Grandma's Lye Soap

I think that maybe I should have called this soap Not Grandma's Lye Soap.  This soap is definitely an improvement over the lye heavy soap that Grandma used to make.  In the past making soap was a kind of guessing game.  It was almost impossible to know what your lye concentration was, so the soaps often turned out with a bit too much.  Everyone has heard the stories about how Grandma's homemade soap took your skin off.  Today we have modern scientific methods of measuring lye, so our soaps are very accurate.  This soap is made with 100% lard.  I hesitated for a long time to try animal fats in my soaps, but I love it.  It makes a very hard, white bar of soap that lathers very well. This soap also lasts a long time because it is so hard.

So give a bar of gentle and creamy Grandma's Lye Soap a try today.

5 Basic Soap Making Tools

     One of the questions that people ask me about soap making the most often is, "What do I need to get started?". So I though I would put together a list of items that are both easily found and affordable.

     I have read many articles and books on soap making in the many years I have been making soap. Most of the time there is a exhaustive list of hard to find,  not to mention expensive equipment to purchase. This list is not meant to provide all the equipment you would need to start a soap making business. It is just a very basic list for those of you who would like to try soap making without a big initial investment.

1)A Stick Blender: Also called an immersion blender, this tool is absolutely necessary for soap making.  When I started out in the soap making business I didn't know about stick blenders, as a result I spent many hours stirring a pot of soap waiting for the elusive "trace"  I had read so much about.  What all those articles and books never told me about "trace" was that it would happen 2 hours faster if I used a stick blender.  Seriously, you can reach  "trace" (the point when the soap looks similar to pudding and is ready for the mold) in a mere 5 minutes, as opposed to the 2 hours it might take with a spoon or wisk. Getting a good stick blender is important.  I had a Braun stick blender that I used for many many years, until one day it up and died on me.  I went and bought a new one, it wasn't a really expensive one, and it didn't work at all.  I could have stirred faster.  I then I broke down and bought a much more expensive one that is similar to my Braun the KitchenAid KHB100WH Immersion Hand Blender, White.  It is a bit pricey but it works great.  The other great option for finding a decent stick blender is to check out thrift stores. Stick blenders are one of those items that are really valuable to soap makers, but not so valuable to everyone else.

2) An Instant Read Thermometer:   A good waterproof instant read thermometer is essential.  You need to be able to make sure your lye solution and your oil is at the same temperature.  The ideal thermometer should be able to read up to at least 250 degrees,  be easily cleaned, and easy to read. I started out with the dial kind instead of the digital, but I am too old now to see those small numbers. I recommend that you have two of these instant read digital thermometers.  It is possible to make soap with one thermometer, but it sure is easier with two.  The one I use is the Taylor 9842 Commercial Waterproof Digital Thermometer.  It is easy to use, waterproof, and inexpensive.

3)A Good Digital Scale:  The most important thing in soap making is measuring accurately.  Get a good scale you will not regret it.  Once again digital is way easier to read for these old eyes, but if you can read those little lines then the other kind of scale is fine.  I think the best digital scale for the money is Digiweigh 600 x 0.1 Gram/g Digital Pocket Scale for home Candle/Soap Making Lab Set.  Once again, you might  find a great deal at a garage sale or a thrift store.

4)A Stainless Steel Stock Pot  It is really important that this pot is staineless steal, aluminum will not workout. The pot also needs to be large enough to hold your water and oils combined. I have used many different pots for making soap.  Most of the time I use my big stock pot from my kitchen, it works, and yes you can still use it for food.  Just wash your pot really well before using it for food again.  You can look for old pots at garage sales, just make sure they are not aluminum.

5)A Mold:  When you are done making your soap you will need a mold to put it in.  I have used everything from Pringles cans and pvc, to shoeboxes.  I have also used candy molds, individual soap molds made out of plastic, and wooden loaf soap molds.  I use a large wooden soap mold now, but to start out you might want something less expensive.  I have found that the new silicon bakeware works pretty well.  This one Smartware Silicone Loaf Pan Includes Storage Lid, Terracotta is pretty good, and even comes with a cover.

Except for a few items that you should already have around your kitchen, and of course the lye and oils, these five items are all you need to start you soap making adventure.  I hope you enjoy it s much as I do.  Happy Soaping.

How to Make Laundry Soap

   Making laundry soap is something I have always wanted to try. Making your our own laundry soap saves me money and doesn't have all those bad chemicals that are in the commercial detergents.

    I figured that laundry soap doesn't need any great oils or moisturizing properties so I chose to just use something cheap. Crisco is cheap.  I used generic Crisco to make it even cheaper. Just make sure that you get all-vegetable.


Laundry Soap Recipe
48 oz of Crisco
12 oz water
6oz lye
fragrance of your choice

   I mixed this  recipe up using basic soapmaking procedure and used 2oz of Clean Linen Fragrance to make it smell good.  Poured it in a mold and let it solidify.  You can use laundry soap as soon as it is hard because it doesn't need to cure. Just be sure not to use it on your skin and wear gloves when you grate it.  I prefer to wait until it gets a bit harder to grate it up.
Cut this into approximately 8 bars.

Grate 1 bar and place in saucepan.
Cover with 5 cups of water
Heat gently, without too much stirring, until completely melted
Add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda
Place in large bucket or container and add 2 gallons of water , stir
Pour into containers, old laundry soap containers, or juice containers.
This will thicken as it stands, but will also separate.  You will need to shake before pouring.
Use 1/2- 1 cup per load.  Works well in HE machines too.

UPDATE- I have started doing this with half the water. It makes it more concentrated, and in my opinion easier to use. I use half the amount 1/4 - 1/2 cup in my laundry. If it looks separated after it cools you can use a stick blender to kind of blend it back together.

This soap cost me  .53/bar

I purchased my Borax at Alice.com for $4.29 that is only .06/oz. .  4oz is   $0.24



I also purchased my Washing Soda at Alice.com for $2.99, that is only $.05/oz.  4oz is $0.20



That is a total of $0.97 for approximately  64 loads of laundry
With 5 kids we do about 3 loads a day.   A batch of soap will last about 21 days.  My regular laundry detergent cost $6.35 for 32 loads.  That is $12.70 every 21 days.  A savings of $11.73.  Over the course of a year that is $203.87.  Amazing!

By popular demand I now sell the soap bars, shredded soap, and soapmaking kits that I use to make my own laundry soap
http://avalonsoapworks.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13

Check out Alice.com too.  They are awesome!


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