Do You Make Soap?

Hi J.-

For almost a year now I have been making laundry detergent...I had just gotten SO frustrated over the price of laundry detergent. It is cost effective...easy to make...and I can 'scent' it as I like (lavender is my favorite).

Basically it requires fels naptha bar soap (grated)...washing powder...and borax. I make enough to fill a five gallon bucket...and 'scoop' out (using a funnel) into re cycled laundry detergent bottles.

I have toyed with making bar soap...but have not yet...anxious to read replies!!

Good luck!
michele/cat

I also only make my own laundry soap, same ingredients, and it is SUCH a savings and really takes very little time. My husband has somewhat sensitive skin and my youngest has eczema and I love the homemade detergent (just a suggestion if you're buying commercial products still).

I have a friend(known her since 1st grade) that is a soap maker. She learned from her mom..She has even written a book.
Here is her website. She loves helping new soap makers..

www.TheCountrySoaper.com

i do sell natural products based on aloe, it works really good for eczema. check my website www.pureandnatural.lbri.com, if you have any questions email me at ____@____.com

I make soap, but not commercially.

I only do the glycerine soap type. Which I saw on a craft show.
I do not actually "make" the soap from scratch just like Grandma did, nor with any lye.

I buy, from craft stores, 'clear' glyerine soap blocks.
Then all I do is chip of some chunks.
In a Pyrex container, melt it in the microwave. Only a FEW seconds at a time, otherwise the soap will start to bubble/boil if too hot.
Then, pour it into molds. Soap molds.
Then, let it cool and harden.
Then pop it out of the mold.
Then you have soap.

Your can also add to it: food coloring, essential oils/fragrance, or whatever else.

It is very, easy.
I have been doing this with my kids since they were 2 years old.

all the best,
Susan

I highly recommend the book "Clean House, Clean Planet" - she gives recipes, explanations of why things work, sells them pre-made (or just the bottles), has great tips for kits to keep in your car and gives every recipe a rating so you know how well they work and if they are worth the time/effort. Great info, great gift.

For lotion, we first buy ones without petroleum/petrolatum, mineral oil, parrafins. Then we add coconut oil to every application. Coconut oil has cured eczema, baby acne, sun poisoning and fungal infections in our families. Its also a great ingredient for laundry detergent.

We made our own laundry detergent for years, but it wasn't doing a good enough job on my husband's work clothes (or with our son's stuff when he was projectiling 10x/day). We took the advice from the GHGP book and started using a great liquid detergent (EOS), cutting the amount by 2/3 (we use 1/3 the recommended amount) and adding baking soda. Huge improvement, no laundry issues, no skin irritation issues, no fragrance issues, just clean/soft clothes and tons of savings. We also use dryer balls.

Good luck!

I have made one batch of soap when my oldest was about 10 months old. I decided that it was a dangerous occupation with a baby underfoot since it requires hot oil and lye to make. Either can cause severe burns. Lye would cause a chemical burn. I decided to wait until my children were older before trying again.

I was able to check books on soap making from my local public library. You can also find recipes for soap online.

As far as expense goes in would depend on what extra ingredients you add such as: almond oil, aloe, vitamin E oil, glycerine, herbs and essential oils

Check out brambleberry.com. They have supplies as well as tutorials and kits. I used to make my own stuff and this by far was my most favorite site for all of that. It certainly can be less expensive depending on the technique that you use and a lot of fun too. Just don't buy those kits from craft stores like Jo Ann's. It's not worth it and all the scents & colorants in them are synthetic which certainly is not good for eczema, etc. The only stuff I only ever bought from them was the clear glycerin blocks when I chose to do melt & pour but you can get supplies for that from Bramble Berry's too. Oh, and something you could look into making are lotion bars. They're so lovely to have around and my grandmother swore by hers for her eczema. Especially if there was mango butter in it; that was her favorite. You've made me want to start making this stuff again! I really miss it. Have fun!