Anyone make olive oil soap?

[frugal-one]

Found this recipe and wondered if anyone has actually made olive oil soap? It does not look too hard and the bars at the store are about $4 per bar. Does this look like a good recipe?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Soap-at-Home-A-Simple-Olive-Oil-Lye-Soap-No-F/

Thanks!

[awakenedsoul]

Hmmm...nice. I love it. I've always wanted to make soap. I have all of the ingredients, but I still need to buy scales, goggles, gloves, and molds.

[shadowmoss]

I made lye-based soap once, still have a large block of it that has moved around with me. Pretty easy, if exacting. I had thought that lye is a bit more difficult to find now. I used drain cleaner at the time which was easily bought at any store.

[Rogar]

I used to make a lot of cold process soap including olive oil. For a while I was selling it at craft shows and to a few specialty shops. I watched the video and read the instructions, and it all looked ok to me. Olive oil soap takes an unusually long time to cure relative to soaps with olive oil plus other oils like coconut and palm. The video mentions six weeks. If the soap is used before it's fully cured it could be caustic and irritating to the skin. Caustic (sodium hydroxide/lye) is a nasty chemical and you really have to be careful to wear gloves and eye protection.

There are some online hobbyist soap suppliers that sell lye. There are some special shipping requirements for it and I don't know of any hardware type store that sell it. You need to be sure it's 100% lye.

[oceanfamily]

I know Ace hardware sells lye or at least they did when I made my last batch of soap last Fall. I love using olive oil in my soap.

[Tussiemussies]

I have made soaps in the past that I believe used olive oil, all of my soap batches came out good except one. All of my recipes were from Susan Cavitch's books, The Soapmaker' Companion and Natural Soap. Most soaps without Palm oil will not be that hard as nd won't last that long. The only problem is that deforestation is happening in South America to supply our need for it so you would have to find out where it is coming from. All soaps have lye, as Rodger said you need to protect your eyes and hands, all parts of yourself, but you also don't want to breathe in the fumes. I always opened the Windows and door, but also bought a special mask at Home Depot that protects any fumes from being breathed in.

Good luck with your soap project, I was recently thinking how I need to get back to soap-making....

[awakenedsoul]

I've got The Natural Soap Book, too, Tussiemussies. Glad to hear you've had success with her recipes. There is also a tutorial on Rhonda's blog DowntoEarth.blogspot.com. (You'd have to google it...I think the address is different. It has dashes.) She has a simple soap recipe that I'd like to try. I think she uses olive oil.

There are some good Youtube videos, too. One lady makes her soap outside. It was really simple, like camping...

[Aroha]

I have a batch curing in the hot water cupboard right now. We love using this soap, it feels so soft on the skin, not drying like other soaps but not so frothy either.

[frugal-one]

I bought some shampoo soap at the store recently and find that when I wash my hair my eyes burn. Wonder if this is something I should not use????

[pony mom]

The burning is from the lye. It's normal so you just have to be careful. I use shampoo bars too and today I must have inhaled a bit of it---stung the inside of my nose a bit.

How do you like using it on your hair, fugal-one? I find it easier than shampoo and my hair feels great. It's also more natural than most 'natural' shampoos.

Soap making sounded like something I'd like to try, until I saw all the stuff you need. And, living in a condo makes it a bit tricky doing stuff outside (and our ventilation isn't the greatest inside). So I just use other peoples' homemade soaps and enjoy the variety.

[profnot]

I bought some shampoo soap at the store recently and find that when I wash my hair my eyes burn. Wonder if this is something I should not use????

It is the lye that is buying your eyes. Don't use soap with lye on your hair or face. I use Cetaphil.

For the rest of my body, I buy melt-and-pour soap from the soap making store. $3.50 a pound - far cheaper than bar soap. I like unscented goat's milk soap.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi frugal one, I don't think it would be lye burning your eyes sine I believe but may not be exactly correct on this but when the soap is made the lye gets transformed into another composition. We wouldn't' t be able to safely put soap on our bodies or head. Does your soap have fragrance or aromatherapy oil in it. If so that might be the culprit...

[Birdie]

I second the melt-and-pour soap; I must have read about it here and bought some a few months ago. I cut a one pound bar into 7 normal sized soaps and love it. It's nice and gentle. I bought a sampler with 7 different soaps and will see if I like one better than the others. I think they had an olive oil soap. Check the different base soaps if you are interested in trying it.

http://www.brambleberry.com/Default.aspx

[pony mom]

There isn't actually any lye left in the soap; it's needed for saponification in the soap making process. I think it disappears afterwards. The shampoo bar sites I've looked at all warn against burning eyes.

Cetaphil doesn't have any ingredients that are good for you (except for water).

[frugal-one]

This is the shampoo bar that I bought.

http://www.vitacost.com/j-r-liggetts-old-fashioned-bar-shampoo-ultra-balanced-3-5-oz-1?csrc=GPF-PA-Beauty%20%26%20Personal%20Care-049056102061&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=049056102061&gclid=CNKX9JXf4b8CFQSQaQodp5UAEw#BVRRWidgetID

[pony mom]

frugal-one, I bought the same one, and from Vitacost too. I really like using it and find it more convenient than a bottle of shampoo. So far I've been using a diluted vinegar/water rinse afterwards, but my hair is very short so I probably don't really need it. It was recommended because of the change in ph soap causes to your hair.

How do you like it? When it's not burning your eyes, of course.

[awakenedsoul]

I second the melt-and-pour soap; I must have read about it here and bought some a few months ago. I cut a one pound bar into 7 normal sized soaps and love it. It's nice and gentle. I bought a sampler with 7 different soaps and will see if I like one better than the others. I think they had an olive oil soap. Check the different base soaps if you are interested in trying it.

http://www.brambleberry.com/Default.aspx

Thanks for posting this. I ordered a soap making kit from them, and love their products. Wonderful quality! I may try the melt and pour sampler. It sounds great.

[Birdie]

I had actually thought I would melt and pour the soap into molds until I saw it. Then I realized I only needed to cut it into bar sized pieces. I think I will order the organic soap next time. I'm going to order a shampoo bar too, it's more natural than what I use now.

[Karma]

I didn't watch the video but I would suggest getting a good book on soap making from the library as well.you will probably have to order the lye, I can't find it here and when I asked about it was treated like a terrorist! Soap making isn't hard but can be dangerous so I would get gloves, goggles and a digital scale. You can check the amounts on an online soap calculator. Did they add other oils besides olive? To make a better bar, IMO I would find a recipe that also included coconut or lard and a little bit of castor oil as well.