# homemade soap anyone?



## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Found this video, looks kool. I have zero, repeat zero experience, but the measurements extremes seem like overkill, becouse how the heck did "fannie farmer" weight the ingredients back in the day? I am not knocking the video.


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Oh we had measuring cups....it is important because if it's lye soap that measurement matters or ooo. With other soaps, like glycerin soaps, too much of one thing and your set will be off. Too little and it won't come out.
Funny as it may sound, measures matter in setting up a lil soap.

But...after you have done a bunch, you get a feel for it and a thumb and then you get why the ratios so you can conceive ratios and the chemistry of it makes sense to you.

But too much lye...a hot batch will burn yo ass and mamaw ain't wasting perfectly good soap because you want hand lotion in it! Ahahaha!

(I just paid attention enough to note you're at farmington....suhlute!  )

"...livin' out our days in the va-a-lee of the Sun."


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Lye soap will be one of the ways we have to go. If SHTF we will not have any fancy stuff to mix up after awhile


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

Tried it....fact is until SHTF the stuff is plenty cheap enough to buy and avoid the hassle. Plus I'll admit theirs is better than mine...even the dollar store stuff is better than mine.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...xS6CFkk0tHYEXQ05Qcb_93Q&bvm=bv.63316862,d.cGU

This is our family soap making business! Don't worry I'm trying to be the sales guy, but check it out if your interested! if not, go tell ten people the product sucks and your still spreading the name...ha


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

When I got a wild hair up my a$$ about making soap, I quickly realized the danger of "playing" with lye. I also quickly realized I could buy a whole bunch of soap and stockpile it compared to making my own. Don't misunderstand, I have grazed the knowledge base and know that at some point, I may have to make my own. Not sure but I think that will be about 12 years after SHTF. But having the knowledge is indeed helpful to say the least.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

paraquack said:


> When I got a wild hair up my a$$ about making soap, I quickly realized the danger of "playing" with lye. I also quickly realized I could buy a whole bunch of soap and stockpile it compared to making my own. Don't misunderstand, I have grazed the knowledge base and know that at some point, I may have to make my own. Not sure but I think that will be about 12 years after SHTF. But having the knowledge is indeed helpful to say the least.


I am in a similar boat. It is something that I really DO want to try. We have several books on the subject and I have even looked around at garage sales for some of the accouterments that we will need to do it. But I just cannot get past the fact that if I mix it wrong, I will essentially be rubbing alkali all over my parts in the shower and that might not work out so well...

Maybe that (and drilling my now illegal polymer 80% lower) will be my goals for when it gets above 50 degree this spring. (If it ever gets above 50 degrees this spring...)


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## radmers (Feb 17, 2014)

I'm waiting for a book I ordered on how to make soap from goat milk. I figure we should be able to keep some goats when SHTF can't wait for the book!


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Inor brings home all the soaps, shampoo and conditioner from the hotels where he stays. We have enough bins of the stuff to last a couple of years. Figure it will be great as a barter item. If the shtf we will not have to worry about making the stuff and will be able to concentrate on other stuff like security.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

if you want to make a good deodorizing soap, you can make a soap with charcoal dust, works wonders for those times when your dirt baggin it, also cleans out the pores well!


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## oddapple (Dec 9, 2013)

Smitty901 said:


> Lye soap will be one of the ways we have to go. If SHTF we will not have any fancy stuff to mix up after awhile


Most of it can be byproduct from fuel making and essential oils from plants....not as hard as ya might think to have some "fancy" stuff, what we really pay for is convenience. Plus, plenty of the fancy stuff is antimicrobial, which will matter. 
If I were buying soap now? Lava, dove & dial, so to speak - a grease cutter, an emollient and something antimicrobial.

<<<if you want to make a good deodorizing soap, you can make a soap with charcoal dust, works wonders for those times when your dirt
baggin it, also cleans out the pores well!>>>

Never thought about that. Interesting.


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## Titan6 (May 19, 2013)

Good Info thanks for the posting!!


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Deebo said:


> Found this video, looks kool. I have zero, repeat zero experience, but the measurements extremes seem like overkill, becouse how the heck did "fannie farmer" weight the ingredients back in the day? I am not knocking the video.


I had several prepper new years resolutions and one was to make some soap, so far this is the only one I haven't done,

I have the lye, I have the recipies, it is only a matter of time before I make some soap.

I have been distracted by my other resolutions like roasting green coffee beans (accomplished), Losing 5 pounds (almost accomplished)

For opsec reasons I will not go into detail but soap is my next best bet


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Yeah, I have all the ingredients to make 5 gal I just need to get off my butt and do it.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

We just made up a batch using Deebo's video as a guide. Although we substituted canola oil for the coconut oil. (Neither of us is particularly keen on the smell of coconuts.) Here are just a few things I noticed from doing it:

1 - Make sure your drill battery is charged BEFORE you start.

2 - A paint mixer for the drill works great.

3 - The lye seems to take about a half hour to cool down to 100 degrees from about 156 degrees.

4 - The clean up is easier than a lot of our other prepper projects.

5 - The soap does seem to foam up (sort of), but it does feel greasy.

6 - Under no circumstance should you even suggest using one of Mrs Inor's cheese curd knives for cutting the bars.

7 - Mrs Inor had the brilliant idea of pouring in some liquid vitamin E.

We just poured it into the molds about an hour ago, so we'll see if it works tomorrow.


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## waretrop (Apr 7, 2014)

Well, he didn't post the amounts at the end and he didn't tell us how much coconut oil and melted Crisco. I got the other ingredients. I wanna follow his directions exactly. Does anyone know what these amounts are?


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Not hard to do. 

You need to save fat and render it so it will not go rancid. A good time to stock up is when butchering an animal from the farm or the hunt. Can also save fat from cooking bacon and such.

You also need lye that you can make with hardwood ashes. I save mine for the garden anyway. You steep the ashes with rainwater (avoid hard water) through the ashes to extract the potassium hydroxide.


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## waretrop (Apr 7, 2014)

I meant the guy on the video's recipe. He didn't say how much coconut oil and melted Crisco to use.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

waretrop said:


> Well, he didn't post the amounts at the end and he didn't tell us how much coconut oil and melted Crisco. I got the other ingredients. I wanna follow his directions exactly. Does anyone know what these amounts are?


Exactly 2.3 oz of lye

7 oz water

8 oz Crisco

4 oz of olive oil

4 oz of coconut oil (we used canola oil)

All measurements are by weight.


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## waretrop (Apr 7, 2014)

thank you SOO VERRYY much Inor....I will try this next week.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

waretrop said:


> thank you SOO VERRYY much Inor....I will try this next week.


We'll post back the results tomorrow. It may end up being something where it is just like rubbing Crisco all over ourselves. Although that is okay in some circumstances, it does not really solve the problem we set out to solve.  More later...


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

The soap has been sitting for almost 24 hours and it is still not firming up like it should, although it is better than yesterday. Maybe we did it wrong? We will leave it another day and see what happens, but this may be a failed experiment.

From reading, after the fact, it seems that coconut oil is the best vegetable oil to make soap from.


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## waretrop (Apr 7, 2014)

Where did you get that info about the amount of coconut oil and melted Crisco?


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

From Deebo's video.

Then we cross-referenced that with "Dare to Prepare" and the "Encyclopedia of Country Living". Actually, the "Dare to Prepare" book has an excellent table that allows you to calculate the amount of lye for many different kinds of fat. If you do not already own them, I highly recommend both books.

Dare To Prepare 5th Edition 2013: Holly Drennan Deyo, Emergency and Disaster Preparation Encyclopedia: 9780985294526: Amazon.com: Books

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: Carla Emery: 9781570618406: Amazon.com: Books


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

I know I'm new with very few posts but I have made a lot of lye soap over the last few years and I haven't had a chance to watch the video but it sounds simlar to the recipe that I use. I was told when I first started it was important to let the soap set or 30 days before use. Taking it out of the mold after about 2 days then covering it with a light weight towel to keep dust off and let air in. It had something to do with the lye and also helped firm up the bar.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks Broncosfan. I think that it is starting to firm up. It's only been twenty four hours. I'll see how it looks tomorrow.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...xS6CFkk0tHYEXQ05Qcb_93Q&bvm=bv.63316862,d.cGU

Feel free to ask questions on the website above. if there is anything that has gone wrong making soap, they have been through it, and have solutions!


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

The soaps hardened up a bunch overnight. So today Mrs Inor took them out of the molds, cut them into pieces and they are now sitting pie plates drying out in our library. My initial concerns aside, I think this is going to be a successful experiment after all. WOO HOO!!!


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## waretrop (Apr 7, 2014)

Very good. I will be looking forward to doing it next week. Until then I will use Dove.......LOL


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