|
Simple Vegetable Soap
Why it matters:
Homemade soap is an affordable luxury. It contains natural glycerin that is a skin softener not present in commercial soaps. Homemade soap doesn't have any unnecessary chemicals or colorings.
A list of things you need:
- Safety goggles
- Rubber gloves
- Plastic pitchers
- Plastic stirring spoons or stick blenders
- Two candy thermometers
- Stainless-steel or enameled pot
- Kitchen scale
- Plastic box with the lid
- Blanket or thick towel
- 78 oz. olive oil
- 6 oz. coconut oil
- 6 oz. palm oil
- 12 oz. lye flakes
- 24 oz. soft water (filtered or store-bought)
Step-by-step instructions
- Put on rubber gloves and safety goggles.
- Accurately measure all the ingredients.
- In a plastic pitcher, add lye flakes into the water.
- Put a candy thermometer into the lye solution and wait until it reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It may take a couple of hours.
- Slowly melt the coconut oil and palm oil in a stainless pot.
- Take it off the heat and add the olive oil.
- Put the candy thermometer into the oil mixture, and let it cool to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slowly add lye solution and stir it with plastic spoon.
- When all of the lye is added use a stick to stir and speed up the thickening process. It may take up to 10 minutes.
- If you want to add some color to your soap, use candle dyes, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon or cocoa.
- To add scent, use peppermint, lavender, cinnamon or clove.
- Now pour the mixture into the plastic box, cover it with the lid and wrap it with the blanket. Leave it for 24 hours.
- After the soap has cooled down, take it out of the plastic box.
- Cut it in cubes, and let it completely dry out for at least a month.
Helpful green hints:
- Do not use anything aluminum.
- Wear long-sleeve shirts, slacks and shoes, in case of lye splashes.
- Do not allow kids and pets to be present when working with lye.
Any recommendations and information presented here, either explicitly or implicitly, should not be construed as medical, legal or scientific advice.
|
