Soap Making - finding things that trigger joy

I'm writing this sitting outside in the afternoon. The smell of jasmine is through the air with its blossom and the slight breeze carrying it's scent. Lawn mowers fill the background sound, along with people in the park playing and the birds exchanging melodies.

It's one of my happy places, outside in fresh air. Simple. Free. I've made two batches of soap this week and that's another things I've found triggers a burst of joy for me. The concentration measuring each ingredient. The patience of waiting for the lye and the oils to reach the same temperature. The meditative rhythm of bringing the two mixtures together (I normally do this by hand). The satisfaction of pouring it into moulds and the anticipation of the final product.

I discovered soap making after reading A Home Companion - my year of living like my grandmother by Wendyl Nissen. I highly recommend a read of this book if you are at all interested in making anything from scratch and want to dip your toes in. More like an almanac, it goes through the seasons and was the inspiration for me capturing my Year of Creating. Will I turn my prose into a book one day? Who knows. The thought is appealing but back to soap making.

The soap recipe in that book was the first one I tried. I was hooked. I loved how the process turns caustic soda - something that is harsh and eats into anything - into something that soothes and cleans. The geek in me loves the science. The creative in me loves the play and room for trying things. Actually my curiosity and habit of giving things a go is probably why I haven't really repeated any of the recipes I've made - I'm too eager to see what else can happen. The recipe I share below is a bit of everything and it did turn out wonderful soap that lathers up beautifully and leaves skin soft, nourished and feeling devine.

While making soap is always a joy trigger they haven't all been successful either. The goats milk soap went super hard, super fast and resembled blocks of chalk! Never mind - was a great opportunity to try my hand at liquid soap. Using the botched batched I grated it up, added some water and glycerin and taa daa - liquid soap which was super moisturising. That's something I've found with all the soaps, no matter which one so far. They are all super nourishing on my skin and leave it soft and smelling clean - a helpful trait for soap!

All my ingredients are sourced from the supermarket or Bin Inn and Mitre 10 Mega. You don't need huge amounts for any batch and Bin Inn is great for buying things in bulk once you know that you'll do it again. When I first started I just used things I already had in the kitchen but, having read a bit wider, I'm now a bit more careful to keep my soap making utensils and equipment away from the kitchen and food utensils and equipment.

You will need scales as all measurements are weights. You will also need a thermometer to check the temperatures of the lye and the oils. Other than that a large bowl from the kitchen, a pot to heal the oils and something to stir and you'll be set to give it a go.

The oils is the part I play around with the most. The recipe below uses olive oil (use the cheapest you can find - it's not the taste of the most expensive ones you are after!). I've infused calendula from our garden into the oil to create wonderful vibrant orange oil which is also great for the skin with all of calendula's properties. I've played with rice bran oil, mixed in parts of rosehip oil, evening primrose oil, hemp oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil - honestly any oil you desire.

The thing is you can just play with it. Enjoy each step of the process. Don't focus on the outcome. It will work how you expected or it won't. Even when it doesn't not is all lost - refer to goat milk soap outcome above. If it's your first time making soap I would suggest sticking to the recipe to make sure you understand the process. But from there go for it!

Soap Recipe

115 grams Caustic Soda

240 grams Water

Pour water into a large bowl (not aluminium) and very carefully tip in the Caustic Soda. This mixture gets super hot and can bubble so you may wish to wear protective eye wear and gloves. Gently mix so the Caustic Soda dissolves and leave to cool as you heat up the oils.

300 grams Olive Oil

300 grams Coconut Oil

100 grams kremelta

50 ml Essential Oil of your choice (this gets added after saponification so just have handy)

Melt coconut oil and kremelta in a pot. Once melted, remove from heat and pour in Olive oil.

Add the oil mixture to the lye mixture when both reach the same temperature (between 39 - 49 degrees celsius - with the lower of the range giving me my best outcomes). Mix until saponification occurs - that means that when you drag the spoon it will leave a trace before disappearing. Once this occurs add in any extras like the essential oil (though can also add clays, florals, herbs at this point too).

Pour the mixture in moulds and leave covered (with a tea towel or similar) for about 24 hours. Remove from the moulds if able (if not leave for another day or so). Cut if you've used a loaf mould and leave to dry on food rack for at least three weeks to completely dry and cure. Sometimes a white "powder" looks like its formed - this disappears when you use the soap and I have been known to give each soap a very gently wash with a wet cloth before giving them away as gifts to up the good looking factor.

Maybe you'll give this a go, maybe you won't. But I do hope you find and make time for those things that trigger joy for you.

Nadine xx