Gina and I made several batches of soap some years back. We used commercial lye and lard for most of them, but I think there was at least one batch using beef tallow as the fat. We also added glycerin and essential oils for the "pleasant factor", although I think the first batch was just the main ingredients.
Our experiments were done in her garage using much safety equipment (goggles, masks, rubber gloves, aprons) and modern aids (fat was heated on the stove, we used a candy thermometer to check temps and an electric paint stirrer was employed to save our arms as trace can take 1-2 hours).
The soap, although a success as far as the making process was concerned, ended up pale yellow in colour and rather harsh on the hands. I still have a goodly number of them in my linen cupboard. I opened the box about a year ago when I was cleaning and found some had discoloured (brown spots) with time. I kept them anyway. I know I'll probably never use them, but didn't really want to throw out all that hard work either.
It's an interesting process and I'm glad we did it. The instant chemical reaction of the lye and water was cool (er, I mean hot!) It was also pretty neat to see that amazing trace moment after you've been stirring the same soupy consistency for so long and then, quite suddenly, you have soap!
Good luck with your soap. Hope it turns out well! :)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-11-14 04:49 am (UTC)Our experiments were done in her garage using much safety equipment (goggles, masks, rubber gloves, aprons) and modern aids (fat was heated on the stove, we used a candy thermometer to check temps and an electric paint stirrer was employed to save our arms as trace can take 1-2 hours).
The soap, although a success as far as the making process was concerned, ended up pale yellow in colour and rather harsh on the hands. I still have a goodly number of them in my linen cupboard. I opened the box about a year ago when I was cleaning and found some had discoloured (brown spots) with time. I kept them anyway. I know I'll probably never use them, but didn't really want to throw out all that hard work either.
It's an interesting process and I'm glad we did it. The instant chemical reaction of the lye and water was cool (er, I mean hot!) It was also pretty neat to see that amazing trace moment after you've been stirring the same soupy consistency for so long and then, quite suddenly, you have soap!
Good luck with your soap. Hope it turns out well! :)