Soapmaking Part 1

Finally, I took the time to take pics of my soapmaking!  Following is the recipe and full instructions. 

Please bear in mind that I make utilitarian soap.  You certainly can take the basic recipe and add all kinds of bells and whistles and come up with a more "boutique" soap. 

However, I have constant comments on this basic recipe being a great soap for body and face.  It isn't as harsh as commercial soaps and so doesn't dry you out so much.  

First, before we get to the recipe, I wanted to show you that this IS A REAL SOAP.  When you look at the recipe, you might think "Ick!  That can't make a real soap.  It must be greasy!"  Not true at all.  It lathers and washes just like commercial soap.  Here is the tupperware I use as a soap mold when I was rinsing out the excess soap.  See?  Regular lather!     

Basic Soap Recipe & Instructions

First, here is the equipment you will need...or something similar:

Large stainless steel or ceramic coated stock pot (soap-making pot)

Other large stock pot

Medium saucepan

Large tupperware tub

Stick blender (or 1 strong arm for stirring)

Strainer

Wooden spoon (mark it for soapmaking only)

Pair long dishwashing gloves

Scale

Thermometer

13 oz Lye

6 lbs fat

5 cups cold water

1/3 to 3/4 oz essential oils

Step 1:

Prepare your fat

 You will want to know the weight of your empty stock pot so that you can determine when you have enough fat in it.  Mine weighs 17 oz (1 lb 1 oz).

You will need 6 lbs of fat.  I usually just save my cooking fat (bacon grease, fat from frying meats, fat from boiling ribs to bbq).  I save it all in a coffee can in the frig until I am ready to make soap.  This time, I didn't have much saved up, so I supplemented with lard purchased from the store.  You can also get fat from the butcher and rend it yourself.  

So, to prepare your fat, put it in one of the stock pots and melt on the stove.  Then pour from one stock pot to another through the strainer, back and forth, to remove any food particles.  When you finish, the fat should all be in your soap-making pot.

Next, set your soapmaking pot on the scale.  If your pot is hot, you will probably need to put a potholder between the pot and scale.  If so, weigh the potholder first. 

Add lard or other fats (pure coconut oil, olive oil, etc.) to the pot until you reach the desired weight:

6 lbs fat

+ weight of stock pot (1 lb 1 oz)

+ weight of potholder (mine is 2 oz)

= 7 lbs 3 oz (yours will vary of course!)

Finally, melt your fat over low to medium heat until it is clear.

Step 2:

Prepare your container

I use this tupperware container because I can easily bend the sides to get the soap out later.  However, I also put a very light coating of fat on it to help it not stick. 

Natural Living Humor

Not My Generation

Not my generation, but a bit older than me.  This video just has to put a smile on your face.  A group of older folks (in their 60s to 90s I believe) singing My Generation by The Who.  They are having so much fun!  Take a look and have fun too!  

Please excuse the finger at the end...I would cut that part out if I knew how.  But this is well worth the watch anyway.

Strange Goings On!

These guys looked pretty suspiscious when I walked into the kitchen!

Homemade Deodorant

About two years ago I had an epiphany.  Actually, the beginning seed of this epiphany was an overheard conversation at the Kauai airport... 

A young man was telling his two travelling companions that he wouldn't put anything on his skin that he could not also ingest.  Why would we? he stated.  Our skin absorbs it into our bloodstream...just think about how medicated patches work.

A few months later I looked around my house and realized that I was surrounded by toxins that I was either breathing in or absorbing through my skin.  I had already become a label reader and had been trying to not purchase any food items with ingredients in it that I did't understand.  Why wouldn't the same wisdom go for what we breathe or put on our bodies?

So, bit by bit, we are trying to change out all of the household items for their natural counterparts or just doing without:

  I make my own bar soap out of all natural ingredients (a recipe post on that will be coming soon!)  We use it to wash our bodies, faces, hair, and as shaving cream.  It doesn't work very well as dish soap and is too clumpy for laundry...although we did it for awhile.  I am still looking for a better recipe for those items.  Any ideas? 

We switched from after shave and perfume to homemade oils with a jojoba or grape seed base and essential oils.  This is really a lot of fun because of the combinations you can come up with.  Just got to love a man who smells like cedar with a hint of cinnamon! 

We got rid of lotion, hair conditioner and baby oil and now use organic cold-pressed coconut oil.  Oh!  and I use baking soda as an astringent for my oily spots on my face. 

As for deodorant, I at first tried not using any and just rubbing some of my homemade fragrance oil in my pits.  However, this didn't work very well and I smelt a bit funky at the end of the day.  Sorry if that is TMI, but we're talking deodorant here and these are the things you need to know! 

A girl who works with my husband makes homemade deodorant and has been sending some home with him for me.  It seems to work very well...at least for our weather here in the rain forest.  I still smell nice when I get in the shower the following morning.  I got the recipe from her and whipped some up this week. 

Emily's Deodorant

Ingredients:

In a small saucepan measure:

2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch

3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons Cocoa Butter

Heat on Medium Low

Stirring occasionally

Until it is all blended.  I left it on the heat and stirred for about a minute more once it looked like this.

Remove from heat and let sit for a minute.  Then add your oils.  I used vanilla, rosewood, grapefruit, and tea tree oils.  Tea tree has natural antibacterial properties.  I won't use vanilla next time as it created brown specks which I don't like.  All together, I put in about 30 drops of scent.  Keep in mind that some essential oils can irritate skin so it is a good idea to understand the properties of each before use.  Emily suggests cypress, melaleuca, lavender, or rosewood.

Next, pour into empty deodorant containers.  Or, you could just put it in a short wide-mouthed jar. 

As you can see, I had some problems with this step!  The large container I washed completely with hot water and melted all the leftover deodorant out of it before filling.  Silly me!  That left it open to spill right out the bottom! 

Seeing my mistake, I did not melt all of the leftover deodorant out of the small ones, so they worked fine.  I discovered that these sticks (at least the ones I had) were meant to be filled upside down.  You know the clear plastic cap that is on stick deodorant when you buy it in the store?  Not the outside cap, but the one that actually is touching the top of the stick?  You leave that in, turn the container upside down, remove the plastic plug in the bottom and pour it in.  Or, just don't clean the last little bit out.  But, that bugs me....I want it clean. 

Anyway, after pouring it in, refrigerate for a day, then no further refrigeration is required and you can just keep it on a shelf.  It does melt at body temperature and so goes on a bit different than store-bought deodorants.  It melts in your armpit more quickly...kind of feeling like a roll on. 

Here is the final product.

Keep in mind that this is NOT an antiperspirant!  You should not use an antiperspirant if you can possibly avoid it.  Nature gave us sweat glands for a purpose and plugging them up is bad berries!

Have fun!

Hubby with Grandpa and Pig

My husband and I ran across this old photo the other night and I had to share it.  My husband's Grandpa owned a cattle ranch in California and my husband spent many happy summers and weekends there growing up. 

Grandpa was an amazing man.  He was 72 in this picture and lived well into his 90s working the ranch up until the last few years.  He wasn't much into travelling anywhere.  He would say:

"Why would I want to go anywhere?   I live right here in God's country."

Here is a recent pic of the ranch.  You can kind of see his point. 

We took these pics when visiting last year.  The ranch has been in the family for generations.  Standing in the sunshine there was such a feeling of place...of history...of connection with generations going back and back.  Here are a few more pics.  

The Sixties and the Samba Craze

We all know what the teens and very young adults were up to in the sixties:  Beatles, dropping out, tuning in, etc.  But what about the 30 and 40 somethings?  The sixties was also the time of the Samba craze in the US.  And, one of the best samples of Samba music has to be Astrud Gilberto. 

Of course, she is most famous for her Girl from Ipanema hit, but that is so overplayed.  Try a few others by Astrud and be transported by her smooth tones and unique style.  Then I have posted Ipanema last for you.

Enjoy!

Summer Samba In Spanish:

Summer Samba In English:

Fly Me To The Moon

And Finally, The Girl From Ipanema