New hobby while I wait for my mare to foal

[Danielle_E.]

I have taken up soapmaking and WARNING it is VERY addictive to say the least. My dinningroom at the moment has probably 100 bars of soap being cured at the moment, my husband is having a fit, ROFL. Here is one of the batch I made yesterday, it's an orange/chocolate soap and it smells OUT OF THIS WORLD. Now it has to sit for approximately 3 weeks before I can use it. It has lots of great things in it, like mango butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, etc. I also tried my hand at making bath bombs which I have named "mini bath cakes".

 

[Reble]

Looking Good,

: they would make a great wedding gift for the guests etc....... :aktion033:

 

[Steph_D]

Oh my, that stuff looks good enough to EAT :new_shocked: Great job!

 

[Danielle_E.]

Thank you for the compliments. Once you start making your own soap you get hooked really easily :bgrin . The nice thing is you can put the oils you like in it and unlike commercial soaps you buy these have the retained glycerine in it which happens when you mix the oils you use with the lye/water which causes the reaction which in turn makes it soap. The soap we buy at the store unfortunately they remove the glycerine and use in other products, hence the reason for soaps being drying to the skin. That is one thing with homemade soap, they are not drying to the skin and feel like heaven. If my mare doesn't foal soon there will be no room in my dinning room to move because of all the soap I am making to pass the time

: . I have also made some body lotions, pineapple/ginger which smells like heaven and feels amazing. My co-workers are having a blast as I am bringing in things for them to try out :bgrin

 

[nootka]

Wow, chocolate orange sounds great, indeed!

I love the bath bombs from Lush and those look similar in texture. My fave is the Youki Hi.

Neat new hobby. Good luck with the mare.

L.

 

[Sterling]

Oh those look absolutely amazing!!!! I have thought about making soap, but thought it was just too detailed and intricate for my little brain...lol.... Are you thinking on selling them on the LB Last Chance Auction?

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Hey I love home made soap!! Please let me know if you ever make one with rosemary and mint! I LOVE that combination =) Tried to buy some from a store once and when I got home it ended up being some other gross mixture that looked similar but was completely different...I am still wishing I had that rosemary mint soap! So soothing =)

 

[Danielle_E.]

Sterling, you really should give it a try, it is SOOOOOOO much fun to do. The only part you have to be careful with is working with the lye as it is caustic but you absolutely need it in order for "saponification" (the chemical reaction of that ingredients with the oils is what makes the oils turn into soap). When you put the lye in the water you will add after to the oils, without heating, it goes to 200 degrees plus in an instant. You don't want to inhale it either so I use rubber gloves when I about to mix the lye into the water, a mask over my mouth and nose, and long sleeves and long pants just in case... don't want to get burned. Tje lye works its magic and helps create the glycerine that is so good for your skin. After 3 weeks the lye is no longer in the soap, it has dissipated. There are some amazing forums on line for soapmaking and lots of help from others....send me a p.m. if you want some of these links. You don't have to start with what they call "cold process" soap which is what the soap I did. You could start, like I did, with the melt and pour soap which you basically buy from a good company and everything is already done for you, all you do is melt it, add your color and your scent and pour into whatever containers you want to set the soap in and within hours you can cut and use that type immediately.

MinihoofBeats, I will make that soap and send you a piece of it to try. You can be my "tester" for that soap :bgrin . Send me your address okay, via p.m. I will make it in the next few weeks but will have to cure it for 3 before I can ship it out to you

: Whoever's name I get this year in the Christmas exchange here will more than likely know some of the contents of what I will be sending out

: I made a foot lotion that was eucalyptus/spearmint and it smells good enough to eat and feels GREAT on tired acheing feet, believe you me. I am in the process of trying out (making) bath bombs that are eucalyptus and peppermit for those who have head colds and want to get into a bath that is not only soothing but also helpful in unstuffing their head cold. I will let you know who that works out.

 

[iluvwalkers]

[SIZE=14pt]i just love all that "stuff", have always wanted to make soaps and lotions. i started making candles a few years ago and that's very addicting as well. the companies i order my candle supplies from also carry soap and lotion supplies. i have 50 or so different oils for my candles and many of them can be used in skin "things", yours look so nice you have my wheels turning

: . Nikki[/SIZE]

 

[Danielle_E.]

Are you thinking on selling them on the LB Last Chance Auction?

I haven't even thought about selling because I need more experience and know how but eventually perhaps I will :bgrin . What I would love to do is put some of this together, soaps, lotions, etc. and offer to perhaps put on the auction and donate all the monies to CMHR

: . I will work towards that for the fall, or just before Christmas!

 

[JO~*]

I have made soap a few times, started with the beef kidney fat and melted it down etc.

I wanted to make it using the oils but I couldnt find what I needed around here and I didnt want to send for the stuff. I wanted to make a cowgirl soap using bran and honey. I did make some and it turned out nice but I just do not have the room here to really get into it :no:

Your soaps look very nice

:

 

[Mona]

:new_shocked: WOW Danielle, those things look good enough to EAT!!

: