The Christmas Challenge. Soap making part 1.

I basically had a fortnight making different kinds of soap. Firstly I made Wool Wash and this gave me a big supply for my laundry as well as gifts. I love this!

The recipe was on this  Feather your Nest Friday post. I packaged the gift giving ones nicely so they looked suitable for my gift cupboard.

Next I made laundry liquid. When we had show and tell Rachel had posted this picture and how she had made this liquid...

I loved the sound of this and also this photo! So I asked Rachel for the recipe which follows (thank you very much Rachel!) :

The recipe I use comes from "Molly Dye's Homemade Lotions & Potions", purchased from a newsagent, & printed by Griffin Paperbacks, Adelaide (published by Nationwide News, Canberra). Its name here is "Washing Machine Liquid" (page 64).

I will write the original version, with my own variation in brackets for you, as follows:

"You will need 3 x 9-litre buckets (I use a plastic 30 plus litre laundry tub that can hold boiling water) and a number of clean bottles with corks or caps to store your detergent.

                       125g pure soap (I use a 100g cake of IGA basic white soap, less fragrance than                                 Coles, & I prefer white soap for laundry)

                        1 cup washing soda (I use a little under a cup of Lectric Washing Soda - the non hydrated kind)

Grate soap, put in an old saucepan, cover with 1.5 litres (6 cups) water and bring to the boil. Break up any lumps with a potato masher (Once hot, a quick whisk works fine). In a bucket (or boiling water-resistant tub), dissolve 1 cup of washing soda in 1 litre of boiling water. Stir, add soap solution, stir (or whisk!) until well mixed. Divide this solution into 3 buckets (or tub); then slowly add cold water to fill the buckets, stirring with a wooden spoon (or whisk) to keep the mixture smooth. Bottle in plastic containers with caps and label (Leave plenty of room for shaking the liquid, particularly for cooler weather; a funnel helps!). Use 2 to 3 cups per load of washing (I use this flexibly, & even use it for soaking work clothes. It works well for us.)

I set about making this. As I had Lux flakes already I used those in place of grating the soap.
I also tried making it two ways, as a solid like the wool mix is and as a liquid. If you do not have room for so much liquid reduce it down and don't use the buckets of water. Then its a solid that sets in a jar. I would use a small scoop and dissolve it in hot water then put in your wash. However blending it to smooth could be an issue so maybe the liquid is easier to manage overall. But I had to try both! I also added Eucalyptus Oil as I did in the Wool Wash. If you like no scent leave it out, if you like a scent this is good.

I ended up with a gel and a liquid. I think I have a years supply and I also packaged up some as gifts. I am thinking laundry themed gift baskets and of painting pegs pale pink and pale blue to add into this!

I also tried three methods of making hard soap. They included melt and pour glycerine soap which I tinted pink.

Then cold pressed soap which is the caustic soda and oils method. (These are the speckle ones!)

 And then a rematched soap made of lux flakes and milk. In Australia Lux Flakes are in supermarkets but overseas this won't be so easy... Lux flakes are pure soap flakes and they are fine like little flakes. They are white. Hopefully something like that is available and also that it would work the same.

Counting in results, method, cost etc of the methods I tried I liked the Lux flakes soap the best. I will make a pink batch next! Firstly it was very easy. Secondly there was no weighing or fumes or anything. And thirdly the result was so good.

I must mention that I doubled the recipe. This got me 14 soaps.
This is going to be a personal preference. Overall I would say try some different methods and enjoy it as when you try one you will want to try others!
The main thing is if you have ever wanted to try soap making do it! It is so much fun and you end up with soaps for gifts and for home. Soon I will do a post on packaging but I am waiting for my soap to harden more first.

The Lux recipe is here on Cath's Blog Simple Soap. I followed this and used Goats Milk milk powder. I melted it very gradually and on low temperature. When it was a liquid I used my stick blender to get it perfectly smooth. Also I would suggest using a spatular/cake mix scraper to get it all into the smooth mix and be patient with this. Perfectly smooth is what you want.

At first it looked like this....

Later it looked like this...

If you had too high a heat it would catch on the bottom. So slow and steady!

With all the soaps I think having moulds you love is a key thing. I have found Ebay to be a source of really cheap moulds as in $1 to $4 price range. Also cake moulds in the cheap shops. I was given some as lovely gifts and now I am adding some to my collection including hand soap sized...

The main thing is you use non metal moulds. You can use a milk carton then slice them into bars, many things make good moulds. Actually you start looking at everything as potential soap moulds!

This has been so much fun and given my present supply a big boost! Also soaps go well with the wash cloths I crochet and I could do a soap themed gift basket with Wool Mix, Laundry Liquid, soap and wash cloths!

Next week I will cover the Glycerine Soap and the Cold Pressed Soaps.

The big thing I notice is that by making gifts all year by December you have the hugest variety. Making soap now also means it will be really hard by Christmas. It feels hard now but the longer they are kept the harder they get and the longer they will last in use.

I hope your week is going well! This afternoon I am making the Lux soap in pink... then doing some painting! xxx