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Soap Making

2/9/2012

5 Comments

 
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After being inspired at Rhonda's Pips 'n' Cherries workshop, I made my first batch of soap on the weekend.  I was a little cautious and made sure I had everything ready to go.  I locked the cat away so that she wouldn't accidentally get too curious and check out what was happening. I set everything up on the verandah and decked myself out in all the safety gear.  I was really pleasantly surprised with how smoothly it all went.  There was a little bit of time waiting for the caustic soda mix to cool down but that wasn't a problem, just required a little patience.  It didn't take long for it to mix to get to trace which is the sign that you look for which tells you the soap has become stable and is ready to be poured into the mould.  That sounds complicated but really it just reaches a thick consistency and ripples form on the surface and stay there. After leaving them overnight they came out of the moulds beautifully and are now drying on a rack.  It is going to be hard waiting for them to harden before we can start to use it.  How exciting - my first batch of soap.  I will definitely be doing it again as it was so easy. 

Here is a link to Rhonda's instructions for making soap - How to make cold processed soap.

I great tip from Margaret - if you are looking for a candy thermometer you can get them from "King of Knives" at Grand Central for $7.95.

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5 Comments
Michele
1/9/2012 08:33:17 pm

Congratulations Margy. It is easy isn't it? The soap looks great. The worse part is waiting for it to dry out.

Reply
Margaret
8/9/2012 07:32:57 am

Well done, it is a lot easier than you expect.
I did the whole thing in the kitchen, with the windows fully open..... I also locked the cat outside.
I bought a Lemon Myrtle plant the following day, so the next batch will have the dried, powdered leaves added to give it a lovely scent.

Reply
Marco
7/8/2014 12:29:34 pm

Hey just wondering where u got the caustic soda from:)

Reply
Nanna Chel link
7/8/2014 01:59:32 pm

Marco, you can get the caustic soda from the Coles or Woolworths and the hardware stores probably have it as well. I did pick some up at BMS a while back but the supermarkets always have it.

Reply
Ann-Marie
30/8/2015 02:18:01 pm

hi marco you can get the caustic soda from bunnings 2kg for under $15 or from online a 5kg lot from www.escentialsofaustralia.com at a much better price

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    Hi, my name is Racheal and I write the blog for Simple Living Toowoomba. Thanks for joining us on this journey to living a simpler life and encouraging others to do the same.

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