From recycler@eclipse.net Sun Mar 12 12:49:23 2000 Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 21:15:07 -0500 From: Dave Miller To: sanet Subject: Soapmaking To Friends I Know - mostly by e-mail :] Enough of you have asked me offline about my soapmaking and what ingredients I use. I have decide to compile any previous e-mails and bookmarks so that others can enjoy FULLY VEGETABLE BASED SOAP!!! First off, my list of ingredients (depends upon the recipe): olive oil coconut oil vegetable oil castor oil almond oil wheatgerm oil coconut butter vegetable shortening vitamin E vegetable glycerin (non-animal type) aloe vera lemon juice tea tree oil and essential oils of all kinds oatmeal almond or other nut meal cinnamon, clove, ginger and other spices turmeric and other ingredients for natural color Other oils can include: hemp seed oil nut oils grape seed oil palm oil most all other plant oils other ingredients can also include: fine sand or pumice fine crushed nut shells corn meal wheat bran loofa French clay powdered kelp or other seaweed lavender, calendula and other dried flowers sage, rosemary and other spices cucumber, carrot, avocado, lettuce and others lemon, strawberry, apricot, kiwi and other fruits fruit rind shea butter coffee honey or milk (not vegan) The other 2 critical ingredients used are water and lye. I choose sodium hydroxide lye since it is more convenient (sold by my local hardware store). I am saving enough wood ashes to make potassium hydroxide lye for a batch! This summer I hope to save rainwater but my well water may have to do (let's see, acid rain vs hardwater)! The 2 books I recommend and use are: The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney 1996 Sterling/Lark Sterling Publishing, NY ISBN 0-8069-4868-X 128 page hardcover loaded with excellent photos and descriptions The photos give a great demonstration on technique and materials needed (you will need a scale, thermometers, large non-aluminum pots, etc.) and the finished soaps she makes are truly displayed and captured in an artistic manner. The author fully explains methods, including hand-milling, troubleshooting techniques, use of molds and how to package, plus recipes, much more. Vegan warning: not for the squeamish, if you don't want to see animal fats, avoid pages 16 & 17! The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch 1995 Storey Publishing/Storey Communications, Pownal, Vermont ISBN 0-88266-888-9 182 page paperback loaded with vegetable based options and a great explanation why you should avoiding toxins and store brand soaps in the first place. The author's methods are a bit more advanced yet she easily explains the science of soap in simple detail! Preference for single stage (non-milled) soaps; great conversion info to allow you to customize your own ingredients (oils, lye, etc), troubleshooting section, supply sources, mini-soapmaking stories interspersed. Great compendium. Occasional references to tallow, goat milk, etc. ==================== What I do: I use organic when affordable (this can triple a price of an individual ingredient) and I am looking toward bulk buying of ingredients in general. I have been approached as to teaching classes and I may do so soon. In short, I make small batches as great gifts NOW though friends always want more. $130 makes ~50 bars (my cost labor excluded) with the following essential oils: CITRUS: lemongrass, lemon and lavender (I can add dried lemonbalm leaf) AWAKE: peppermint mostly with spearmint and other mints HEALING: eucalyptus, tea tree, camphor WINTER: cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, sweet orange, some lemon ZEST: mostly fennel and sweet orange and ??? Dave green remodeler, hand drummer, organic farmer, veggie soapmaker To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". All messages to sanet-mg are archived at: http://www.sare.org/san/htdocs/hypermail