Adventures in Soap-Making

Back in October I decided that I would finally, after several years of deliberation, attempt to make soap. Real soap - with lye and oil and everything.

This was a big deal, considering I would consistently freeze up in high school chemistry lab because I was absolutely certain I would blow the entire building up with a misstep.

The thought of using lye frightened me. Prior to starting my experiment I gave a little speech to the girls informing them to call 911 if something exploded or if I started yelling. Then I put on my heavy duty vinyl gloves and Steampunk goggles. I take eye protection very seriously.

I tried two different crock pot soap recipes and managed to survive both. I had a serious case of tendinitis in my shoulder after the first batch, due to all the stirring. TMOTH was available to help me with the second batch, so that was much better.


The white soap is an olive oil based soap. The yellow-tinged soap is an oatmeal-honey mixture.

The olive oil soap was pretty much cured within a month and ready to use. It's very similar to Ivory soap and lathers well. Because it is a Castile soap it can be used in making laundry soap. The oatmeal-honey soap was very, very soft at molding and still needs another month or so to completely cure.

In the end, I survived without too much harm and made enough soap to get our household through a year's worth of showers, baths, and hand washings. And all of the supplies were much cheaper than buying bar after bar of eco-friendly soaps at the store.

There might, however, be a lye burn mark or two on the kitchen counter top.

I think it adds character.

--Rational Mama