I really enjoy what I do. It began as a hobby and then turned to my way of providing for my little family. My dream, is to someday soon have a local Soaps 'N Suds store front in town with a window where people can watch me make my soaps. Let's go ahead and take a tour of me making some Orange Ginger Frangranced soap today. My son obliged the pictures from a distance while I worked.
I first begin by weighing and measuring out my oils into a stainless steel pot and I place it on the oven over a very low heat , just enough to melt the solid oils and liquid oils together.

I then pour the sodium hydroxide into my water and mix it in the sink with the window wide open for ventalation then place my themometer in to monitor the temperature.


While the lye is cooling and oils have been fully melted I check the temperates of both oil and alkali solution to make sure they are simular in temps.



Slowly I pour the alkali mixture into the melted oils. I do it very slowly to prevent any splash back. Although I use goggles, gloves, long sleeve shirt and an apron, I do not want any of the caustic to splash back on me and land on any part of my face or other unprotected skin.


I then mix the oil and alkali mixture together with a stick blender, stopping periodically to hand mix with a wooden spoon to relieve any air bubbles the stick blender my incooperate.


After a few minutes of mixing with the stick blender and periodically hand mixing, I add the fragrance or additives if any at medium trace and continue mixing with the hand mixer and wooden spoon until the mixture becomes the consistancy of pudding.

Once I have reached this stage, I pour the sopanifying soap into lined wooden soap boxes, insulate it with towels and let it set for 24 hours before I check it.


My orange ginger fragranced Olive Oil soap is currently resting in the soap box in the closet. Tomorrow I will open it up and see how well it did and will take pictures of the outcome to share with you. :)

Rachel