Teach Soap

So I'm still really new to soap making (two batches in), and I was curious- how did your first batch of soap go? And what has been your biggest soap related disaster?

Welcome!
I started making soap in 1969. I have watched my mother and grandmother make soap, so I thought I would make a batch myself. Yes, I thought I knew just about everything about soap at that time. Wrong! I mismeasured and my soap stunk and was lye heavy. It ended up in the trash. Then I got talking to by my mother for wasting ingredients. I never made that mistake again.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I made my first batch over 3 years ago and it was a no scent or color plain batch that turned out perfectly! My biggest disaster was after I'd been making soap for about 6 months and I had a batch that totally overheated and looked like alien brains. It got thrown out.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

My first batch was a recipe I took from a soap making book... except I changed the fragrance - bad move. This bar had kelp (seaweed) in it. It had beeswax and honey as well. I used cucumber and melon, because my DH made a fantastic candle of this scent. The recommendation was to use cedarwood. Well the cuke and melon did not cover up the kelp the way cedarwood would have. And this recipe moved very quickly on me! The result was pouring at thick trace and a terrible smelling bar! I still have most of that batch in a sealed container (nearly 4 years ago) and it still smells bad! That is when I found this forum...so there was a purpose to that batch of soap. I keep it to remind me there is always things to learn and I can get better. Once in awhile I need a gag (white elephant) gift and I pull a bar out for this . I am so very happy that I kept trying... I love soap making and all that goes with it.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I made my first batch out of a book called "Better Basics for the Home" about 10 years ago. It's a good book - the author became hyper sensitive to many of the chemicals we use every day after she was exposed to a very bad natural gas leak, IIRC. So the book is full of natural ways to clean, etc.

I think the recipe actually used volume instead of weight. I used green food coloring and mint essential oil, since you could pick it up for pretty cheap at a health food store. I used Gladware for a mold. and I put a bunch of camillia buds in it. Fell in love with soap making then. Don't recommend the camillia buds, though.

Got on a mailing list on Yahoo called the Alabama Soap Meeting (now I think they're the Alabama Soap Guild). My mom went with me to the first meeting and saw a lotion making demo and she fell in love with that.

My worst disaster: I was making red and white peppermint soap. I guess I didn't wipe down my utensils thoroughly before putting them in teh dishwasher, b/c pink, minty foam started shooting out of the bottom of the dish washer! I put a roasting pan under the dishwasher to catch most of it and just kept mopping and mopping until the dishwasher was done. My kitchen smelled SO GOOD. And it got rid of my ant problem.

ETA: Don't know if that counts as a soap-making disaster, since the soap itself turned out great.

lol, I think I would definitely call that a soap making disaster! It was soap making related, anyway! But it seemed to have had a silver lining.

I've only made two batches so far (but I've got the bug BAD, every day I'm like "I want to make another batch!"). My first batch turned out beyond perfect- it was just a simple unfragraned uncolored soap I made with things I had on hand. I actually bought the lye a year ago and kept putting it off. Then a friend of mine gave me some past it's prime goat milk she didn't have a use for because I had kept telling her I wanted to make soap. So I finally got to it- I used the goat milk, a bunch of lard I made two years ago (turned out I either messed up the lard or just don't like the taste... it all tastes/smells like pork), and a few other oils I had on hand, including some calendula infused oil. I molded it in an aluminum (well lined- although I didn't even know at the time aluminum was bad, so I totally lucked out on that one) loaf pan and an empty salt box. I used the directions from a hoegger's farm recipe for goat milk soap, but I didn't use their ingredients exactly, I ran my oils of choice through a lye calculator. It turned out fantastic and I've been sharing the bars with friends.

The second batch was inspired by my overwhelming surplus of cucumbers (plus a recipe I found in a book, although I didn't follow that recipe, either!). Again, I ran the oils I wanted through a lye calculator, then used a combo of cucumber juice, pureed cucumber (added at trace), and goat milk for the liquid portion, although I mis-calculated and ended up with more liquid than I should have because I forgot to count the puree as liquid. I also used four essential oils, which was my big learning experience because out of the four all I can smell is the dang peppermint. Despite the surplus liquid, it got to trace and I poured it, and it looked awesome. I checked on it a few times and it still looked awesome. Then, right before bed, I checked on it and it was totally going liquid and I totally freaked out (you know what's happening, but I didn't at the time!). I freaked out and threw it in the freezer, then looked it up on the internet, and finally figured out my soap was going through gel phase. My first batch didn't gel due to the thin molds and because I've been soaping at around 80-85 degrees. But this cucumber soap went into a real soap mold (the sliding bottomed wood one from Brambleberry), which is thicker and apparently held the heat. Then I realized that throwing it in the freezer partially gelled wasn't a great idea, because it would result in a partial gel, so I went and pulled it out and walked away from it. I sliced it a few days later- it looks like it may have fully gelled. I mean, there's not a real pronounced border around the edge. Either way, for all the drama (oh, I also didn't mention that I threw out two batches of liquid before adding the lye, because I kept forgetting and adding the goat milk, while my recipe calls for mixing the lye into the water, letting it cool, then carefully pouring in the goat milk- does that matter? I figured this was a big enough batch and I don't know enough to mess with the process and waste an ENTIRE batch of soap), the soap turned out totally fantastic.

And, as I said, I'm chomping at the bit to do my next batch- I want to do either a calendula and goat milk soap, or a shaving soap for my husband, or a goat milk, oat, and honey soap... I need to make more friends so I have more people to give soap to!

My first batch was a disaster. I measured everything by volume in measuring cups instead of weighing. It turned out lye heavy. I wish I'd spent some time on youtube or taken a class first.

I can laugh now but I was frustrated when I made my first batch. My daughter helped me because we didn't have a stick blender. It took over two hours of hand stirring (we took turns) to reach trace. I ran out and bought a stick blender the next day! It sure gives you respect for early soap makers.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!