Teach Soap

Ok - I did an online search and found this site; http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/soap.html

With this recipe;

Mechanic's Hand Cleanser

Grind up a bar or two of your soap...

* 1 c. borax
* 1-2 t. pure turpentine
* 1 t. sweet orange essential oil
* 1 c. ground soap

With very clean hands, work the turpentine and essential oil into the borax until there are no lumps left, then work into the soap. Keep it in a wide-mouthed jar or tin that's easy for him to open when his hands are greasy, and which you won't mind getting black on the outside. Don't forget to put a nail brush and pumice stone out with the hand cleanser.


I have not tried it and am not sure how it would turn out but it may be worth a shot. If you do try it let us know how it works.

you could add ground or powdered pumice to this receipe it like they have in LAVA soap to increase the scouring power.

I'm wondering if the "ground soap" is like the recipes they used to make with Ivory (hard, hard, hard) soap? If that's the case, this recipe will end up softer and more goopy than you might be wanting.

Bramble Momma, That recipe would certain take off grease for sure. I wonder if it might be a bit much for most people and sensitive hands? Though Adrienne in Customer Service claims her dad uses turpentine straight on his hands!

In general, however, Turpentine is considered a skin irritant and may irritate nasal cavities and eyes.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthguidelin ... althhazard

If you *were* to make this soap, you'd want to follow full ingredient manufacturing principles and ensure that you're following best practices for manufacturing a cosmetic because I suspect this recipe might move from "pure soap intended only for cleaning" and more into the realm of cosmetic.

_________________
Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

What about doing a Mechanics Hand Scrubby soap with lots and lots of coffee grounds, or apricot seeds, and orange essential oil at a heavy usage rate? While that won't be nearly as impressive as turpentine at removing grease, it probably would have less potential for irritancy on the skin.

Just my (overpriced) two cents =)

_________________
Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

I've seen de-greasing soap recipes (I think there's one in Soapmaker's Companion) that use kerosene as the grime-busting agent. That might be less nasty for the skin than turpentine.

Hi

My husband is a mechanic with his own workshop and his hands are as tough as old boots and so are all the staff, even the apprentices!! They get used to touching hot items etc and it is amazing to see.

However, he uses a scrub on his hands that he pays a fortune for from BMW here in Australia. It is really like a big tub of salt scrub with lots of sand in it and it smells like field of orange blossom! It is really really gritty and the consistency of mashed potato!

Also although turpentine is great at removing grease most mechanics dont use it anymore as they always seem to have cuts or burns from the engine on their hands and the turpentine stings - a lot! Plus there are better ingredients now that dont have the hazardous side to them that Anne-Marie has pointed out.

So far jojoba spheres, pumice and loofah have worked really well for Joe and his staff and yes I have tested most things on them - they are my guinea pigs for nearly all my soaps - if it affects them it is a definite no no The more scrubbie things you can get into the soap the better but bear in mind they do get burns from hot engines.

Hope this helps you out.

Jo

_________________
The true measure of a man is not the color of his skin but, his talent and what he has to offer.

Be aware that kerosene is highly flammable! There are better choices out there.

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

I agree you should stay away from the flammable liquids and try some heavy white Pumice, Orange rind that has been finely ground, Lemon and Orange essential oil (they use those two in a product called Goo-Gone that takes off pretty much anything). EXCEPT skin that is. Mix it heavily in with the M&P base, olive or hemp oil based (I used olive oil base with a touch of real honey and Shea) to help seal the skin or even Aloe based for that matter to help heal it. I made some like this a while back and it cuts dirty oil and grease REALLY WELL but does not dry out the skin to badly. I don't do much mech work anymore since the heart attacks but I still know what end of a wrench to use. I even used it to take out oil stains from a shirt I shouldn't have been wearing when changing the oil cooler line on our van.
(DONT TELL THE DOCTOR........LOL)

The coffee soap (CP) I make is pretty good on garden dirt and minor car repair - also helps kichen hands and stinky feet!
One BIG tip making coffee soap though, brew the coffee first, use the coffee as a water replacement in your recipe and then use the brewed grounds in the soap.
DO NOT use ground up coffee that has not been brewed or it will rip your skin off! Ouch!