Handmade Soap Making

Handmade soap making is easy and fun, and can be a great hobby for the entire family! Not only is it a lot of fun but it can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Pure natural soap is good for you and the environment, and is chemical and additive FREE!

Did you know that your skin absorbs between 21% and 94% of everything that we put on it!? And, that most of the ‘soaps’ and ‘bars’ out there are not really Soap at all, but rather harsh, chemical laden, detergents! In fact, did you know that most of the skin conditions that we suffer from today like itching, redness, dryness, and even chapping and chaffing, are actually caused by these detergents and the additives used to make them!

Most commercial manufacturers of these so-called ‘beauty and bath bar’ products remove the naturally occurring glycerin from their products, a byproduct of the fabrication process, and use it to make other more profitable items and products. In doing so the glycerin that would be protecting and helping to moisturize your skin is leached off, and you are left with dry, itchy skin instead. Natural Homemade Soap contains about 7% to 12% Glycerin – which helps protect your skin, and as a humectant attracts water and moisture to your skin helping to keep it soft, and moisturized, while combating dryness, itchiness, redness, and other the irritating side effects of those other products.

Whether you are using Beauty Bars, Liquid Pumps, Deodorant Bars, Bath Bars, or whatever name you may come across – These Products Are NOT Soap! – They are Detergents disguised as soaps. So how can you guarantee that you are washing with Pure, Natural, Chemical FREE Soap? Easy – Start Making Soap at Home!

So … Let’s Get Started with handmade soap making!

First, a note of warning!!! You will be using Lye – There can be no soap without it. Lye is also known as Caustic Soda (A naturally occurring material), and can be dangerous if not respected and used properly. You will need a well ventilated area in which to make your soap ( A garage or outdoors is ideal, but your kitchen is also a great place to work – Just remember to use the Hood Fan! ) … Rubber Gloves and a pair of Safety Glasses are also highly recommended!!! It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Ok … here we go!!

What will you be making? Pure, Natural, 100% chemical FREE, Soap!

The soap that you will make following the recipe below has been formulated by La Vita Soap Works especially for environmentfriendly.ca. This recipe can be used with any Vegetable Oil that contains a Soybean and Canola Blend (this is the most common Vegetable Oil Blend and available most everywhere), and will produce a great All Purpose Soap that can be used for washing your hands, body, hair, and if you grate it even makes an Excellent Laundry Soap! If you have never tried Natural Pure Soap before, this All Purpose Soap will definitely become one of your favourite products.

You will need:

1 x 1.5L to 2L Pot (a soup pot works fine) **NOT ALUMINUM** 1 Table Spoon ** NOT ALUMINIM** 1 Electric Immersion Blender (a “Stick” Blender) 2 Coffee Cups 1 Candy Thermometer 1 Kitchen Scale 1 Glass or Ceramic Cake Dish (approximately 2 Quarts) [A Pyrex Bread Loaf Pan works very well] Wax Paper Vegetable Oil (Any Canola Soybean Blend) Lye Cold Water * White vinegar **

*Cold water is required as the Lye Solution you will be making will cause heat to be generated.

**Vinegar is a Neutralizer of Lye. You will need to keep Vinegar handy at all times in case you spill any of the Lye Crystals or Lye Solution onto your skin to Neutralize the Lye. Use the Vinegar Liberally on any splashes of the Lye Solution to prevent it from causing further damage to your skin.

First Aid Tip: After washing the affected area with Vinegar rinse thoroughly under warm water for 5 minutes to ensure any remaining Lye is removed completely from the skin.

The Measurements:

** ALL Measures are by WEIGHT! **

10.6 Ounces of COLD Water 4.2 Ounces of Lye 32 Ounces of Vegetable Oil

The Method:

1) Weigh out 32 ounces of Vegetable Oil into your Pot, and set aside. 2) Weigh out 10.6 ounces of Cold Water into the First Coffee Cup. 3) Weigh out 4.2 ounces of Lye into the Second Coffee Cup. 4) Put on your Rubber Gloves and Safety Glasses and turn on the Hood Fan. 5) Slowly pour the Lye into the Cold Water, making sure not to spill any of the crystals. The solution will begin to heat up quickly and give off vapors. 6) Gently Stir the Lye Crystals until they are fully dissolved into the water. *DO THIS STEP UNDER THE HOOD FAN IN YOUR KITCHEN!* *Do NOT breathe in the vapors* 7) Put the Candy Thermometer into the Lye Solution you just made and let it cool to 115 Degrees Fahrenheit – this takes about 60 to 90 minutes 8) When your Lye Solution is at 125F, gently heat the Oil over Low/Medium Heat to 118F. 9) When the Oil AND Lye Solution are at 115F – 118F get your stick blender ready. 10) Slowly and Carefully pour the Lye Solution into the Oil and begin blending. Be careful not to splash things around! 11) Continue Blending – You will notice the mixture becoming opaque. 12) After 3-5 minutes of continuous blending you will notice the mixture begin to thicken up, like pudding. 13) Set the pot and blender aside, and line your Bread Loaf Pan with Wax Paper. 14) Retrieve the Pot and Blender, and continue to blend the Mixture. Blend until you get a Thick Pudding Consistency, much like Chocolate Pudding. 15) Once your mixture has become thick and pudding like you are ready to pour it into your Bread Loaf Pan. 16) Remove the Blender and rinse it off under cold running water. 17) Wearing your gloves take the Pot and pour the Mixture into your Bread Loaf Pan.

CONGRATULATIONS – YOU HAVE JUST MADE PURE, NATURAL SOAP!

Take your Bread Loaf Pan and set it in a warm place to harden. Over the next 24 – 48 hours this mixture will set up and become what is known as a Soap Loaf. Now handmade soap making was pretty easy wasn’t it?!

In 48 hours get the Soap Loaf and gently remove it from the Bread Loaf Pan. It will come out as one big brick of approximately 2 lbs. You will easily be able to cut this into 8 – 10 Bars of Pure Soap. After you have cut your bars out of the Soap Loaf set them aside to cure for about 4 weeks. Curing the bars (otherwise known as Air Drying) allows for the chemical processes to fully complete and ensures that your soap will be mild and gentle to the skin.

Now that 4 weeks have passed your soap is ready to use! You can put a bar in the bathroom to use in the bath or shower, a bar in the kitchen to wash your hands and even your dishes, and grate 2 or 3 bars and try them out in your laundry! A bonus of using natural soap for your laundry is that you will not need to use fabric softeners, as the glycerin is a natural fabric softener and relaxer!

La Vita Soap Works makes Pure, Natural, 100% Chemical and Addtive FREE Soaps and is proud to have been able to guide you through the process so you too can make your own Pure Soap at home! If you would like more information on Pure, Natural Soaps, or would like to browse our products we’d be happy to have you drop by our website located at www.mylavita.com

if you have any questions on

handmade soap making

or would like to know more about Natural Pure Soaps, please drop us a line at info@mylavita.com and we’d be happy to assist you!

Thank you to environmentfriendly.ca for the great work they are doing on informing the general public on Environmentally Responsible means and methods to living, and we wish them, and their readers, all the best! Happy Handmade Soap Making from La Vita Soap Works!