Make Homemade Soap & Save

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Make Homemade Soap & Save

Submitted by: Gale Osborn 07/25/2009 8:53 PM

I made my own hand and bath soap from scratch and I got 40 bars for about $10.00. I made mine without any fancy stuff and It's great. ALL soap, no matter what kind, is made with fat and lye. The lye completely disappears with the fat turning into soap. One thing you'll have to have is a scale to weigh your ingredients. The new way to make soap is to weigh all the ingredients. The new or revised recipes makes soap where the lye completely goes out of it, making a nice mild soap. Our Great Grandmothers didn't have any choices and the soap they made usually was smelly and harsh. Not so these days. They're endless recipes on the net and I found one I think I'll stick with that is SIMPLE!!!Do your research and give it a try. It's not hard. Very cost effective. Something handmade is a nice gift.

Homepage photo credit: madaise

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Comments:

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Where did you find the recipe that you like so well?

Posted by Diane on July 27, 2009 5:53 PM

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Would you share with us the SIMPLE soap recipe that you found?

Thanks!

Posted by anonymous on July 27, 2009 7:28 PM

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Don't let lye scare you. Be very careful and don't splash, if you do, have a paper towel ready soaked in vinegar to wipe with, disapates it instantly.

The recipe is only three things, fat, lye and water. I studied all the sites for weeks before I tackled it. Google-how to make lye soap, then click on- how to make lye soap and other concotions.

I made the cold compress that calls for 6 lbs fat (I used 4 lbs lard and 2 lbs canola oil) The canola oil had been used once and I strained it through coffee filters. 12 oz of lye and 40 oz of water. Follow the directions. Wright them down.

I love my soap and it's mild because it's NOT lye heavy like in the olden days! This recipe makes 8 lbs. I cut mine into 5 oz bars. I don't have molds so I used cardboard boxes that are square. A pizza box is perfect. Line your box with a black smooth garbage bag. That's it. Now get busy and make some soap.

Next I'm pouring some into dixie cups with a knoted small rope to make soap-on-a-rope. My family loves my homemade stuff!!!!! Nice gifts.

Posted by Gale Osborn on July 28, 2009 2:39 PM

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i think that you should make a GUIDE for people who see something like it and want to buy it but know that they shouldt buy it because they are saving up for something, you need to think of things like that not making bars of soap.

Posted by anonymous on July 29, 2009 10:06 AM

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To the post above. If you're saving up for something, one of the best ways of saving money is to make things you use homemade. We all pay high prices for factory made items. If you are a clean person, you buy soap to clean with, right? So why not make your own at a fraction of the cost. I never would buy soap that was made to sell by someone else and I don't plan on selling mine. I make my own laundry soap, fabric softener,wet wipes,baking mix,cornbread mix,noodles,bread mix,diy cleaning products and cook from scratch using bulk bought spices and diy spice mixes. these things saves a LOT of money.I also make my own jams and jellies. Tip Hero is a perfect place to read how other people save money.Money is hard to come by and having it takes a lot of planning and HARD WORK!
Making your own soap is very cost effective.

Posted by Gale Osborn on July 29, 2009 4:04 PM

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I have been making laundrysoap for quite a few years now it is really cost effective and you can make it in about 20 minutes or less and mine lasts for months. I probably do about 10 loads or few more a week depending if I wash blankets and all that week. I have five kids all gone now.

I use vinegar for softener(my family laughs at me all the time '' let us guess vinegar") but I use what works for me.

I am really enjoying this site
Thanks Jackie

Posted by anonymous on July 29, 2009 4:20 PM

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Gale,
Did you use true lard, or a Crisco-like product?

Posted by anonymous on July 30, 2009 1:31 PM

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I used pure lard bought at Wal-Mart. Mostly because it's cheaper than any other fat. You can use Crisco and a varitity of oils. The off brand or store brand shortening works well also.

Lard makes a hard soap and that's what we want. It totally disappears in the soaping process, as does the lye.

My friend and I bought some beef fat at a meat packing plant and rendered it and made tallow. Another fat that will make a hard and white bar of soap.

I don't know if it will be cost effective though, at .99 cents a pound for the fat and after we rendered it doesn't look like much, we'll see. Good luck

Posted by Gale Osborn on July 30, 2009 4:46 PM

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Gale,
I appreciate you sharing all this info! Sounds like you're not only saving money, but having a good time, too!

Posted by anonymous on July 30, 2009 7:02 PM

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I just had to add that you can go to your local supermarket (one that cuts their own meat) or a butcher. I go to Kroger or Albertsons here in N. Texas. There, you can ask for fat. Tell them what you use it for and they will package it up for you. I've heard some will charge a small price for packaging it but I have yet to be charged for it.

I get about 10-15 lbs of beef fat at a time and render it myself. I like to use a bit of coconut oil in mine for a nice lather, along with the tallow (rendered beef fat) and other oils such as peanut, olive, or canola, for conditioning and a stable lather.

Here is a good chart to start off with. http://www.soapnuts.com/indexoils.html (Also I have found that I can get cheaper oils at Asian grocery stores.)

It does cost a bit more to make when you add essential oils, but they do give it a nice smell. I also add a tbsp of ground up oatmeal, because it's soothing for the skin. And almost always add a bit of tea tree oil for it's antibacterial/disinfecting properties. once you learn a bit about soapmaking, you can make your own recipes and use a lye calculator such as the one at http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php.

Even with the extras, I still pay less for soap than buying it in the store (and I always bought the cheap stuff at 8 bars for $3) I hope this helps anybody interested in making their own soap. This really is a good idea, not only because of the savings, but because you are saving your skin from the harsh (and sometimes toxic) ingredients that manufacturers often put in soap.

Posted by Trish on August 01, 2009 12:08 AM

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Thank you so much, Trish. I'll be looking for other sources of fat. I used the lye calculator at Maple Springs because it is so easy. Also, I have been given some used oil that I filtered. I bought 50 pounds of coconut oil at a local concession stand supplyer for almost wholesale and picked it up there. Shiiping charges are sky high and I refuse to pay them. After hours of calling and web searching I located a place to buy and pick it up ,so, no shipping. It is 100% coconut oil and is used for popping popcorn. I have a neibors whom have milk goats and is giving me goats milk for some soap. I love that we can share information on this site and learn from each other. I'm new at soap making, but enjoying every step of the way.The best way I've found to scent the soap is that I poured some essential oil on an old diaper cut to size of four bars of soap lying flat. I placed the CURED soap on this and wraped them in foil. It takes a few weeks for the scent to penitrate the bars and they smell wonderful! Takes a lot less scent doing it this way.ps I live north of Ft Worth

Posted by Gale Osborn on August 01, 2009 10:14 AM

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I was wondering if you have to use seperate pans and utensils, than what you use for cooking when making soap? Was this a cost factor when calculating the final cost of the soap? I would love to try this some time. Thanks for all the info.

Posted by Annette on August 04, 2009 6:29 PM

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Yes Annette, it's best to use seperate pans and utensils. I'm still looking for a large stainless steel pot. My friend and I went through all our kitchen stuff and came up with quite a an arrangment of different containers. Use only stainless, glass, enamel,or plastic.

We bought lard in 8 lb buckets. I saved the buckets and washed them really well. The last soap we made we doubled our recipe and made it in a 5 gallon bucket. I used a paint stirer that fits on the end of a drill to stir with, it took about 40 minutes and we almost waited too long as it was too thick and we couldn't get it smooth on top. So proud of it now. It's very pretty. The inside is VERY smooth and the bottom is also. I know someone is going to ask us how we did that!!!!!LOL

You can spend very little or a lot on making soap. I'm on the side of cheap. I did purchase a nice scale(1/2 off)for $34.00 including taxes and shipping (which was free) My friend's husband is making us some molds. So far we used plastic wraped boxes and baking pans. This week-end I went to Goodwill and picked up some things to use as molds. I got two of those silicone baking pans. One is hearts and the other puzzle peaces. Also I got popcicle containers to make soap-on-a-rope.Got fabric cord at the .99 cent store. I put ALL my soap making stuff in two boxes and keep it seperate from the other stuff.

After reading the post from Trish, I found two butchers willing to save fat for us. We will be rendering our own fat soon. At little to no cost. Also our church gave me all the old and broken crayons. Using them for coloring. Hope all this helps. Gale

Posted by Gale Osborn on August 05, 2009 9:40 AM

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Great! Not only am I up at almost 2 AM but now you have me wanting to make homemade soap...RIGHT NOW! Thank goodness tomorrow is Sunday!

Posted by FlashForward on August 09, 2009 4:40 AM

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I really want to learn how to make my own soap (for personal use and to give as gifts to family members) I do have one question. Where do you get the lye from?

Posted by anonymous on August 10, 2009 2:06 AM

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Check with Home Depot or Lowes and ask if they have 100% lye in their drain cleaning supply. Get the lye crystels without any additives!This is VERY important. It has to be 100% pure lye. The other things can be bought at Wal-Mart or other stores. Don't be afraid of the lye but be very careful. Keep children out of the kitchen and make sure they or pets DO NOT have access to the lye. I have now made about 200 bars of soap and feel very good about it. It's really not rocket science, but I'm a person that has to do it to get it!!!!!!LOL good luck

Posted by Gale Osborn on August 10, 2009 12:27 PM

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If you get fat from your butcher - make sure you don't get the waste fat because it will make inferior soap. Instead ask for suet - makes a nicer soap. If you don't want to render your own tallow, lard is a good alternative.
I get 100% lye at ACE hardware. You may have to ask for it - the store that I shop at does not keep it out on the shelves. Before making soap -do your research and be sure to wear protective gear when handling lye and have fun!!!

Posted by anonymous on September 01, 2009 9:18 PM

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I remember reading that it is possible to make lye from wood ash. Has anyone tried to make home made lye?

I would love to say that I made my soap from scratch!

Posted by Joahnna on October 22, 2009 9:33 PM

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