Well after much mooching round the Op Shops in my area (and a few others ) and I'd found a few basic items needed I was ready to begin. I'd read and youtubed as much as I could regarding the safety issues, and purchased olive oil and caustic soda. I was ready to go. Yay! (I had exhausted my local library with every book they had! read from cover to cover multiple times)
I found a website with a calculator for the saponification value of the soap I was to make, printed out the sheet which told me exactly what the ingredients I needed were, their exact weights etc and I had my decor lunch boxes ready to pour my beautiful first loaf into. I was ready.
My first time. Everybody remembers their first time. :) Usually a lot of fumbling round in the dark, a few surprises, and a little disappointment at the end. (we're still talking about soap, remember?)
So I rounded up the ingredients, waited until everyone was out of the house. Kicked the cats outside and opened up all the windows. (ventilation is crucial) I started measuring everything out, and went for it.
You know, for a first time, it wasn't bad. Not great, but I made soap.
I was so impressed. Who knew? Now the wait. It takes anywhere between 6 hours and 48 hours for an oil to become soap and glycerine (more later on glycerine)
As this was 100% olive oil, I knew it would take days before it would be hard enough to slice.
Not so!
This baby was hard as a rock in 6 hours! okaaaay. Not sure what happened. I raced back to my soaping buddies on Facebook. Help? they came back with all sorts of suggestions, like was it lye heavy? Nope. The zap test is the best one, as the human tongue is very sensitive. Too right it is. I had to really be talked into doing this test. After all, I'm attached to my tongue!
After deciding it was the only way, I gingerly applied some saliva to my finger, rubbed it onto the hard surface to get some soap on it, then applied it carefully to my tongue. No zap, just the taste of soap. Which as you may know, is revolting. But no Zap.
Nobody can tell me why this soap hardened into a brick so quickly, however I did manage to try slicing it. No joy. It crumbled. Disaster.
The thing to remember when buying a handmade or handcrafted item is that often years of blood, sweat and tears have quite literally gone into the making of that item. Everything is experience, and there's only one way to get it. Practice, and then practice some more.
I've spent a small fortune on ingredients, safety equipment and tools to be able to make soap. I took it one day at a time, cried over the disappointments, rejoiced over the successes.
The big thing I keep remembering about this first soap? I Made Soap!!! Even though it crumbled, and nobody can tell me why, it is still soap. It still worked fine, and washed us all. It was as plain as I could make it, and I shook all through the proceedure. I was covered in a fine sweat by the time I'd finished, and managed to get a little lye burn on my wrist, but that healed, and I learnt a lot along the way.
I love handmade soap, and I can make it at home. In my own time, and I've created my own space in which to do it. I have the support of my loving husband, and my children, and that's all that matters to me.
Join me in my journey, with all the trials and tribulations so far.
Thanks for listening.
Deb
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