SOAPS BY DORIS
Everything you wanted to know about soaps but were afraid to ask.xml
I make handmade soap and in the process have learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about soaps. All soap starts with LYE. The finest soap you can buy starts with a Lye and Water mixture. The amount of oil you use will also determine the amount of lye you need. The way soap was discovered, according to Roman Legend, was after a heavy rainfall fell on the slopes of Mount Sapo (the name means soap in Latin), because the hill was an important sacrificial altar, and the rainwater mixed with the mingled ashes and animal fat around the altar’s base. As a result of this fortuitous coincidence, the three components of soap were brought together: water, fat and lye (potash leached from the ashes). As the mixture trickled down the banks of the Tiber River, washer women at work there noticed that the mysterious substance made their job easier and the wash cleaner. Other then obvious differences in the scale of operation and the use of automated equipment, the chief innovations in the commercial product is essentially the same as it has been for years. Water, Lye, Tallow or a variety of oils are used to produce a bar of soap. Tallow is used generally to make Lye Soap that is used to do laundry. Our grandmothers used to take all the fat left over at butchering season and render it down to get tallow. . Rendering is the process of melting and purifying solid fats. Add a bit of Borax to the lye soap and you improve water softening ability and will quicken sudsing action. Tallow or animal fat is a very good skin moisturizer. Most might argue that animal fat makes a better moisturizer then vegetable oils, and it is true that if vegetable oils are over applied they will dry out your skin.
The basics are the same no matter what the soap. I use a variety of oils to make my soaps. My basic recipe calls for Shortening or a pure Vegetable oil, Coconut oil, Olive oil. To this recipe I will add one or more additional products such as Sweet Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Grape seed Oil, Aloe Vera, or Vitamin E. I also will add pulverized Oatmeal to my Almond Oatmeal recipe, or when I make a soap that I use an Orange Fragrance I will also add some dried Orange Zest. I do the same with a soap made using a Lemon Scent.
Vegetable based soaps are softer than animal based soaps, and therefore do not last as long. One of the advantages of working with all vegetable oils is they are readily available and are already purified and ready to use.
Coconut oil comes from the meat of the coconut and is available in grocery stores. Coconut oil yields a creamy soap that is firm and lathers nicely its drawback is it can be drying. To counteract this effect, moisture oils are often added to a coconut oil base. That is why I tend to add Sweet Almond oil or Shea Butter to my soaps.
Olive oil is known as a skin moisturizer and seals in the skins natural oils. There are many grades of Olive oil, some of which can leave your soap smelling like Olives. (Virgin Olive oils). I do not generally use those. Olive Oil yields a firm, high quality soap with a smooth but not abundant lather.
Cocoa Butter is obtained from the seeds of the cocoa tree, and it is a rich skin soother and conditioner. It is available in most specialty shops.
Palm oil is derived from the palm oil tree and its properties are similar to tallow. It yields a firm longer lasting soap, but with a fairly weak lather. It is often used in conjunction with other oils that will enhance the quality of the lather.
Vegetable Shortening is primarily made out of soybeans. It adds stability and bulk to soap and blends well with other primary oils and additives.
Other oils like Sweet Almond oil, Avocado Oil, Aloe Gel, Castor Oil, Shea Butter and Goats milk all add vitamins, proteins and amino acids that actually have a healing and soothing effect on the skin.
Citricidex- is a grapefruit preservative.
Vitamin E- Also has preservative qualities.
Exfoliates act as abrasives and will help cleanse by rubbing off the dead cell surface. Oatmeal is the one I use the most. Oatmeal has the ability to help with any itching problems that you may have. You can also use Alfalfa meal, Bran, Cornmeal, Ground almonds, Mustard seed, Seaweed and Tapioca pearls. I make certain that I make these ingredients finely ground so they do not feel like sandpaper or clog your drain.
Colors come in many forms. There are a variety of ingredients that can be used to color your soap that can be found in most kitchens. Curry Powder produces a yellow gold soap, Cinnamon can give you anywhere from a tan soap to a brown colored soap, Coffee a tan colored soap and the coffee also acts as an exfoliate and will clean off your dead skin plus leave your hands smelling good. Paprika will make a peach colored soap, and color crayons can be melted down to get the colors you desire. Nutmeg powder can give a beige color and cayenne pepper a pinkish-orange. You can get a green from strained spinach baby food and a reddish pink from beet juice or mashed beets. I tend to use coloring sold for coloring soaps. I do have some plum pudding baby food and strained carrots that I am going to try to see what colors that will produce.
Scents come in many varieties. All affect people differently. In the Floral, Fruity and Citrus family you have the rose, marigold, iris, gardenia, geranium, jasmine, lily of the valley, tuberose, peach, black currant, apricot, orange, lime, lemon, lemon verbena, mandarin, bergamot, tangerine and ylang-ylang
Spicy-Cinnamon, clove, pepper, nutmeg, coriander, and allspice.
Woody-sandalwood, rosemary, cedar, and oak moss. I have just named a few of the different fragrances that you can find in soaps. Many of us combine fragrances mostly to our liking.
I personally like Bergamot and orange mixed together. I find lavender alone overwhelming, so I cut it with vanilla to produce a nice warm relaxing fragrance. Sandalwood to me is too woody of a fragrance so I add vanilla to it. I try not to overwhelm the soap I make with fragrances. People have many favorites a new mom invariably likes the smell of baby powder. Someone who is stressed may like the smell of Lavender which is known to relax a person. Cinnamon fragrance has an anti-inflammatory effect to it. Fragrances are like clothes everyone has their favorites. I make every effort to use quality raw materials in the soap I make, to produce quality soap.
I have made lye laundry soap for several years. In the past 6 months have I decided to venture out into using different oils and fragrances. Most of my fragrances come from pure essential oils. My goal in making this soap is to provide you with quality soap, not to overprice it yet make enough money from my soap, to buy more raw materials to make more soap. My e-mail address is: soapsbydoris@yahoo.com
H-479-967-1068
C-479-857-3029
I also have a blog with my soap on it which is http://soapsbydoris.blogspot.com
I am always available to answer any questions you may have so do not hesitate to call me. I hope you enjoy using my soap as much as I enjoy making it.
