Soap Course Module 1

My first soap was made of olive oil (for its moisturising properties), coconut oil (for lots of big bubbles) and palm oil (for a hard, cleansing bar) and simply fragranced with lavender essential oils. Here are some pictures showing how it was made:

Solid oils melting on the hob

After the lye (sodium hydroxide and water) has been added it looks like custard. It is then put into the mould ...

... and then wrapped in towels to keep it nice and warm overnight. The lye  is reacting with the oils and butters  creating fatty acids and glycerol.

By the next day, most of the lye has reacted and the soap is cool again.  It is now solid (similar  to cheddar  cheese)  and can be cut into bars.

After curing for 4 weeks the last of the lye will have reacted and  a large amount of the water will have evaporated. 

I was really surprised how good this soap is. We normally use a well-known brand of antibacterial liquid soap in our house and I suffer from really badly dry cracked hands due to the number of times I wash them looking after my little boy. Even with just these three basic oils my hands felt soft and moisturised after I washing and I was amazed with the bubbles. I am hooked :)