My Abundant Life: Soap Making

For a few years now I've been wanting to make soap but was too frightened. I think I was frightened of the safety aspect and the unknown.

Soap making was one of my goals for this year so I thought it was time to take the plunge. I came across a very simple and cheap recipe from a blog I follow called House of Simple. Phil is the blog writer and he promised it would be easy. So one Saturday I followed the instructions ( to the letter ) and the soap turned out beautifully.

Here are the instructions from House of Simple ( used with permission )

Blended Vegetable Oil Soap
Safety Note: Wear eye protection, mask and gloves, keep kids and pets away, perform in close proximity to running water in case of spills, keep a window open for ventilation.

INGREDIENTS

1.25 litres of cheap blended vegetable oil (no name is perfect)
173 grams of caustic soda
450 mils of water

METHOD(please follow method exactly in this order)

1. Place water into a very large plastic mixing bowl
2. Pour caustic soda very slowly into water whilst stirring continually with a wooden or plastic spoon until dissolved
3. Add in vegetable oil slowly, stirring all the while with a wooden or plastic spoon
4. Mix with stick blender till a firm trace has occurred - must look like thick custard.
5. Place into large plastic flat-bottomed container - cover with an old towel.
6. Leave totally undisturbed for 24 hours7. Remove from plastic container (twist the container slightly - turn upside down to pop out).8. Cut into bars with the sharpest knife you have

9. Put bars away on a wire rack in a cool airy place to cure for 6 weeks

This recipe will make about 12 bars of simple, frugal and lovely-to-use soap. This recipe is a great one to start with if you have not made soap before as there is no oil blending required, no thermometers required, no special molds or perfumes required either. The ingredients are not expensive which is important for a first time soap maker and vegetable oil is very forgiving

Wendy's notes -

* I used silicon baking moulds as well as small oblong cake tins. Silicon baking moulds can be found really cheap at op shops.

* If using metal cake tins, line them with cling wrap first for easy removal of the soap when it sets.

* If the soap hasn't set enough within 24 hours, leave it for another 24 hours then you should be able to remove it from the moulds.

* If you have an Aldi near you, they have the cheapest blended vegetable oil at under $8 for 4 litres.

* I bought the Caustic Soda from Bunnings. I think it was in the paint section. Make sure the container has the words " for soap making " on it.

* Make sure you have all your moulds close by and ready to use straight after the mixture reaches trace.

* These soaps will make wonderful presents when added to a fancy face washer or hand towel.

* I did not put a coloring or fragrance in the soap as I have skin allergies.