Making Herbal or Floral Soaps

Making Herbal or Floral Soaps Soap is the result of combining fats with some sort of caustic or base agent (usually lye) to make a semi-solid, hand-sized bar. Water is used as a catalyst that combines the fat with the lye. Lye, or sodium hydroxide, is a very strong base that is available at grocery and household supply stores. If you get it on you, it will cause serious burns and can blind you. Be sure to store lye where children or pets cannot get to it. Use wooden or plastic spoons and enameled, plastic or glass bowls for mixing. Lye will dissolve aluminum before your eyes, and it instantly and permanently takes the shine off formica. You should wear eye protection and rubber gloves when handling the lye crystals or the lye solution (after you have mixed the crystals in the water). Dissolve lye in cold water, but never pour the water into the lye. Doing this could cause the mixture to explode and blow very corrosive lye water and crystals all over the place. Always pour the lye into water. As you mix it, a physical reaction takes place between the lye and the water generating a lot of heat. If you are making a large batch of soap, the lye can even start the water boiling - with little droplets of lye water splattering all over the place. If this starts happening, stop stirring it until the bubbling stops. Generally, it doesn't take more than a minute to dissolve the lye crystals into the water. You know this has happened as the water will become relatively clear. Before using, the lye water must now cool down to below 85 Fº before adding it to the fat. Almost any fat or oil can be used in soap making. Traditionally, animal fats have been used, with beef tallow and lard making the hardest soap, pork lard a medium hardness soap and chicken fat the softest. Fats that have no cooking value, such as meat fryings, cracklings, meat trimmings and other refuse fat can be used. Certain vegetable oils are sometimes used. Mineral oil or mineral grease will not make soap. soap requires fats that are free from dirt, rancidity, lean meat, salt and other impurities. Fats may be grouped in three classes: 1. Fat rendered from tallows, meat trimmings, rinds and other meat scraps. This fat is ready for soap. 2. Meat fryings and other refuse fats. This class of fat should be washed as follows: Add an equal amount of water and bring it to the boiling point. Remove from fire, stir, add cold water (1 qt. to 1 gal. of the hot liquid). The cold water precipitates foreign substances. The clean fat comes to the top. Remove the fat when firm. Note: Some fats require a second washing. Wash a very rancid fat at least twice. 3. Cracklings. For pressed cracklings remove fat as follows: To every four pounds or one gallon of pressed cracklings, add one level tablespoon of lye, and water to twice the depth of the cracklings. Cover and boil one hour. Remove from fire and when it stops boiling pour cold water over it and proceed as in 2 above. Treat unpressed cracklings the same as pressed cracklings, except use one level teaspoon of lye instead of one tablespoon to four pounds of cracklings. Note: Sixteen pounds of cracklings - (approximately four gallons) can be boiled at one time. Remove fat from the cracklings after butchering and store until ready. Each fat requires a different amount of lye to change the fat to soap. Saponification is the name for the chemical process that happens between lye and fat as they turn into soap. It doesn't happen all at once, but usually takes days to complete. Oil Neem Coconut TYPES OF SOAP MADE BY THESE OILS & FATS: Texture Fairly Soft Lathering (Bubbles) Cleaning Effect On Skin Uses More & Stable Antiseptic Plenty & Fairly Stable Tallow More & Stable Palm Oil Less Stable Palm Kernal Ground Peanut Shea Butter Cocoa Butter Soft Fairly Plenty & Fairly Stable Less & Stable & Shaving & Shaving Fairly 1

Basic Procedure for Making Soap 1) Heat the fat. Put the fats in a lye-resistant container and place a glass or stainless steel thermometer into the fats. Be sure the thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of the container and give a false reading. Heat the fats and optional ingredients to the temperature specified in the recipe. 2) Put on eye protection and rubber gloves. 3) Use a heat-proof container to measure the amount of cold water (70 to 75 degrees F) specified in the recipe. Cold water is important. If you add lye to hot or boiling water, the water could "boil-up" out of the container. If you add lye to *really* cold water, the lye/water might not reach the high temperatures required to make some recipes. Stir the water and slowly add the lye. The water will get hot and turn cloudy. Continue to stir until the lye dissolves. Don't breathe or intentionally smell the fumes coming from the cup because they are quite "chokey." If you wait too long to stir the water, the lye could harden in the bottom of the container. This is not a problem. You can still sitr it, but it will be more difficult. Add a glass or stainless steel thermometer to the lye/water and wait until it reaches the temperature specified in the recipe. 4) When both the fat and the lye/water reach the temperature specified in the recipe, add the lye/water to the fat. It's sometimes a balancing act to get the fat mixture and the lye/water mixture to specific temperatures at the same time. Never place lye/water in a microwave (the cup could break). It takes lye/water longer to cool than it takes fat to heat. Most soapmakers wait for the lye/water to cool to about five degrees above the desired temperature, then heat the fat. When both the lye/water and the fat are within five degrees of the temperatures specified in the recipe. Use a pot holder and move the bowl to a sink (to contain splatters). Slowly pour the lye/water into the fats while stirring. Temperatures for small one-pound batches of soap poured into individual molds aren't critical. As long as the lye/water and fats are between 120 and 140 degrees F you will have good success. Larger batches or batches poured into a single mold, require lower temperatures. 5) Stir the soap until it "traces." (When lye, water and fat first combine, the mixture is thin and watery. Gradually, as the lye and fat react chemically to form soap, the mixture thickens and turns opaque. "Tracing" is a term to describe the consistency (thickness) of soap when it's ready to pour into molds. To test for tracing: A. Drip some soap onto the surface of the soap in the stirring bowl. It should leave a "trace" or small mound; B. Draw a line in the soap with a spoon or rubber spatula. If a "trace" of the line remains for a few seconds, the soap has traced. Tracing is easy to recognize, yet it causes new soapmakers a lot of worry. Relax and know that the soap will trace eventually. Just stir the soap constantly for the first 15 minutes or so, then stir the soap every fifteen minutes until it thickens and traces, no matter how long it takes. 6) After the soap traces, add up to one tablespoon essential oil (if desired) and stir a few minutes longer to incorporate the oil. About the only soap that remains totally scent-free is the Pure Soap Recipe that follows. Other fats result in soap that has a "fatty lye" smell. Essentials oils are necessary for a pleasantsmelling product. 7) Pour the soap into molds and wait for it to harden. 8) Unmold the soap. Soap is still harsh when it's time to remove it from the molds. Put on rubber gloves and press the back of each mold compartment to release the soap. It's a lot like removing ice cubes from a tray. Sometimes the soap doesn't release easily from the mold. To overcome this problem, leave the soap in a freezer for a few hours. Freezing soap causes it to contract slightly, become hard and release from the plastic mold. 9) Wait the time specified in a recipe for the soap to"age" (usually 3 weeks). During the aging time the ph of the soap decreased (the soap becomes mild) and the bars harden. It's a good idea to write the following information on a piece of paper and place it with the soap: the date you made the soap, the date the aging time is over, and recipe. Soap Making Recipes Basic Tallow or Lard Recipe 2

To make about 9 pounds of pure, hard, smooth soap suitable for toilet, laundry or soap flakes, follow this simple recipe: One 12 ounce can of lye 2 1/2 pints cold water 5 pounds 10 oz. clean fat (tallow or lard or some combination of tallow and lard) Note: (Approximately 6.5 pints or 13 standard cups of liquid fat.) Dissolve lye in water (never use an aluminum container). Stir until dissolved and let cool. Melt fat to clear liquid and let cool gradually to correct temperature. Stir from time to time to prevent the crystals of fat reforming. After both are in the correct temperature range, pour the lye solution into the fat in a thin, steady, stream with, even stirring. Basic Perfumed Hand Soap 5 cups rain or soft water 1/2 cup powdered borax 11.6 oz. lye 11 cups fat (See the Lye to Fat Table below.) Add at trace... 1 oz. strawberry dye 2 oz. lanolin 3 oz. glycerin 3 T finely ground oatmeal 4 tsp. aromatic Rose Geranium Follow basic soapmaking directions above. Oatmeal and Honey Soap 32 oz. cold water (4 cups) 12 oz. lye crystals 2 oz. beeswax (melt with fats) 4 pounds lard (64 oz.) 12 oz. olive oil 8 oz. coconut oil 4 oz. cocoa butter Fats and lye solution between 95-100 degrees, the lye a bit cooler. Add at trace: 1/4 cup honey. 1-2 T. bitter almond fragrance oil (or you might prefer to use some cinnamon oil and/or ground cinnamon, or clove oil). 1-cup pulverized (fine) oatmeal or rolled oats - measure AFTER pulverizing. The oats can be pulverized with the blender. If you have one of those small jars that come with your blender, this works especially well for blending oatmeal and herbs for soapmaking. This soap has a gentle wholesome smell after curing and a nice scrubby quality for your face. Basic Granulated Laundry Soap 2 1/2 quarts rain water 2 quarts grease, strained, melted and hot 1 can lye (probably 1 lb.) 3 T borax Mix water, borax, and lye. Add strained grease slowly. Remove from heat and leave in pot. Stir often during the first day. Allow two weeks to cure, stirring occasionally. Laundry Soap with Ammonia 5 lbs. grease 1/2 cup ammonia 1 oz. sassafras oil 3 quarts rain water 1/2 cup borax 1 can lye (1 lb.) 1/2 cup coal oil Melt lye in cold water. Dissolve borax and add lye to mixture. Melt grease and add ammonia, then coal oil. Add to lye mixture. Stir until mixture congeals then put into milk cartons or leave in enamel pan. Cut into bars 24-48 hours later. Basic Shampoo 1 bar basic soap 4 quarts rain water 3

2 slightly beaten eggs 1 tsp. powdered borax 1 oz. bay rum Dissolve soap in boiling water. Let cool. Add eggs, borax and bay rum. Stir to mix thoroughly. Basic All Vegetable Soap 28 ounces of coconut oil (2 jars) 24 ounces of olive oil (the cheapest and lightest in color) 30 ounces of vegetable shortening (the cheapest, and purest you can find) 12 ounces of lye (one standard can of Lewis Red Devil) 32 oz. cold water (4 cups) 1.5-4 ounces essential and/or fragrance oil depending on strength and your nose, if soap is not intended for remelting. Temps can range from 95-120 degrees. Castile Soap 78 oz. olive oil 6 oz. coconut oil 6 oz. palm oil 24 oz. cold water (if you want to up that, you can...soap will be softer after 24 hours. Don't exceed 32 ounces.) 12 oz. lye crystals Oils at 140 degrees, Lye Solution at 110 degrees. Colored and Fragrant Soaps (Example: Mint Swirl) 3/4 oz. spearmint essential oil (1.5 T.) 3/4 oz. peppermint essential oil (1.5 T.) 1/4 oz. eucalyptus essential oil (1/2 T.) After mixing in the essential oils at light trace and while the soap is thickening, but still rather pourable pour most of the soap into your large mold (use one of the base recipes that mention being good for stick blending/with some soybean). Leave about 1/8 or 1/10th of it in the pan. To this, I added these, which were being kept warm and melted in a small measuring cup on the stove: 1/2 blue/green Crayola. Mix the coloring in thoroughly and well (I got a few bubbles in the soap while doing this with the blender) and drizzle this soap over the white soap in the pan, distributing it evenly over the top in back and forth motions. Then, take your spatula or a knife and run it back and forth through the soap, first one direction and then either in an opposite direction or on a diagonal. Try to reach the bottom and sides of your mold while doing this. If you want a good swirl that blends to the bottom, you need to do all this at a thin trace. If the soap gets too thick, your contrasting color will just rest on top and not feather very well. Lye to Fat Ratio Table This table is for those of you who want to get a bit more scientific in soap making, or just want to check and see if the person who created the recipe you're planning on using knew what they were doing. Each fat has its own saponification value, or "SAP Value." And because of this, each fat requires a different amount of lye to convert the fat to soap. For the soap to be made with no left over lye or fat you must have very accurate measuring equipment. As the same oil from different sources will have a slightly different saponification value, we recommend you keep your soap a bit fat heavy to ensure you don't end up with lye in your finished product. In the table below use the 0-4% excess fat columns (first 5 columns) if you have accurate technical equipment to test for excess fat or lye. Use the 5-8% excess fat columns (columns 6-9) to make good hand/body soap and the 9-10% columns (last 2 columns) if you want excessively fat heavy soap. This chart is presented on the next page. 4

Animal Fat Goat Fat Lanolin Lard Mutton Fat Tallow Vegetable Fat Canola Oil Castor Oil Coconut Corn Oil Cottonseed Olive Oil Palm Oil Peanut Oil Safflower Soybean Sunflower Desired Excess Fat In Finished Soap 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% 0.075 0.140 0.074 0.073 0.073 0.072 0.071 0.070 0.070 0.069 0.068 0.067 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% 0.184 0.142 0.182 0.141 0.180 0.178 0.177 0.175 0.121 0.173 0.120 0.171 0.118 0.169 0.117 0.167 0.124 0.116 0.166 Calculate the amount of lye needed by multiplying the amounts of each fat in your recipe by the number intersected by the fat and your desired excess fat column. Then add the different lye amounts for the different fats in your recipe together. Example: To calculate the amount of lye for a recipe that calls for for 16 oz. of lard and you want your finished soap to have 5% excess fat. Intersecting the Lard row with the 5% column, you find the number. Multiply 16 (fat wt.) by = 2.1 oz. of lye. If you are using potasium hydroxide instead of Lye, multiply the lye by 1.4. In the example: 1.4 X 2.1 oz (lye used) = 2.94 oz of potasium hydroxide. The weight of water needed = total weight of fat in recipe times 0.38. Soapmaking is a complicated process that allows for much creative input and experimentation. For more information, visit any of the following websites: http://www.millersoap.com or http://waltonfeed.com/old/soap/soapcook.html or http://members.aol.com/oelaineo/soapmaking.html. 5