My First Attempt at Soapmaking

Over the course of the past year, I have developed a Pintrest addiction. Maybe some of you understand what I am talking about. There are just SO MANY great ideas for DIY projects and the like! I have tried many. some have failed (e.g. cutting wine bottles for use as drinking glasses), while others worked fabulously (e.g. the self-watering pot made from an empty 2 liter soda bottle). Well, my recent Pintrest-fueled obsession has been soap-making. There are so many recipes. And they look so pretty! I have been DYING to try it. After 5 months of talking about, thinking about it, and obtaining the items I would need to actual pull it off, I made my very first batch this past weekend. 

I looked at several lye calculators before I found the one I wanted to use and plugged in the types of oil I had purchased: Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Shea Butter, and Sunflower Oil (except for the Shea Butter which I bought on Amazon.com, I purchased all oils at Wal-Mart). 

I read that more than 35% coconut oil can be drying; and too much olive oil makes a soft bar, so I tried to use both to even one another out. Then I added the shea butter for conditioning and some sunflower oil 'cause I had it.  I decided to start small and only use 16 oz. of oil total. You can see what my recipe looked like when I plugged it in:

 And here is what it looked like once I clicked on the view/print recipe:

This was what I used to know exactly what to measure out for each oil, and then how much water and lye I would need.

***Just a note on buying lye. I didn't want to pay the hazmat shipping fee, but Lowes, Home Depot, etc. in this area have stopped carrying 100% lye because of its darker uses (thank you, Breaking Bad, for teaching us such things). If you live in NoVA, the only store I found that still sells it is the Ace Hardware in Centerville. For those outside VA, I have been told Ace and True Value hardware stores are usually your best bet.

I measured each oil, beginning with the shea butter (that was the only one that needed to melt) and poured them into a pot on the stove, which I kept on "low" until the shea butter was completely dissolved (the oil heated to approx 120 degrees on the candy thermometer).

I made several mistakes in this first batch, which I will not try to hide from you. Mistake #1 was in adding the water to the lye, instead of the other way around (despite reading the cautions multiple time over). My only saving grace was that I made a small batch and used a large bowl, so despite the sizzling and smoking, the water/lye mixture didn't come anywhere near overflowing. I placed the sizzling bowl in a cold water bath (in the kitchen sink), and stirred the mixture until all the lye was dissolved.

Mistake #2 was not getting the temperature of the lye water before adding the oil. I didn't have any major problems with it, but it did take a LONG time to get to trace and I didn't know if it was because the lye water was too cold or if it was just because I had used so much olive oil in the recipe.

On the issue of tracing... after using the electric beater for 20 minutes, I began to think something was wrong. I let the blended oils/water/lye mixture sit for about 5 minutes while I read soap-making FAQs online concerning my trace issue. One recommendation was to add honey. I added approx 1 Tbs. honey, along with the essential oil (for scent) and beat it for another 10 minutes. It was still thinner than I would have liked (only because I was using a wax-paper-lined cardboard box as my mold), but I went with it anyway.

I wrapped the box in a towel and left it on the kitchen counter. 24 hours later, it was in the perfect state of hardness for cutting!

I cut the block into 6 equal rectangles and put them down in the basement to cure for the next 4-6 weeks. I will let you know how well they work (or don't work) in about a month. In the meantime, I am planning my next soap recipe... I'm thinking oatmeal honey chamomile... 

Restless

If I had to choose one word to describe myself, that would be it. I have always been restless. As a child I was always looking for adventure. In my early teen years I took to redecorating my room... every 6 months. As an adult, I've never stayed in any given career path for more than four years. I'm not sure what it is I am looking for exactly... meaning, significance, job satisfaction... all... and... none of those things.

The pastor was speaking yesterday of how the world looks for rest in all the wrong places because we can only truly find our rest in Christ. I agree with him, but even as Christians, it is still possible to feel that sense of restlessness. I really appreciate Switchfoot's song, fittingly titled "Restless." Here is the first verse:

I am the sea on a moonless night
Calling falling, slipping tides
I am the leaky, dripping pipes
The endless, aching drops of light
I am the raindrop falling down
Always longing for the deeper ground
I am the broken, breaking seas
Even my blood finds ways to bleed

I remember the first time I heard this song. It came on the radio on my way in to work. That last line, "even my blood finds ways to bleed" stuck with me for the rest of the day (I went home and bought the whole album that night). I felt like I could relate. Not only was I restless, but I was weary of my restlessness. I wanted to stop wanting to wander. Two years later, I can say that some of that has settled down a bit (I can thank my very stable husband for that), but there is still a sense in which I am still very much restless. Once again, I go back to the lyrics of that song for answers...

Until the sea of glass we meet
At last completed and complete
Where tide and tears and pain subside
And laughter drinks them dry

And there it is. Even as Christians, we will remain restless on this side of glory. We were made in His image, to spend eternity with Him, and until we can united with Him forever, restlessness tugs on our hearts, giving us that desire to go home.