Hmmm

I finally bit the bullet, took the plunge - and made some soap today. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and during the week made sure I had everything I needed. I only had to buy silicon cake moulds in a suitable size.

No matter what method you read about making soap THERE ARE SO MANY WARNINGS - like this one:

Cover benchtops with newspaper and also put a layer of newspaper down on the floor in case of any splashes. If you get any splashes on benches etc wash area and then apply vinegar to neutralise. Wear safety goggles, rubber gloves, long sleeves/trousers and footwear http://www.australiansoapmaker.info/howto/cpsoap.htm

I used the Down to Earth cold pressed soap recipe found here:
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au/2007/07/how-to-make-cold-pressed-soap.html

Grease the moulds (with cooking spray).

Gather ingredients and measure out.

Prepare the utensils.

Heat the oil and copha to 50 degrees.

Add the caustic soda to the water and mix until it's dissolved. This mixture gets very hot very quickly and stays hot for a long time.

I used one of Sylvia's bowls to mix the two liquids.

It took a long time for the caustic soda/water mix to come back down to 50 degrees. I had to keep re-heating the oil mixture because it's temperature dropped more quickly.

We had some freshly delivered lamb for lunch; the tastiest lamb I've had in a very long time and there's quite a bit more that has to be put away this afternoon.

When the two mixtures were at 50 degrees I poured the caustic soda/water into the oil and started to mix with the stick blender. You have to reach "trace" - a thick custard consistency. I got there in around 4 minutes, much quicker than I had anticipated.

Gibbo grabbed the camera.

I think I mixed it too much because you're supposed to be able to pour it into the moulds but I had to use a measuring cup and it was thick and gluggy.

I poked each little mould shape with a spoon and picked the trays up and dropped them, hoping that any air bubbles were removed. I guess I won't know how successful that was until I pop the cake of soap out of the mould tomorrow.

I overfilled each mould and then ran a long flat knife over the top to get a reasonably smooth finish.

So there we are - 18 bars of homemade soap. I then wrapped both trays in towels and left them to set on the ping pong table. In the morning I'll take them out and leave them on wire racks to "cure", a process which takes 4-6 weeks. They'll be ready just in time for Christmas!

Observations:

I should have mixed the caustic soda and water first (instead of heating the oil first) because it took so much longer to cool down to 50 degrees. When it reaches around 55 the oils can be heated (and copha melted); that took no time at all to reach 50.

I'll stop mixing a bit sooner and try to have more of a pouring consistency. In hindsight I think I knew when I reached "trace" but kept going a bit longer "just in case". If you lift the mixer out of the soap and drizzle some across the surface it should leave a line - I took it a bit further and made it close to whipped cream consistency.

I put a bit of soap on my tongue to see if I got the little zap (like putting your tongue on a 9v battery). Yes, I did. I had suggested to Gibbo that he might do that but he reckoned I should be the one to test it since my taste buds are still not working properly since the operation. I was also a bit alarmed when a small cut on my finger started to sting once it got soap on it. This was when I was half way through the moulding up stage. Afterwards, I read this: 

The important thing to remember with making soap from scratch is that raw soap is caustic and can burn if you get it on your skin. 72 hours or so after being made and moulded, the chemical reaction (called saponification) should have mostly taken place and the soap should no longer be caustic and you can touch it with bare hands without any worries. Prior to this you should touch the soap only when wearing gloves else you may find it harsh on your hands. 

http://www.australiansoapmaker.info/howto/cpsoap.htm

So the soap is still caustic at the moulding up stage and doesn't lose that until some days into the saponification process. I didn't realise that beforehand - I thought that it lost the caustic content when mixed with the oil and I was a bit worried that I'd wasted a whole batch of ingredients and that when I came to test it (and give it away) it would still burn - but it appears that by the time it has cured all the bad bits will be gone and I'll have FABULOUS soap for our Christmas hampers!!