Author Topic: How many here make homemade soaps?  (Read 10253 times)

Jeroen

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #30 on: February 13, 2010, 10:19:34 PM »
My wife makes soap. She adds bees wax from my bees to it.

teegr

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #31 on: February 14, 2010, 04:31:42 AM »
I've made  hobby type soap in the past but find similar problems with getting lye for many years. I just use craft supply stuff as a teaching project for my granddaughter.  I did make a mistake once long ago by putting too much dried lavender in my bars.  LOL.  Can we say rough?

My great grandmother made hers in yard using homemade lye...she told me they made it from wood ashes.  I remember her telling me that she "tasted" the soap...can't remember if it was to tell her when it was ready to cut or when it was cured enough.  While I was interested enough to ask her about it...I sure didn't know enough to ask questions on *HOW* that was done. Sometimes the details don't make sense till you actually try making an old craft...that's when all the little questions start popping up.   I'm sure if they could make lye  way out in the brush a long wagon ride to anywhere, that it wasn't too difficult...LOL.  I know she saved up "grease" that was past it's prime over the year as one of the ingredients.  I don't think "oil" was something they would have had access to...I never saw it used until the 70's in my family.   So lard was the main fat other than butter and who would use their precious butter for soap?    I remember my Mom talking about the smell of the yearly soap making which was done in January in N Texas which was hog killing time back then. 

Something that alot of the younger folks don't know is that used grease/oil was a commodity and was (and possible still is) collected from many places (school cafeterias, restaurants, byproduct industries, etc,  for pouring down sewers/septics were NOT good) and it was then sold to make soaps and cosmetics and such.  There actually was businesses that their whole job was picking up barrels of the used grease/oil from these establishments. What they did with or how they processed it for selling I can not tell you.  I saw a Modern Marvels (history channel) show about Pigs and they said that up thru the 1950's most of the hogs raised in the US were raised for their lard for not only cooking but industrial applications such as soap.

My family oral tradition is that eating lye soap was a cure ??? for rattlesnake bite...my mom's dog was called "Rattler" and he was known to eat lye soap when he got bit, which apparently happened a few times.  I can't imagine how lye soap could possibly "cure" such a thing....but perhaps there is something in the story.   

FarmerJd

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #32 on: February 14, 2010, 09:25:52 PM »
If time permits tomorrow we are going to make soap from the rendered fat. Everyone around here made their own lye from oak ashes by putting it in a barrel and letting rainwater drip through it. Everyone had their own test for the right strength. I hope to try this soon. I have made soap many times from lard but never in a washpot like they use to do.

MrsKK

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #33 on: February 15, 2010, 01:30:29 AM »
I've read about making homemade lye and I believe one of the tests of proper strength was that it would float a fresh egg.

I've thought about trying to make my own, just so I know how.  I know that Carla Emery has instructions in her Country Living Encyclopedia.  I'll have to make sure we burn nothing but oak in our woodstove for a day or two and keep those ashes to use.

I also "taste" my soap to see if it is cured properly for use.  I just touch the tip of my tongue to a bar - if it tingles, it needs to cure longer.  Make sure to spit after doing this!

MarysLilAcre

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #34 on: February 22, 2010, 05:54:06 AM »
I also make soap. Right now I am making a few batches of goats milk soap to stock up my own supply, and to give as gifts for birthdays, Christmas, etc. I used to make it to sell, several years ago, but now I just do it as a hobby

Mary

cupcakecandy

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #35 on: March 24, 2010, 10:12:01 AM »
HI everyone! I'm kinda new here but I am interested with the whole soap thing. For starters  where could you buy soap making tools? are there any soap recipes you follow? Hope somebody gives me an info about this. would appreciate it. :)

cmharris6002

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Re: How many here make homemade soaps?
« Reply #36 on: April 09, 2010, 01:37:25 PM »
There are many soap making supply stores on the internet. http://www.brambleberry.com/ is a little expensive but they have excellent quality that a new soaper can trust. They also have recipes and tutorials.

Here is a new one from me,