History of My Soap Making

    I started making soap around 23 years ago. The idea of soap making entered my mind while teaching school to my daughters. I thought it would be a cool idea to take some soap scraps and let them dissolve in water and then shape them and dehydrate them again and give them away as presents. Pretty tacky idea though, and it didn't work.
   I got a book that had some primitive ideas on soap making, and I thought I would try to make a recipe for a basic bar of soap. The measurements weren't clear and when I made my first batch and I ended up making a batch of lye heavy soap that my toddler put on her lips. Ouch! I learned to be more careful after that!
   After making a couple of batches, and trying to find molds for soap (which was almost impossible), I didn't make too much more, at least for a while. But after the internet came out, I found a soap making emailing list and joined it. I was back to soap making once again, and now I had a place to go with my questions.
   I made soap for a while, but, I was too busy to keep up with trying to sell it, so I only made it on occasion. Soap molds at this point, were still hard to find. I was using candle molds, but the soap was either way too large, or too small. Cute shapes though, but not near the right sizes.
  As time went on, soap molds began to be made by soap making companies that weren't available prior to the internet. I made soap, but only to give away during Christmas caroling or for presents.
  A friend on Facebook saw a picture of the soap that I posted and was interested in the possibility of making goat's milk-oatmeal soap to help support her ministry. I knew there were a lot of people who had made goat's milk-oatmeal soap, but I had never made this myself. I gave it a try, and it turned out nice. I was impressed and decided to start making soap again.
  My soap making skills have improved over time, and now there are a lot more options we didn't have available before. I have several new molds and also make some rectangular, round, and oval soaps as well. As time goes on, I will experiment with different soap products. I want to make a shampoo bar, and other types of facial soap bars. Perhaps I will make something for the furred friends in our families too.

Selling Soap to Support Ministries

    In the past couple of years, I have had people ask me if they could donate money for giving them tracts or Bibles. Of course, I want people to know that I am giving my items away, at no cost to them. Some people are insistent though, so I came up with an idea. Instead of taking donations for the items, (tracts, Bibles, imprinted toys), I will give them they option to buy soap instead. So, if anyone is interested in donating money toward my ministry, here is one way you can do it. And you will receive the benefits as well.
   Soaps that are available are; Goat's milk-oatmeal, Fancy soaps, Volcano Soap, Glycerin soaps and (contains toys inside). The fancy soap also comes in a variety of shapes, colors, and scents. Everything is made with pure ingredients that are safe for skin. Also, a portion of the income for the goat's milk-oatmeal soaps goes to Sanctuary Ministries, which is a ministry that supports women who are pregnant who have chosen to not go through with an abortion, but have chosen to go through with the pregnancy. Most of these women do not have the finances necessary to go through a pregnancy and childbirth, and there is great need for support for them, during the pregnancy and after the child is born.

Wide Variety of Soaps and New Additions

 There are some varieties of soaps that I make and here is a pic with some samples of different shapes. These soaps are goat's milk-oatmeal soaps, but in different shapes. Most people choose the rectangle shape, rough cut and they do come in rectangle (some are rough cut and I also have smooth), and there are flowery ones as well. All have the same scent of oatmeal, milk and honey, but there is a variety of shapes.

   There are also regular, plain soaps (soaps that are not goat's milk-oatmeal) that are made the same way as the goat's milk-oatmeal, but they come in different shapes and have different scents. I call these soaps 'fancy soaps' and they also come in a variety of colors. Some are also in a round shape, as well as oval and rectangle.

   Another variety of the 'fancy' soaps are the Volcano soaps which are kind of an orangy-coral color, with a cedar-orange scent. They contain pumice and are similar to the soap called, 'Lava' which you can find in the stores.

  Last of all, there are the glycerine soaps, which come in an egg shape with a rubber toy inside of the soap. There also are little sheep soaps that are made with glycerine and are different colors as well.

  Here are some of the most recent soaps that were made.

Soap Ingredients

I thought I would list the ingredients that are used to make homemade soaps, so I will list them below.

Fancy Soaps: Sodium Hydroxide, rainwater, oils (palm, coconut, olive, peanut, tallow, lard), glycerine, castor oil, fragrance, coloring.

Goat's Milk Oatmeal Soaps: same as above, but no coloring. Also, goat's milk and oatmeal are added.

Volcano Soaps: Sodium Hydroxide, rainwater, oils (palm, coconut, olive, peanut, tallow, lard), pumice, glycerine, castor oil, fragrance, coloring.

Tip of the Day

Here is the tip of the day. It is based upon my latest experience.

  If you even get lye on your skin (in case you didn't know, lye is extremely caustic), take some vinegar and apply it to where the lye has had contact with the skin. I have heard this is supposed to work, and I hope it is true, for today, right after mixing the lye with the rainwater, I put my hand in a bowl of popcorn and proceeded to eat the popcorn. Unbeknown to me, there was lye right on my fingertips. Now the lye had not affected my fingertips and I am not sure why that happened, but, once I bit into the popcorn, 'ouch', my tongue was burning! When I realized what had happened, I ran out to the garage for the vinegar and took a swig of it. It is no longer burning, but I feel a little bump there on my tongue. I will definitely be more careful next time! A lesson learned well today.

The Wide Variety of Soaps

  There are some varieties of soaps that I make and here is a pic with some samples of different shapes. These soaps are goat's milk-oatmeal soaps, but in different shapes. Most people choose the rectangle shape, rough cut and they do come in rectangle (some are rough cut and I also have smooth), and there are flowery ones as well. All have the same scent of oatmeal, milk and honey, but there is a variety of shapes.
   There are also regular, plain soaps (soaps that are not goat's milk-oatmeal) that are made the same way as the goat's milk-oatmeal, but they come in different shapes and have different scents. I call these soaps 'fancy soaps' and they also come in a variety of colors. Some are also in a round shape, as well as oval and rectangle.
   Another variety of the 'fancy' soaps are the Volcano soaps which are kind of an orangy-coral color, with a cedar-orange scent. They contain pumice and are similar to the soap called, 'Lava' which you can find in the stores.
  Last of all, there are the glycerine soaps, which come in an egg shape with a rubber toy inside of the soap. There also are little sheep soaps that are made with glycerine and are different colors as well.

New additions to Our Soap Family

A new addition to the soap family; dinosaur soaps. Reptile and dinosaur soaps are made from a glycerine soap base. Plus, you can see inside of them!