Please note that no two batches of soap are alike for me. I use however much I have available regarding my oils and fats, so if I have a lot of lard, but not a lot of beef tallow, the soap will be a bit softer. I have used canned vegetable shortening (hydrogenated soybean oil) and bottled vegetable oil (soybean oil) - if you use Soap Calc (
http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcWP.asp) it differentiates between the two.
The first recipe includes paraffin wax, as I mentioned on another thread. The second recipe is the most recent batch of soap I have made (2 years ago) and made really, really nice soap that lathers well. The beef tallow gives it good hardness, too, so it doesn't just melt away in the shower.
The measurements I use are in weight, not liquid measure, as it is much more accurate, which is necessary for soapmaking.
I'm not adding instruction for the process of making soap. If you are new to soapmaking, please read up on it a lot and try much smaller batches first. And always be super careful when using lye, as it is a very dangerous substance!
October 2005 Soap:
20 oz coconut oil
48 oz hydrogenated soybean oil (vegetable shortening)
46 oz beef tallow
48 oz pork lard
16 oz olive oil
26 oz lye
68 oz water (4.25 lbs)
At trace:
4 oz avocado oil
2 oz cocoa butter
2 oz paraffin wax
December 2007 Soap:
80 oz beef tallow
48 oz pork lard
72 oz coconut oil
80 oz soybean oil (vegetable oil)
40 oz lye
100 oz water (6 lbs, 5 oz)
This batch I split three ways:
Lavendar-Oatmeal: added 1 tsp lavendar essential oil and 2 cups oatmeal that had been put through a blender.
Tangerine Scrubber: 1 1/2 tsp tangerine EO and 2 cups cornmeal
Parsley & Sage Deoderant: 2 Tbsp dried sage and 4 Tbsp dried parsley, ground finely in coffee grinder. I noted that I should use more sage next time.
