Making Lye Soap

[@carolynwiseman109]

Your awesome at explaining the process lye soap is only thing I can use and it gets expensive so imma try this and post my video and show u the outcome thanks Captain

[@CaptMike]

Thank you for watching!

[@lindaschouten7210]

Hi captain Mike! I have made soap twice now. One batch cold process 100% olive oil and one batch of 72% olive oil and 28% coconut oil. That was hot process. It’s a wonderful process. I never realised this could be done with shortening. Thank you for doing this video!

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for the comment and for watching!

[@godfirst4964]

Thank you for sharing! I love the simplicity and low cost of this recipe! So many others complicate it

[@laurieas82]

I will be going through all of your content. I have extremely sensitive skin and I need to go down to the most natural purest form of soap. Thank you so much for this video I will be following you for more tips and tricks.

[@andreanjeladejesus7583]

Just came across this video and truly appreciate it. I’d love to see videos on additives! Thank you!

[@CaptMike]

I'll be making soap again soon and I will see if I can work up a video on aditives. Thanks for watching.

[@MrWayneploof]

thank you this is the best video on how to make soap. I am just starting to make soap this help a lot

[@cynthiabarkley9049]

U describe procedure so simple. Thank u!

[@CaptMike]

Thank you for watching!

[@cabinfevercraftingbyclaudi8108]

thank you. your video was short and sweet and to the point.

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for watching!

[@jerryellison5507]

I bought some soap bar molds at Hobby Lobby. Pretty handy.

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for watching!

[@dayanaraiisa.7751]

Thank you so much for this video. The instructions were very easy to follow. Thank you so much God bless

[@coperlaze]

Thank you sir I will need to give this a try.😊

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickhoelzer4057]

Thank you! Simplicity!

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for watching!

[@mrzif0013]

Truely great job for a beginner to diy soap. wondering why you choose shortening vs oils?

[@CaptMike]

When I started making soap, lard was the easiest as most people used that as a base. As I progressed I found that soy shortening worked just as well and did not present a problem with possible DOS. It seemed to make the few vegans I sold to happier and the switch made no difference in my reciepe or cost.

[@heavenawilson5140]

Very nice..

[@CaptMike]

Thanks!

[@linettee.houser5156]

You give the Best instructions ever!!! Thanks 🙏 so much!!!!!

[@CaptMike]

Thanks you for watching!

[@eva-janemiddleton434]

Great video. Can you tell me mike why some soapers swear by rubbing alcohol to steralize and also to burst bubbles. What is vegetable shortening made from. Is it always the same recipe. Thanks mike.

[@CaptMike]

Ellie, I do not know why anyone would use alcohol to sterilize anything when making cold process soap. I sometimes use the same liner over again with no negative results, ever. The sodium hydroxide should take care of anything in the oils. As you know, it will burn your skin! An oil heavy recipe (not enough lye), also known as "super fating" could cause DOS (Look it up) especially when using lard. If I pour the batch thin enough, all the bubbles rise to the top, but I always bump the mold on something solid anyway. Vegetable shorting usually contain Soy-Bean oil & Cottonseed oil (got this off a 1 gallon can). I buy mine from Columbus Foods in 50 lb containers and I think i is just Soy oil. And yes, I use the same recipe. It took me about a year of testing to get it where I wanted it. I do occasionally experiment with other recipes, but just for grins and giggles.

[@eva-janemiddleton434]

Sorry mike I am a newby and I have not got up the courage to do anything but melt and pour. I haven't sold any yet. Just a hobby that results in fab gifts. I have loads of great nieces and nephews and they are all at the age where the novelty soaps excite them. I have made some body lotions and shower gels n bath bomb sets with candles. I am in the house almost 24/7 so I need to make a hobby that can grow in creativity .Thank you for your reply.

[@jhazzazi9575]

Simple and to the point...... now if I want to add some Castro oil to this can I just reduce the vegi shorten and use the same recipe? And thank you this is a great video

[@JuliePalmisano]

Thank you

[@CaptMike]

Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!

[@lorimchann5075]

Can you wash your body clothes hair and floor with that kind of soap?

[@Skylightatdusk]

Can shortening soap be sold as face and body soap? Does the fact it is so much cheaper than the fancier fats have any bearing on the quality?

[@CaptMike]

Actually the Soy shortening is just a tad more expensive than the lard. Both soaps are the same in quality, but using Soy satisfies my vegan customers. As far as the other oils, I use the same in both lard and Soy soap. My recipe includes Olive oil, coconut oil. palm oil, cocoa butter and a little Shay butter, plus either lard or Soy. I use Soy now unless someone asks for lard.

[@Skylightatdusk]

@@CaptMike Thanks for taking the time to respond. When I mentioned 'fancier' fats, I was referring to shea butter, cocoa butters, jojoba oil, avocado oil, etc which are considerably more costly than shortening. My issue is that, I have 2 base oil recipes that are considerably different in cost. One of them is mostly shortening with coconut oil a little sunflower and olive oils. I use botanical additives that give the soap a very nice feeling. However, I want to start selling but am belly aching over whether people who ask should be told they can use the soap for their daily use on their face (and entire body). I worry whether it will be false marketing because the brand of available shortening has tiny amounts of TBHQ while my customers would be people who like the idea of natural products.

[@CaptMike]

@@Skylightatdusk using the oils you mentioned are about as natural as anybody can get. I cannot think of any recipe that inadvertently has something in it that we do not know about. The amount of THBQ that we are talking about is too small to worry about. The big thing to remember is that you will not be ingesting any THBQ and I would think that the small amount, if any, would not be absorbed by the skin. My family and all my customers for many years have all used my soap on their faces, body and hair with zero complaints. Remember this, the more "fancy" oils you use will make you soap bar softer. Coconut oil, Cocoa Butter and Palm Oil will make your bar harder. Olive Oil, Avocado Oil and most of the rest will make your bar softer. I always look for a happy medium.

[@Skylightatdusk]

@@CaptMike Thanks a lot for your encouraging reply.

[@SimpLeeBeth]

My first soap making vid 😊 Cool! Thanks! 💗xo

[@CaptMike]

Thanks!

[@bonniemitchell215]

You should never use soap the next day unless it was hot processed. This recipe is a cold process soap and will still be caustic . Wait a few weeks before you use it.

[@jonni2317]

saponification takes 24-48 hours in cold process soap, the rest of the cure time just hardens the bar

[@CaptMike]

What Jonni said!

[@CaptMike]

@@jonni2317 thanks for addressing this. I missed the post and reply.

[@jonni2317]

@@CaptMike anytime :)

[@madhavkapoor1654]

hey sir, if i use the lye in one of my containers, can i use the same bowl for other food or should i keep a separate bowl and everything just for soap making?

[@CaptMike]

The lye will wash out completely. If the bowl is glass, ceramic or metal.

[@mrzif0013]

What about temps. Everything says temp of lye solution and oil must be precise.

[@CaptMike]

Actually I use my lye solution at room temps. I have made hundreds of bars without any problems. Some fragerances will give you problems though. Rose will cause the soap to sieze up fast and you might think that temps caused it, but the fragrance did. Hope that helps.

[@sherrayreed5812]

Is this safe to use on sensitive skin?

[@CaptMike]

I have had no complaints, but with all skin applications you should test on a small area and see if there is a reaction. Properly made soap will not habe any lye remaining.

[@ohah2717]

Yeah that’s clair introductions

[@kathrynway7218]

Does this recipe lather up?

[@CaptMike]

It should. If not add more coconut oil.

[@luclascelle6781]

what makes the bar hard my bar is very soft what did i do wrong

[@CaptMike]

It could be that yoiu have the oil to lye ratio wrong. Also If you are using olive oil that will make a soft bar.

[@Skylightatdusk]

Does the fact that shortening have trace levels of TBHQ go against the concept of creating a 'natural' soap?

[@CaptMike]

Skylightatdusk, I did a little research on TBHQ and the best I can tell is it is in almost all processed food. By food I mean what we consume in out meals. My 'trusty" all-shortening can I keep around for reference does not mention TBHQ, but I think if something is used at a certain level it does not have t be mentioned....don't know for sure. Unless you are going to process your own lard or tallow, you are probably going to have some. as far as soap goes, Soy shortening or lard is about as "Natural as you can get. I know you are aware that if your soap is balanced properly, all or almost all the oils that are capable of saponification are converted to soap. Exceptions being Shay Butter which does not saponify.

[@alexbowman7330]

A little hydrogen and touch or preservative never hurt anybody. Preservatives, in small amounts, are in most all of the lard you'll find in the grocery store too. There's no reason to pay expensive prices for non-hydrogenated lard to make soap. It's just not practical or necessary. It will not make your soap higher quality and there's no need for the semantics.

[@Susan.M.]

How about the temp of the oil and lye solution being 100-110??? Do you check that?

[@CaptMike]

I usually don't check the temps as long as the oils are melted well.

[@alexjulius69]

I love how you emphasised on using safety glasses but FORGOT to wear them xddddddddddddddddd that's just a joke though, great tutorial

[@CaptMike]

Yep, my mind goes blank like that sometimes! I do wear my Mr. magoo big glasses though, cause if I don't I can't see.

[@neva-surrender]

Should be using stainless steel not wood to stir lye solution

[@CaptMike]

When mixing large amounts as I usually do I use a large stainless spoon or nylon stirring spoon specifically for that. I was mixing a small amount here for this video, so I used a bamboo skewer. I have no problem with wood and lye solution. Have you any resources that say otherwise? Please advise if so.

[@neva-surrender]

@@CaptMike your first skewer didn't hold up so I was thinking you should've just used something more sturdy & you didn't use gloves when you cut it, it's not hot processed so isn't the lye still active & unsafe to handle without gloves?

[@CaptMike]

@@neva-surrender You are exactly right in both cases. I am so used to not wearing gloves when I mix lye that I forgot for the video. My old hands have been stung by so many bees , cut, bashed and abused that a few splatters of lye don't bother me much. I can see where it would bother others though. The bamboo skewer was not a good idea either, but I had not tried to mix with one before as I normally do not mix small batches of lye. Notice how the lye solidified on the bottom? That cause the skewer to break, but in larger batches the lye never solidifies on the bottom so that caught me unawares; my bad! Thanks for the input. Hopefully some one else will read your thoughts and learn from my mistakes.

[@neva-surrender]

@@CaptMike I'm a beginner so I'm still learning but the emphasis on the usage of proper techniques is stuck in my head, lol, you're hands are ford tough

[@mnmike6884]

Those safety glasses are not for liquids they are for solids. And while mixing up your lye solution you weren’t wearing them.

[@CaptMike]

Never do, but that's just me. However, I do wear eye glasses.