Homemade Soap - Part One ~ Are you ready to reach trace? Yes...yes, I am :) :) :)

Hello everyone...It's another super hot day in Oregon. It's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here..that's about 40 degrees Celsius. I felt like I was char-broiling last night...so my dad and I finally had to turn the air conditioner on. It feels really good now.

Alrighty, for the longest time I have been wanting to make homemade soap.  I was a little scared and wasn't sure I could do it. However, my very good/sweet friend Julie mentioned she was making some soap. So I  asked...well, more like begged her to let me help with the process. She said YES!!!  We followed the recipe on a really neat blog by Rhonda from Australia called "Down to Earth"...she has a fantastic soap recipe and there's all sorts of tips and advice.  Click here to view the soap recipe itself...Click here for some more great information about making homemade soap. Rhonda has been doing this for DECADES..so she really knows what she's talking about. Or just pay a visit to her blog called "Down to Earth"...click here.

It's real important to proof the recipe before you start making it. There's a link on Rhonda's post for a soap calculator...it'll tell you the correct ratio of lye to water, and the correct ratio of oils..

Here is the basic list of ingredients that we used in the soap.  As you can see, it's a very easy "six" ingredients.



Here's a gift I brought to Julie...three hand-knit French bath mitts, as a "thank you" for letting me help with making homemade soap!!! Thanks, Julie!!!!!!

Here are some of the basic tools we used. We also used wooden spoons, a rubber spatula, a digital scale AND two thermometers....

First, we measured out the correct amount of water...and by "we" I mean Julie...these are her gloved hands. I helped by taking all the photos :) :) :) Again, thanks Julie!!!

Next, you need lye crystals...also known as caustic soda. I'm not sure where to buy this...I think Julie picked this up at a hardware store...just ask around!!! Lye is lye is lye!!!...at least that's what I understand...


The next step is to measure out the lye crystals. It's important to do everything carefully and slowly when working with lye...

It's important to add the lye TO the WATER...in that order. Otherwise it could splash and get on your skin..and that will burn/irritate it quite a bit..We took this part outside. When the lye mixes with the water, it causes a chemical reaction that will heat up the water to about over 80 degrees..and causes fumes...so outside is best, the fumes dissipate very quickly...Also, if you can wear safety gear the first few times you make soap...


Julie mixed the lye into the water until it dissolved. We'll both admit this part was a bit anti-climactic. We were expecting more drama...ie) visible smoke and fumes rising from the little red bowl...like a smoking magical cauldron in a movie...but nope, this is all it did...Oh, it smelled...but that was only for a few seconds..then it dissipated...poof!!!!


Measuring the temperature of the lye water mixture with a stick thermometer. Once it cools down to the required temperature we brought it back into the house....meanwhile, inside the kitchen....

...it was time to mix the oils together, while the lye water mixture was cooling a little bit....first was to measure out the rice oil...


...then the olive oil and....


...last but not least, the coconut oil. We used two different brands of coconut oil....this is the one Julie had..and I used a brand by a company called "Spectrum"..both are organic...the one I used is "extra virgin coconut oil, unrefined and expellar pressed".....

Next it was time to  mix and melt the oils together..and heat them up to the required temperature....we heated the oil up in the microwave for a few seconds to help it reach the necessary temperature...we were very careful with this...


Ahh...here is a photo of my lovely friend Julie holding the stick mixer....Can you say "Are you ready to reach trace?"..Yes, I think we can...hee hee hee :) :) :)


Use a wooden spoon, hold it over the oil mixture..and carefully/slowly pour the lye water mixture over the spoon..and let it gently pour into the oil mixture.  This helps to prevent air bubbles in the mix.  You can already see it starting to go opaque in color.....


TO BE CONTINUED...OTHERWISE, THIS POST WOULD BE THIRTY THOUSAND PHOTOS LONG!!!

Well, not that many...but I wanted to break it down a little bit...I'll post the second half as soon as I finish writing it up!!!!

That's the news from Oregon so far...Love and hugs, Heather :) :) :)