I just unpacked soap I had wrapped in plastic 3 years ago. I was giving
classes in it, and these were extra kits I was using for classes. They are
just fine! Not one bit of scent change, color change, or texture change. I
know one of the problems people state they have for purchasing soap at craft
fairs, is that it is there for everyone going by to touch and sneeze on.
The plastic will prevent such problems. What I think would be ideal is to
have one sall, sample bar for the public to touch, feel, sneeze on, cough on
etc, and the rest of the batch securely wrapped. We have been putting a lot
of thought into selling because my husband has congestive heart failure. We
know his days are numbered, so we are looking at all the comments from
people who do sell and asking people who buy what they do and don't like
about the products they see or purchase. It is interesting to hear what
people think.
As for the lye, I don't know if we get tracked when we purchase, but it is
not unbelievable that it may happen. Thanks for mentioning it is sold in
hardware stores. I had not thought of that. When I bought lye last, it was
just when they were announcing the fact it was being removed from the
market. We lived in
Oregon, a mere 30 minute drive from one of the big suppliers for soap. I
called to see if they had lye available, and was assured they do and will
not be running low on supplies. I purchased 100 pounds of it then! It came
in 50 pound bags, very heavy paper, double wrapped and then wrapped in very
thick plastic.
I went home, placed it in a storage closet out on the back porch, then when
we moved to a warmer climate, I transfered it into 5 gallon buckets. One 50
pound bag fits nicely into one 5 gallon bucket. The lids are very tight
fitting, so it prevents children from getting in. We have our
grandchildren around a lot, so that is always a concern to make sure my
supplies are safe from them, and them from the supplies.
When I began making soap in 1997, I researched the internet to see how it
was done. I read several pages telling me the correct way of mixing lye.
Then I saw one that told me to mix it into a plastic bowl, to measure they
lye into the bowl and dump hot water on top, stiring wildly to make sure it
was mixed fast. I wondered about that one and called the supply place near
by telling them about it. They were horrified and asked for the URL. The
hext time I looked for it, the site was shut down.
As Andrew mentioned there are many cautions about soapmaking. It is not
difficult, you just have to be sensible and safe. Always use caution when
handling these items, always pour you lye into cold water, and pour lye very
slowly, stirring carefully not to splash while you stir. Wear long sleeves,
rubber gloves, goggles to protect your eyes, etc.
Karis mentioned purchasing lye at a dry cleaners. Again that is very
interesting, thanks for the info there. If we all stick together and give
exchange information, we can all learn where to purchase supplies and to
make products.
Vegetable oils in general do not cause your soaps to go rancid. Palm is a
great oil for a hard bar. Keep your amount low, 10% max. Coconut and Palm
Kernel can be used up to 30%, each one. Some other oils that are not fixed
oils such as, Evening Primrose, Castor, and a few others may go bad, if you
do not use enough lye to process it completely. MMS has a wonderful lye
calculator, I am sure you are already familiar with that at:
http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php Just type in your amounts and it
will tell you, not only how much lye is needed, but the percentage you are
using. Compare that to the listing they have about the oils, each
ingredient will tell you what percentage is used for soap, lotions, lip
balms, etc. This is one of the very best calculators you will find without
having to buy it. I use it for everything. Rancid
soaps are generally due to not processing the oils completely with the
proper amount of lye, or due to using bad oils in the first place. OIls
only last so long and then lose their value.
One of the sites I had read about doing soap had photos to show what happens
to a newly remodled kitchen with all new formica counter tops, if you are
not careful and dump the lye too fast. One cannot help but to ache for
them! His new counter tops were totally destroyed! The lye ate down into
the formica leaving areas eaten into. His new stove had the same thing, it
had areas where the new surface was eaten into.
When I was a youngster, living in Gilchrist, Oregon, one of my friends'
sisters had a place on her nostril that looked like it had been cut out.
When I asked what happened, she said she had shoved lye up her nose when she
was a toddler. I guess her family used it to place on snow to melt it and
left the bag open in the garage. Lye is very caustic, and can do a lot of
damage if misused. A few simple precautions, and all is fine.
Now, don't be discouraged and not make bar soap, because of the cautions.
Soapmaking is great fun and very worthwhile. If we stick to a few comon
sense cautions, we learn only from trial and error or by others telling us
what they learned or know from others experiences, we can do it safely
without bad things happening. I could make soap all day long! In fact,
when I first began, we were doing a job for the forest service and living in
one of their houses for that year. When it came time to leave, I had
literally hundreds of bars of soap, I gave away to reduce our bulk in
moving! I was shocked at how much soap I had made,a nd we took a whole lot
with us too!
Have a great day
Vicki
--
Wow! Look at this!
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