I'm new to soapmaking and I'm really confused. I've been doing research on making Goat's milk soap and laundry detergent. There are so many different recipes to use but there always seems to be one ingredient I can't find. I'm having problems finding lye, washing soda and Fels Naptha soap. Can you tell me where to look for these items?
What is the difference between cold and hot process soaps? What is the difference between laundry soap and laundry detergent?
Sorry for so many questions!
Sandy
An updated note regarding Washing Soda:
Washing soda is sodium carbonate.
Its use is to raise the alkalinity (pH) of was water to allow soaps to work better in removing oily dirt. Note that while raising the water's pH helps soaps work better, detergents don't work the same way and raised water pH is of no help when using detergents instead of soap products in th elaundry. Since there are NO pure soap laundry products available at grocery stores any more (not even Ivory Flakes is soap anymore), washing soda is going away, now.
If you want it and you can't find Arm & Hammer Washing Soda in your grocery stre, look for sodium carbonate at your local pool supply source! It's sold there to raise the alkalinity (pH) of pool water. In fact, it can be found under the brand name "PH UP" at most Home Depot stores in their pool supply area.
Same stuff as Arm & Hammer Wasjung soda. Really :)
Sandy~ I forgot to mention that you may be able to find Arm & Hammer Washing Soda at one of those smaller grocery stores if you can't find it at Ace or Walmart. I bought Fels Naptha & washing soda at one in my town. I've also used the old type of Colgate soap for a laundry bar.....did you know that Fels Naptha no longer has naptha as an ingredient? You can get laundry 'soap making kits' on ebay as well. Once you get the hang of making bar soap,,,,it's easy to make your laundry with all of your own ingredients. : )
As far as oils go,no,,,you do not have buy special oils for soap. You can use oils that you buy at the grocery store. If you start making large quanities of soaps or want to play with exotic butters and oils, you may profit from buying in bulk or from soapers supply stores. Summer Bee carries a 3 oil mixture (with the lye if you prefer) that's perfect for beginner soap makers.
The difference between laundry soap and detergents is,,,,soap is made with lye, detergents have no soap in them. If you've noticed on store bought 'beauty' bars,,,not many are labeled soap, but beauty bars.
Janis~ I have used silicone molds and love them. The only drawback is if you're planning on making a large amount of soap, the mold may bow from the weight. On the plus side,,,no lining molds WOOT!!
HTH
Debbie
Making hot process soaps and cold process soaps does differ 'a little'. With cold process, you pour your traced soap into a mold, after 24 to 48 hours, you unmold it, cut it and allow the soap to cure for a few weeks (or more). With hot process, you actually cook the soap before pouring it into the mold....hot process soap can be used immediately, though some people like to let it cure a little while as well. I'm impatient about using my soap,,,,,when I make hot process, my reward is to scrape the side of the soap pot and use that warm soap right away.....it makes me do the 'happy soap dance', lol.
Debbie
Sandy,
I've found Fels Naptha soap at Ace Hardware as well. But you could just make your own soap and not have to worry about it! :) I find my Arm and Hammer Washing Soda at my grocery store.
Since I am pretty new to soapmaking and I'm pretty much self-taught, I wondered if anyone else had issues with the top of the soap "cracking" in the mold?
Also, does anyone use silicone molds and how do you like them??
Thanks!
Janis
Hi Sandy :)
Your best bet is to do a search online for each. Oh duh . lol! Summer bee sells lye honey :)! The washing soda I've ggogled seems to be from arm n hammer and if you have an Ace store nearby maybe you could find it there. Most of my supplies I have to get online and there are Tons of stores!
To be less confusing maybe you could pick one thing and then learn the other . I'm pretty sure the process of all these things is different. I do mainly cold process which is adding the water to lye ( NEVER the lye to water or you could get burned bad as it can splash) waiting for it to cool and then adding that to the mixture of olis ( and I use many and varied since first learning.) Actually my first batch I did useing the basics on the Summer bee site. Where it says make your own soap. I believe it was a 3 oil and fairly easy to figure out. Once you get the hang of that you won't believe how much searching you wil do for new recipes to try out! lol! Always be careful and respect that lye! Your hand made soaps will make you feel so special :) Great gifts for friends and family and maybe some dy you might think about selling. Oh it just gets better and better. Yes you'll have ups and downs and isn't Life like that. Don't get discouraged go looking for a forum for help. These places can rock.
Take care and good luck :)
Ev
Thanks for the reply. I was planning on doing the cold process but what is the difference in hot processing? Does it change the soap or is it just a different way to the same end?
I've looked at Wally World and Target for the A&H Baking Wash and can't find it so I guess I'll have to order on line. I wanted to try this weekend. Oh well....
Can you use grocery store bought oils or are they specifically made for soap making?
I'm going to keep doing research.