A Soapmaking Day

I wouldn't exactly call this a hobby, because I don't make soap every week or every month. I only make it when we need some more bars. I started making my own soap in, I think, 1996. FabGrandpa's skin itched all the time, and we had tried every brand of soap available in the store. So, I learned how to make our own at home.



It is really easy, once you get the hang of it (and all the proper equipment to do it with). Yesterday, I made seven pounds of lavender mint soap. (I wish you could smell this picture) This should last us six months or more, even if I give some away as gifts. It is now in the back of the truck, where it will sit for a week or two to dry and cure, before I put it all in ziplock bags and store it in the bathroom. I'll have to make another batch next week, with clary sage and cinnamon in it, then I'll be done for another year.

Fab Home Made Soap

As I mentioned in my profile, I have been making my own soap for more than 10 years. Jim and I have not bought a bar of soap in all that time. We were down to our last bar, so last week I made two batches.

I use palm kernel oil, almond oil, grapeseed oil, castor oil, and olive oil in my soap. In one batch I used peppermint and lavender essential oils for the scent. In the other batch, I used rosemary, peppermint, and eucalyptus essential oils. The Rosemary blend one is Jim’s favorite, so I make it every time I make a batch of soap.

In the picture above, the greenish soap is the lavender mint; the other one is the rosemary-mint-eucalyptus. My sad piggy bank from Mexico is watching over the bars.

I have some pretty molds that I use sometimes, but this time I was in a hurry, so I just used the loaf mold that one of my friends made for me. I gave him a bath size bar of Ivory soap and told him to make me a loaf mold that would make the finished soap that size. It is made out of pine wood, and has a divider in it so that I can make two different scents at the same time if I want to. I line it with a plastic trash bag so I can lift the loaf out when it is ready to cut. The picture below is my of my wooden loaf mold.