I've found that all soap products have continued to rise in price for many years, so I started making my own. I was so afraid of using Red Devil Lye that it took me a long time to get enough courage to do my first batch of bath and beauty bars.
I was determined, and I began to read everything I could get my hands on regarding making soap from scratch; all the way from rendering out beef tallow (which makes a wonderful and gentle soap), to the melt and pour type (which allows you to avoid using the lye). It's just way more expensive, and I was looking for the least expensive and the best soap in the world.
On the day I made my first "batch" of soap, my husband helped me. First, we locked all the pets out of the way so that they could not possibly get in the way or splashed if (God forbid) there was an accident of any kind.
When we ended up pouring up that first batch of soap in the big Rubbermaid containers, it was one of the happiest days I've ever spent doing anything.
It was ready to cut into bars the following morning, and we stacked it allowing the air to circulate through it, then patiently waited the 4 weeks for it to "cure" before using it, but Oh My Goodness, what a treat it was using that first bar of our own soap.
From there, I made our own shampoo, dish-washing and laundry soap. I can't even tell you how much cheaper it is. Any soap product is expensive today, and if I can make our own, that's what I want to do.
We in America will most likely see the day when knowing how to be more independent in almost every aspect of our lives will prove to be beneficial. I consider cleanliness a necessity, and I'm so glad that I can take care of that necessity all my myself now.
Of course, I am still having to buy some oils, fragrances and a few other items in addition to my Red Devil Lye, but I'm staying way ahead of the game by saving money and making the best possible face and bath soaps, shampoo, and the other soap products we use every day. Soap, when made properly will probably last for many, many years, so I'm making and packing it away now while I still can.
It is a very satisfying and rewarding craft and I'm so glad I spent the time learning how to do it right. I'm also very thankful that I'm not having to leach wood ashes to make my own "lye" or butchering the beef to get the tallow. If I really had to, I guess I'd soon learn to do those things too.
By Julia (pookarina) from Boca Raton, FL
This page contains the following solutions.
Put 3/4 cups of white sugar into a glass jar and add some dish soap. Then stir, you don't want it too runny. If it is, just add more sugar until you get the right consistency.
Here is a tip to help encourage children to love washing their hands and bathing with lots of soap without a huge hassle. When making your own soap, a very cheap thing to do is to buy a bag of small plastic toys from a dollar store.
From the culinary to the medicinal, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of ways to use herbs - including making scented herbal soaps. From the simple to the complex, there are dozens of methods for making soap.
Buy bar soap at rummage and garage sales-any kind including guest soaps. They can be beat-up, dried up, broken,etc.
To make wonderful smelling and silky soap, grate a small bar of soap (or leftover slivers) into a medium saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to boil, cooking 1 minute.
When correctly made, homemade soap is of high quality, ranking with some of the better commercial brands of soap. It can well be referred to as "one of the few remaining bargains" for homemakers today.
Slowly add lye to cold water, stir to dissolve. Melt fat and let it cool. Pour into lye and use a wooden spoon to stir until it gets too stiff to stir.
When boiling meat bones for stock, add 2 tablespoons of either vinegar or lemon juice to the cooking water. The acidity helps dissolve the gristly tendons into collagen and gelatin, which makes the broth more nutritious.
Have some containers ready for each color. You will also need something for a mold, an ice cube tray or something similar will work. Mix the soap flakes with the hot water, stirring constantly.
This is how my grandma used to make soap. A just for fun recipe!
Melt your glycerin soap down using a double boiler method. Once metled add the cinnamon oil, keep stirring until completely mixed and then pour into your soap molds.
Melt beeswax and keep warm/liquid. Melt soap base and then mix in beeswax. Add honey and keep stirring until melted. Pour into a soap mold.
