So a few weekends ago I decided to purchase a few items to try out home soap making. The cost (both $$ and ecologically) of cosmetic products has been scaring me recently, so it's been on my mind to try this for a while. The ultimate goal would be trying to make soap from scratch (using fats and lye), but as that is somewhat involved and requires more equipment, I decided to try the easier Melt and Pour to begin and at least get to grips with the basics and also what smells and additives I like.
So I bought my melt and pour bases from a local store here in Honolulu, so were somewhat more expensive than most online stores - not too bad, but you can do better if you live on the mainland. I bought only SLS and SLES free glycerin bases of a few different varieties to try - white gylcerin, clear glycerin, honey, organic goats milk and shea butter. These averaged at $8 for 2lbs. I also bought some molds - 3 sheets (with 3 bars in each sheet) for $3 each, as I liked the look of a more professional bar, but you can use anything that will hold liquid and you can push it out of, there are lots of suggestions online. For additives I used what I had around - essential oils, baking soda (good for deodorant soap bars (good for boys!)), aloe, vitamin E. I also bought a non-spreading gel colour pack for $4, which are fun (and non-toxic, non-dirty dozen), but think I will move to natural colours from things like paprika etc after I run out (except maybe purple, I like that one....:0)
So all in all, you can make some pretty good for you soap bars, and it's a fun activity too. I sat this evening and worked an excel sheet on my ingredients and surprised myself with how much they cost. If you don't count the cost of the molds and the new pyrex jug I bought specifically for soap making, they come out pretty good. For my ingredients and a 4oz bar, I averaged at ~$1.75. I also worked out from an online store and you can get down to ~$1 per bar. Considering you can pay up to $5 a bar for a good eco-friendly soap, thats not a bad investment. If I move to lye I can get that even cheaper.
So here is what I did....
Cut up the base into small cubes
Melt in a double boiler (or jug in pan of water) - do not let boil, stir gently when you get down to the last few lumps - stir too vigorously and it gets bubbles. When it had fully melted I generally left it in the hot water for a minute, then pulled it out to add additives. 
Things I had around the house - baking soda, vitamin E, aloe vera - add less than 10% of these to your soap so it still firms up, the essential oils I played by nose, and not more than 10 drops per bar to make sure you don't get a sensitivity. 
Once you've added everything you want (this bar has poppy seeds in it for scrubbing!) and it's well mixed, pour the mix into a mold and allow to cool for a few hours (i left overnight). After you take them out you need to either use or wrap them up and put them in an airtight container. For Hawaii this seems essential because it's so humid - the high glycerin content makes them sweat in the humidity. I wrapped mine in wax paper rather than plastic wrap, and it worked great. 
One of them I made up some coloured bars, then chopped them into pieces and placed them back in the mold. Then covered them in melted clear base. They looked pretty cool when they came out! I think you would get more breakage with doing this though than a solid bar. 
And improvised mold for a little left - an old cookie cutter with a foil base. This is good for making a small bar to try out the mixes before giving away the larger bars, just in case they're not so good! One blog I read the woman kept all bad bars and left over bits in an old tin, and when full, re-melted it all down and poured into ice cube molds. She then used these soap pieces by the kitchen sink for handwashing, as they still work as soap, just aren't too fancy! So i've started collecting all my waste pieces to do just that! 
Some of the finished products - clockwise from top - lavender shea butter; goats milk and honey with a touch of peppermint; and unscented goats milk with lavender bubbles hidden. 
4 comments:
oh, thank you! i will have to print this out!
It looks awsome, and if you had fun making them even cooler. I have an issue with the cost analysis though, when they talk about price, they never include your time. If it is fun and you love it NO PROBLEM! But if you are actually doing it to save money you need to include your time, and price out how much you would pay to NOT make soap and do something else. How much is a hike outdoors worth these days?
That said it looks like fun and I wouldn't mind trying it someday.
Oh, and just to be more annoying - by purchasing the products at your local store you are helping ensure that you will not be FORCED to buy from the internet in the future. Spending a bit more to shop local is an economically healthy investment.
I hear you on the time spent, but it actually didn't take that long, and I mixed it in with doing things like cleaning the house, watching TV and eating lunch (while things are melting etc), so I don't think accounting for my time would fit in there. Now if I took it up seriously and was trying to sell bars, then I would, and I would be spending more dedicated time doing it. Part of my goals are to spend more time on things I enjoy and less being a slug in front of the TV, and this counts!
As for shopping locally I do hear you on that one, but it is the lowest of my ecological and financial priorities, eg i'd rather pay shipping on something really ecofriendly that fits my need exactly, than something local and ecofriendly that maybe only kind of fits in. I also feel like in Hawaii (and in most tourist areas) we're totally ripped off for local things, which annoys me. So many things 'locally' sold are also made elsewhere you find out (it was interesting seeing glass made in Taiwan being sold in Murano), so it can be deceptive if your gaining anything by shopping locally - other than supporting local initiative, which here on the islands is pretty self supported by the huge influxes of tourists anyhow.
thats really cool! and looks like it could be a great option for those of us with really sensitive skin... this way you know whats going into your soap... I think I´ll see if i can get the ingredients here in Chile!
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