Soap Making stores

[Dace]

I came across this while looking for stores in my area and thought I would share

http://www.annelwatson.com/soapmaking/soapmaking_materials_suppliers.html#UnitedStates


Please tell me what I DO NOT need to buy! I have a large pot that I can designate for soapmaking.....I saw that HennyP used a pan as her mold....what else an I 'make due' with?

 

[Blackbird]

Thanks Dace, I live a whole 45 minutes away from a store on there!

On HennyPenny's thread I gave her a slew of links, you might want to check them out.

 

[freemotion]

Possible purchases:

You need a good scale, like a postal scale, to measure exact amounts of lye and your oils.....You could probably use volume measurements, but not quite as predictable in the outcomes. Close enough for home use, though.

A spoon that can take the high heat and chemicals....like a silicone spoon....to stir with.

A stick blender is worth the price! But you can use a spoon, I did in the past. Depends on the value of your time vs your available cash. You will spend a LOT more time stirring without the stick blender.

A pitcher to mix the lye in, that can withstand the heat.....Rubbermaid works well. I wrote on mine with a permanent marker so it never ends up as a food/drink pitcher, even by a dump-picker one day.

Scroungable: Something to use as a mold. A plastic storage tote works for me. A pan, a lined box, etc.

Something to cut the soap into bars....a sharp, thin-blade knife works for me. Knives with thicker blades don't work as well. I don't dedicate one, just wash it very thoroughly after.

A carrot peeler to trim rough edges and remove soda ash from the surface, and create bevelled edges if desired. Save the shaved stuff for making laundry soap. Again, I just pull one from my kitchen drawer, and wash it well after using on soap.

Something to dry and age the soap on....the unprinted side of cardboard from boxes works. Also, sheets of plastic needlepoint stuff, very cheap on sale at Joann's or also Wal-Mart if you want to be fancy.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head....

 

[Dace]

Thanks Free....that is very helpful!

 

[freemotion]

I forgot!!! You will need two thermometers. Cheap candy thermometers work just fine. One for the oil and one for the lye solution.

 

[hennypenny9]

Free covered most of it, but...

Hit up second hand stores like Goodwill, and garage sales and flea markets! I got my juice pitcher, plastic stirring spoon and spatula, stainless steel pot, and stick blender all at Goodwill. Nothing needs to be pretty!

I would recommend http://www.brambleberry.com/ for lye, oils that you can't get at the grocery store, and maybe a scale. Mine was the $20.00 one. Well worth it! I finally bought a mold, but the pan worked well enough. I confess to cutting my soap with a butter knife. I'm curing the soap on waxed paper.

Happy soaping!

 

[smithx9]

Pringles cans make good soap molds. So do the lay's snacker cans.

I bought a relly nice soap mold off e-bay. It was a little pricey, but the soap comes out in indivudual bars. No cutting involved is great.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm a big fan of melt and pour soaps......

You need MP soap, any added ingredients, a large glass measuring cup, soap mold, microwave and a fridge!

 

[Dace]

I'm a big fan of melt and pour soaps......

You need MP soap, any added ingredients, a large glass measuring cup, soap mold, microwave and a fridge!

Don't MP soaps have the usual chemical crap that we are all trying to avoid?
To be honest I really don't know much about soap or even what is in the bar in my shower!

 

[smithx9]

I started making soap a year and a half ago when my kids were working on Science projects in school. With 7 kids, I told them that they were going to investigate something MOM was interested in (remember science projects? MOM is the one who HELPS the most?)

My oldest chose the chemistry of soap making. We started with simple olive oil recipe. We have not used "store bought" soaps since. I love the way you can be creative. My favorite is a coffee soap. It is supposed to be a kitchen soap...but we use in the shower, too. It is great!

Care to share your favorite recipe here?