# making soap



## Lauri (Sep 20, 2008)

So I know everyone has more to do on Christmas Eve, than give me soap advice.
But if anyone has the time to direct me to a link, I would be ever so grateful.

I have been looking at recipes on line, a couple I have in a book, watching videos on youtube, reading a variety of forums.................and I still don't know what to do.

I feel confident in the actual mechanics of it, but not so much with a recipe. 
The one I "sort of" landed on, and have all the ingredients for, uses borax. Now I must tell you, I have never used borax in my life, so when my dh brought the box home, I was concerened to see that all of it's uses included "hard" surfaces.....nothing about use on skin, or washing the dog, or as a hair tonic. So I have not made the recipe yet, as this just doesn't seem like the type of ingredient I would want to include.

Soooo, could someone please provide me with a recipe, or a link to such that has a recipe that they really like.  
I have the following:
goats milk
olive oil
lard (pig)
fragrance 
colorants

I am very willing to get other ingredients as needed.

Thank you,
and Merry Christmas,
Lauri


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

I don't think I would use the borax in a soap for use on the body. I would suggest using a soap calculator such as http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php . You can make a 100% lard soap, just plug in how much you want to use and it will tell you how much water and lye to use. But you can also do a mix of lard and olive oil also and you could use about half of each and get a nice soap (again plugging the amounts into the soap calculator to see how much liquid and lye to use). 

I'm not sure I would want to use milk on a first batch as it's a little difficult to use.

Cyndi on HT has a nice tutorial on soapmaking here: 
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/soapmaking.html
and she has several recipes at the bottom of her page.

Good luck!
Dawn


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

here's a link to a great beginner soap making site

http://www.millersoap.com/

Save the milk until you know what you are doing when making soap. Start with a plain jane formula then work from there. It will save you a lot of hassles and wasted $$$.

Where did you get your fragrances from?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I have used Borax in a recipe for a laundry bar, but not for a body bar. I agree with the pp, start out with a simple recipe that has ingredients readily available. As a novice, I too bought some of those expensive oils for soap recipes I found on the Internet. After making soap for a few years, I have found that Castor oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, Crisco and lard are the oils and fats I use the most. If I were you I would work on developing a base/batch recipe. After that you can add essential oils, clays, colorants etc. to make variations.


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## eam (Jun 5, 2002)

Lauri - I don't know if it's too late for your recipe but here's what I do.

I'm a beginner soapmaker (I've made 4 batches). I found the soapsheet.xlt calculator at Miller's Farm website to be the most useful for me. Here's the link:

http://millersoap.com/worksheet.html

I simply enter the type of fats I'm using (usually olive oil, lard, and sometimes coconut) and let the calculator figure out the lye and liquid. I use goat's milk instead of water. If you've read the basics on what the process is, just follow that. I've found the calculator to be invaluable to me and takes a lot of the mystery out of soapmaking.

Hope that helps.
Elizabeth


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## soapcrone (Dec 29, 2010)

Borax is used in soap to help neutralize the lye, which can be a good thing. If too much lye is neutralized, however, then the soap won't clean very well. 

You don't need Borax to make a really good soap. If you can find coconut or palm kernel oil, it will add to the lather. If lather doesn't matter to you, then any of the oils you have on hand will work. Use a lye calculator to make sure the amount is precise, and you will be good to go.

Amy
Author, Making Soap in Your Own Kitchen
http://www.crafte-revolution.com


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

A properly made soap will not have lye to neutralize/ Did you perhaps mean neutralize the pH?

Borax is a natural water softener, but too much will irritate the skin.

*Lauri*, 

Do you have the other equipment you need like an electronic scale, a stick blender, stainless steel pot for oils, large plastic pitcher for lye solution, *eye protection *(prescription glasses don't cut it).

Most Walmarts carry LuAnn's coconut oil and if you like lather, you will like the addition of coconut oil

Using 3 lb of oils:

Olive: 16.8 oz
Lard: 16.8 oz 
Coconut: 14.4 oz

lye: 6.8 oz
water: 14 - 16 oz (although the accurate weighing of oils and lye is necessary, water is not)

For your first soap, I'd recommend using water instead of milk for simplicity. Milk soap isn't impossible for your first soap, just not recommended. If you do want to start with a milk soap, let us know and we can direct you through it.


A simple 3 oil soap with olive/lard/coconut can be wonderful.


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## soapcrone (Dec 29, 2010)

I misstated--I was thinking of liquid soap, not bar soap. Many liquid soap recipes are made with a negative super fat, to ensure complete saponification, and the Borax is used during dilution to neutralize the extra lye.

You are correct. A properly made bar soap needs nothing extra. I don't use Borax for bar soaps at all. 

Amy
http://www.crafte-revolution.com


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

That's the main reason I won't make liquid soap; more KOH than needed to saponify the oils and having to use borax to nuetralize the lye. too harsh for my skin!


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## soapcrone (Dec 29, 2010)

Borax is not a necessity. You could make a liquid soap at 2% superfat, making sure to use avocado and/or jojoba oils, which are heavy with unsaponifiables. That helps to make a gentle liquid soap.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

That's true. Most waxes like jojoba have a high amount of unsaponifiables. Doesn't that cut down on the lather though?

Just took a quick look at your soap web site, looks wonderful! I've often thought about writing a book with our 'Lessons in Homesteading', it's just one of those things I haven't gotten around to yet.


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