My friend Jami came over yesterday to learn how to make soap. She uses liquid castile soap rather than bar soap, so that’s what we made. I’ve only made it once before and it was awhile ago (here and here). Like the last time, the process didn’t go like the tutorial I followed. (We weren’t following the recipe of that tutorial, only the method.)
Here is what happens when you get to talking and the oils heat up too much. Yes, overflow. And this is after Jami contained most of the mess (I was stunned into non-motion). We got to talking and the oils got hotter and hotter. Then we stick blended for 7-1/2 minutes and all of a sudden, the soap just bubbled right up and over the top of the crockpot and all over the counter. I couldn’t move, couldn’t figure out what to do. Jami to the rescue. She ran to the sink, grabbed the pyrex and the two utensils and started scooping it all up. I think I did manage to turn off the crockpot, though.
The soap turned out fine. Well, at least what we did at my house. Jami took the soap paste home and has to get it to dissolve in water, dilute it to her desired consistency, neutralize the potassium hydroxide excess, and add fragrance (if she wants). She shouldn’t have any problems, because she’s not with me! 
Here’s what we learned. If you want to skip all the stages of the “cooking” process, just boil over. You’ll go from trace to done in about 1 minute. (Instead of 3 to 4 hours.)
And one other thing. I calculated the cost savings of making this as opposed to buying it. This recipe (olive oil, coconut oil, and castor oil, with a caustic of potassium hydroxide) yields 1-1/2 gallons for $15.81 (including shipping). Compare this to the very best possible deal of buying in bulk. If you were to purchase the same amount of this soap commercially, you’d spent $45 (bulk price which includes shipping).
Wow, it looks liked cooked pumpkin. Glad it turned out okay.
love,
tiffany
Ha! Wardeh we did make a mess
You cleaned it up so well I forgot how it did look.
The story continued:
I looked over the instructions you gave me and saw where the tutorial says “at this point I go to bed”. Since I too was longing for bed (8:30pm) I warmed up the water, 80 liquid oz, + 40 more you added in your notes, and added the clear, soft soap gel.
You were right! Siring or mashing was useless… LOL The stuff just sticks to everything. So I used my stick blender and had it liquefied in under a minute. You need to label this recipe “speedy castile soap” *grin*
I turned off the heat, covered, cleaned up and went to bed (9:00pm)
This morning:
I finished following the instructions for neutralizing -AND- asked my daughter what smell we should make it. Hold on to your apron; she said Pumpkin Pie…. So I added all the dry spices, stirred, smelled, added more, and repeated. The soap turned very rich and dark. So I guess we also colored it too!
I let the soap sit until it was translucent, the foam on the top was gone, and spices had settled. Then I poured it slowly out leaving what settled behind. We have 10 cups each of pumpkin pie castile soap….
I need you to tell me if it needs more thinning or not. It looks good to me, but then I’ve never done this before – so what do I know?
I took a bath with my pot of spicy soap residue – Ah what fun!
My pot and I are now clean and soft…
Love ~ Jami
More on the soap….
We tried the soap on our kitchen and bathroom floors – Wow!
They turned out so clean and soft with a light sent of cinnamon. Katelyn and I really enjoyed the clean we got.
I am very please with the result.
Thanks again for all your tutoring, your the best!
~ Jami
Jami,
This is all very good news! Thanks for sharing how you did it all and your ingeneous idea for scenting the soap! I bet it smells soooo yummy!
The day was very fun with you here. Thanks again for coming and encouraging me through our fellowship together. I also appreciate greatly all the goodies you brought us — bean soup, veggies, raw cow’s milk and eggs. Thanks!
Love, Wardeh
That reminds me of my very first batch of soap that I made all by myself. It went everywhere. It was lye-heavy and I was moving it to the trash can and it spilled ALL over the floor. What a mess that was!
BTW, raw soap cleans floors well.
I’m so sorry, but I had to laugh when I saw this! I have a big, huge stainless steel kitchen sink, so I always set my crockpot down in the sink when I make soap. If the soap boils over, at least it is contained in the sink. I’m sure you can guess why I started putting the pot in the sink.
I know that the mess was a pain to clean up, but the memories that you made were well worth it! What a great story.
Wardeh, do you have a “final copy” set of instructions for making the liquid castile soap in the crockpot? I’m not sure which place on your site is the correct, final instructions, and I have a friend wanting to know how to make it. I’d like to learn, too! Thanks.
Julieanne – No, I don’t. I’ll see about putting together some notes along with the ingredients and emailing it over to you.
Wardeh, could you post it here under your tutorials?
Thanks,
~Jami
Sure