]

Okay, it came up on a different thread, but whyn't you'uns that make soap post the recipe?
Waksupi mentioned making soap, as did Felix. He also mentioned Floodgate's wife's recipe.
I vaguely remember helping my great grandmother make lye soap. I couldn't have been more than seven or eight. She made both bar soap, and soft (liquid)soap.
The best I 'member, the men rendered the lard or tallow in the big Iron wash pot. She had a hollowed-out log where she put the ashes from the stove, and a wooden bucket that caught the drippins from the ashes. I do remember that stuff sure burned if ya got it on you! Mostly, I got to stir, with a big wooden paddle... Well, the wash pot and the paddle seemed huge, back then. ;^D

[Ross]

Back in my swab-jockey days we made lye soap in the scullery, about two swab buckets per meal. Lye and lard were heated to boiling with the steam hose inserted into the bucket.
It was brushed on and flushed off, then squeegeed, then swab dried.
Our shoes did not last long.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

[waksupi]

Bug, I'd have to do a bit of digging to find my recipe, as I have a copuple years worth made up at the time, so don't know where to put my hands on it right off. You can check the Red Devil lye contaniers in your local grocery store. Some of them have the recipe, some don't.
Lots of information on line. I don't recall the name of the book I got my original recipe from, it was from the local library. That's the good bet, as there are different soaps, for different purposes. You can even make that fancy transparent stuff, but you need to waste some good drinking alcohol to produce it.
The secret of good, mild lye soap, is in the aging. I figure three months as a rule for very mild, but thirty days will actually do it. Best way to test it, is just wash your hands. You always have small cracks in your hands, and the lye will let you know if it is still active.

Ross, that stuff you guys were using was plumb HARSH! No wonder your shoes didn't last. I'm surprised if no one had serious lye burns!

[floodgate]

Bug:

Here's Bev's recipe:

Hi Felix!

Your check came yesterday - thank you. You asked for the recipe, so here goes (though I have horrible visions of your bullet-casting friends using it to make bullets just to see what happens. Maybe a clean kill?

This recipe is for a basic white soap. There are endless variations, and if you really get into this I'll be happy to give you a book list &/or other recipes. First some general info.

1.Lye is VERY dangerous stuff. Do not make soap when small children or pets are in the slightest danger of getting into it. Cats and dogs and kids will drink it (it tastes sweet before it starts to burn). Keep a jug of vinegar at hand to slosh over any small splashes of lye or liquid soap. Use only Red Devil Lye, not Drano or other such stuff.

2. Use only nonreactive vessels -stainless steel, unchipped enamelware and Pyrex glass (Pyrex to mix the lye in because it becomes boiling hot as soon as it's added to the water).

3. Molds: I use 6" lengths of 2-1/2" diameter PVC sealed at one end with Saran held in place with heavy rubber bands and greased inside with Crisco, but the soap can just as well be poured into a 3 qt. glass casserole dish lined with Saran or a box of a size to hold 3 qts.and lined with either Saran or paper freezer wrap (shiny side up) folded neatly to line the box.. Have your mold prepared before starting the soap-making. Also you can pour some of the soap into a suitable mug for a shaving mug. (Doug says,"think "pan-lubing".)

4. Utensils: Use stainless steel or wooden spoons or sturdy plastic spoons or scrapers.

5. Mix the lye and water in a VERY well ventilated place and stand well back so you don't get a snootful of the vapors. I do it on the back porch with the large Pyrex measure on the barbeque grill, and only bring it into the kitchen when I'm ready to add it to the fats.

6. I use "essential oils" for scent - Lavender, lemongrass, rosemary, etc... They're available at health food stores and are expensive, but you only use a little bit. Don't use perfume or cologne - they're not stable in lye. Colors are also kind of tricky. More about that later if you're interested.

WHITE SOAP

Melt together in a large nonreactive pan over low heat:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
6 cups lard (3#)
Set aside to cool.

Lye: 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Red Devil Lye added to 2 3/4 cups cold water in a Pyrex vessel. Stir till completely dissolved and set aside to cool.

When both solutions are lukewarm (abt. 90 degrees) slowly pour the lye solution into the fats, stirring continuously. Continue to stir till it begins to thicken. A spoonful drizzled on the surface should hold its shape or "trace". This can take well over an hour, so get comfortable with a propped-up book or some good music on the stereo.

Add scent if desired - approx. 2 tsps. of oil of lavender or other essential oil. Stir well.

Pour into prepared molds. Slice into bars after 2 to 3 days and place bars on non-reactive surface [stainless steel (NOT chrome) cookie racks or opened out paper bags]. Turn bars every few days and allow to cure for 3 weeks. It takes that long for the lye and fats to complete their chemical reaction.


Have fun, and let me know how it turns out.

Bev

[Leftoverdj]

The Foxfire books would be your source for the old fashioned make your own lye and boil your soap in a big iron kettle method. The internet is full of recipes using more modern methods.

Part that interests me is how closely candles/soap/bullet lube are related. They all use the same basic ingredients. I'll betcha that plain ol' Ivory would make a pretty decent lube if you made it a little more plastic.

[Junior1942]

An old woman who once lived nearby sold homemade lye soap for $1 a bar. I used it for washing clothes in a washing machine, and it worked as well as any store-bought washing powder I ever used. I'd just drop a bar into the washer with the dirty clothes and remove it before the rinse cycle. I can't remember exactly, but I got many washings from one bar.

[felix]

Yes, you can make your own lye (any hydroxide for soap will do), but don't. The reason is because you have to get the hydroxide (sodium, potassium, lithium, etc.) quite exact when placed into the amount of soluble fats, so the soap won't be too gooey, or too lye hot. Hydroxides won't attack glycerin, so you can use that to coat your soap molds before pouring the liquid soap mixture into the molds to harden. Hardening means the soap will loose its loose water only. No, do not attempt to sun bake the soap to dry because the heat will change the soap character dramatically. Use normal air dry only, and if in a real hurry (don't be), then place the molds where the ice box blows its air out, usually directly under the door. ... felix

[wills]

http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/soap.html

but watch out for th castlemedia popup

[Ricochet]

My basic recipe is to use three 48 oz. cans of the cheapest on-sale pure vegetable shortening to one 18 oz. bottle of Red Devil Lye. That leaves a considerable amount of unsaponified fat, about 1/8 of it by my estimation. Don't use lard or any shortening containing animal fat, it gets stinky. I take a glass measuring cup that holds about 1500 ml, put 250 ml of cold water in it, go OUTSIDE and very slowly pour the lye into the water while gently stirring with a stainless spoon. Stay upwind of it. It will get boiling hot and put out steam containing very irritating lye. The lye will all dissolve, although its initial volume is greater than that of the water. You should wear clothing that fully covers your body, rubber gloves and safety glasses for all steps from this one on. (A year or two ago, I got a small drop of this lye soution on the tip of my nose. It caused a trivial itching sensation that I ignored. A few minutes later, I saw myself in a mirror and saw something like a wart on the end of my nose. Uh-oh! I washed it off, the bump being dissolved skin, and had a crater in the end of my nose the size of a .22 caliber bullet hole. Beware!) I empty the three cans of shortening into a large pot and warm it on the stove till it fully melts. It looks like regular vegetable cooking oil at this point, clear and yellow. Don't overheat it, just get it melted. I pour it into a clean 5 gallon plastic bucket (mine came from a local Mexican restaurant and originally held Armour lard.) I stir it vigorously with a long wooden spoon as I VERY SLOWLY dribble in the hot concentrated lye solution from the beaked measuring cup. It reacts instantly, turning the liquid fat cloudy, and particulate matter quickly begins forming. If you pour in the lye in large dollops instead of small drops, you'll get big chunks of very hard white soap. When I've poured it all in, a glassy crystalline layer of lye forms in the beaker. I put another 200 ml or so of cold water in the beaker, let it dissolve the extra lye, and trickle that into the mixture I'm still stirring vigorously. (Could've mixed that in at first, but doing it this way makes the reaction proceed a lot faster.) When the mixture reaches the consistency of hot applesauce, I add scents and colors. Some of my favorite scents are sold as liquid potpourri for those electric scent pots. Sometimes I add a bottle of food coloring for extra color. The water in the potpourri will again thin the mixture, and then I keep stirring it till it thickens up to the applesauce point again, with a heavy "trace" on top when I pull the spoon out. Then I pour the contents into flexible plastic pans that I use for "moulds." I let it stand for at least a week or two before breaking the soap cakes out of the moulds and cutting them into bars and wrapping them. This soap feels very smooth and creamy, is extremely gentle to the skin and leaves it feeling moist, because of the extra fat. There is no lye in it after it cures. The ladies love it!

[floodgate]

Ricochet (and all you other soap-makers) from Mrs. Floodgate -
Have to disagree with ricochet a little bit. I've always used lard, and it's not stinky - ask my repeat customers for nearly 20 years. Glad he uses such good lye precautions, but wanted to add one item. Always keep a jug of vinegar handy and thoroughly douse any lye splashes with it. Neutralizes the lye instantly. For really good discussions of soap making the following books are my very favorites. Also I routinely cure for 21 days.
"The Soapmakers Companion" by Susan Miller Cavitch (lots of the chemistry of the whole process)
"The Art of Soapmaking" by Marilyn Mohr (my all-time favorite - lots of good recipes and clear explanations)
Have also recently learned that about 1/4 teaspoon of grapefruit seed extract - available at healthfood stores - shortens the stiring time considerably. Just add it after adding the lye to the fat.

[Ricochet]

Have to disagree with ricochet a little bit. I've always used lard, and it's not stinky - ask my repeat customers for nearly 20 years.
I meant that in the context of my recipe, with a large amount of unsaponified fat remaining. It's not a problem if you're using a recipe with close to full saponification.