I love art and creating art using any and all mediums!
I have always been this way as far back as I can remember. Creating has always been second nature to me, now…finding and sticking to one medium has been a life long struggle. Over the years I have tried and successfully implemented many creations, not forgetting that some were not so successful. Family and friends would label my work as crafts. I am not sure how I feel about labeling my finished pieces as crafts. To me each finished piece was a masterpiece to me whether it be a necklace, handbag, or a painting. I like to consider each creation a work of art. Crafts the word seems to somehow diminish the heart and soul put into each piece. Agree or disagree that is just my thought process.
From time to time when my finances would allow I would indulge treating myself to a bar of the beautifully handcrafted soaps. I would see gorgeous soaps beaming like a beacon at craft fairs or that little baby display at the grocery store.
Using each bar felt like a luxurious experience as well as feeling as though I made a healthy choice. The designs of each bar fascinated me! Jasmine/Rose goat milk combo captivated me. I thought maybe just maybe I can create these little square abstract art pieces for myself and not have to worry about over spending. Enjoying this luxurious experience on a daily basis had to be obtainable!
My limited understanding of soap making was about to change and I would soon realize how little I knew.
I began my journey as most would. Casually browsing my phones search engine learning a bit about the soap making process. Overwhelming is an understatement. Cold process, hot process, & melt and pour, on and on it went. I felt as though I was spiraling down a rabbit hole of knowledge.
I decided melt and pour would be a great place to start and it really was. I still use it! Now to decide on a soap base. Who knew there were so many combinations. Shea butter, plain, glycerin, goat milk…the list went on and on. Then I see the word “lye”! What the heck! This surely cannot be good for your skin. They use lye to hide bodies! I also watch a lot of true crime. Determined I thought “I surely will not be including lye in any of my soaps I want to be all natural”!
Here is where how little I knew about soaping comes in. I searched and searched and kept hitting a road block “soap cannot be made without using lye”. I didn’t believe it! There has to be a way to avoid this caustic substance, especially in this day and age. Search after search I continued unyielding to my lye nemesis until lo and behold I found a melt and pour base containing no lye on the ingredients label instead it was sodium hydroxide! Bingo! I felt as though I out smarted all those soapers who add that horribly unnatural ingredient. “Clearly they didn’t search hard enough” I thought. Dun dun dun insert lack of soaping knowledge here…sodium hydroxide and lye are one and the same!
Feeling dejected I researched some more and came to understand that there is no lye (sodium hydroxide) left (if done properly) in the final product. Ok, I can work with this! I ordered my first 5lb brick of melt and pour goats milk base. Excited at how easy and fun this will be I ordered micas, clays, fragrances, molds! So many fun cute molds and went to town making soaps! I felt like a real soap maker, things couldn’t get any better or so I thought. Something just didn’t feel right, I was admiring the tops of other soap makers loafs. They had these eye catching tops and different organic ingredients. I tried to make the tops of my melt and pour like I was seeing on Facebook reels. What the heck am I doing wrong, why are my sprinkled flowers and flower buds on top of my soaps turning horrible colors even resembling mouse poop? The answer…I’m using melt and pour! Come to find out melt and pour bases have already gone through the saponification process therefore adding organic ingredients will lead to mold. Oh come on! Now what!?
Cold process soap was the answer for me. I dreamily watched reel after reel of these soap making wizards adding swirls, creating the top textures I envied, and adding organic ingredients successfully! Only downfall was the dreaded lye. Admittedly I was terrified of the seemingly innocent white crystal powder. “The women on all these videos use lye so easily, I can do it too!” I thought giving myself a mental pep talk.
After convincing myself and learning as much as possible with regards to safe lye handling I felt somewhat ready to give lye a chance. Next I need to figure out what these “mad scientists” use to make a soap loaf, I needed a recipe. Previously I had seen other beginners reaching out in Facebook groups requesting beginner recipes to the more experienced group members. The responses were mixed but overall I noticed these soapers were not as helpful as I had hoped. Fueled and determined I found what is considered a very simple recipe only 2 well in reality 5 ingredients from a farm soap maker website. I Ordered my lye off Amazon, I already had clays, micas, & fragrance oils here. Next I went to my local grocer and picked up olive oil & coconut oil.
My lye delivered, oils, clay, micas, containers, safety equipment, & stick blender in hand I set off to work and have yet to stop!
Overcoming my fear of the dreaded lye was one of the best things I’ve ever done!
First recipe I used: (from Gartur Stitch Farms)
450 grams coconut oil
450 grams olive oil
133 grams of lye
297 grams of water
10 grams fragrance/essential oil