Ok, we're all clear that I'm either just weird, or I have too much time on my hands. Speaking of my hands.... :tease:

Do you ladies ever take 2 lotions, creams or oils and combine them? For example ...(my answer is, yeah I do! :D )...I take Bag Balm and coconut oil and combine them together. I don't use any specific measurements, just what "looks good" to me. Now Bag Balm is originally intended for cow's udders. I know...:blink:. But it really is a great product!

It also has a mild, funky odour and I've discovered coconut oil in the past year. We all know how GREAT coconut oil smells! If ya don't, then I suggest you go out and get some! :whip: MMMMMM! The coconut oil mostly masks the odour of the Bag Balm. Here's a tidbit on coconut oil:

So, combining (by melting in the nuker, then pouring into empty lipgloss jars or what have you) results in a very emollient skin conditioner which works just great on all skin scrapes/minor cuts. It's also great for rubbing in your hair for that lustrous shine and gets rid of build-up at the same time! When I had that horrible bug bites rash, I used this and it cleared up very nicley! I only applied it AFTER all the itching was gone, tho. So I give myself the credit! :thanks:
Oh yeah....also great on the nails! I rub a little each night before bed and my cuticles are much better now! :thumbsup:

I have also made quite a few batches of homemade soap and my friend's been asking if I've made any lately....maybe it's time to get my booty back in the kitchen and get cookin' with the soap! Mind you, this also takes practice and my very first batch was a complete flunk.

Anyways......I am outta here! Guess I'm kinda bored. :cheeky: :wave: B)

Where do you go to buy this coconut oil you speak so highly of? :huh:

Health food store? It's not at the grocery.....is it?

Health food store, naturally... B)

"naturally"....no pun intended, right? :rollseyes:

'Course not! :P

The bag balm is lanolin and I have used it from a tube for breastfeeding woes...I found that the lanolin works wonders on kids chapped lips and noses from snot. I put it on their sore noses or lips and by morning it is practicly healed up! Great stuff..

Yep! It's just great! I have a tin of Bag Balm...it goes onto all our scrapes and minor cuts...it works just as good, if not better than other ointments. :thumbsup:

You know, I have been wanting to make my own soap for a while now. I think it would be fun.

:thumbsup: I'M ALL ABOUT MIXING STUFF TOO! I TAKE MY PERFUMED LOTION ("BEAUTIFUL") AND MIX W/ MY SELF TANNING LOTION SO I DON'T SMELL LIKE THE SELF-TANNER CRAP. IT HELPS A LOT. I ALSO MIX THE PERFUMED LOTION W/ THE REGULAR BODY LOTION SOMETIMES JUST FOR AN EXTRA GIRLIE SMELL IF I AM GOING SOMEWHERE NICE. :)

:thumbsup: YOU CAN BUY SOAP AND CANDLE MAKING KITS AT CRAFT STORES LIKE HOBBY LOBBY OR SOMEWHERE SIMILAR. I MAKE THEM EVERY YEAR AS STOCKING GIFTS FOR MY SISTER, MOM, AND SISTER-IN-LAWS. IT'S A LOT OF FUN AND PRETTY SIMPLE TO DO. YOU SHOULD TRY IT OUT SOMETIME.

That's a good idea, about stocking stuffers....hmmmm...but I'm kinda scared since Lena said her first batch didn't turn out.... :unsure:

The cheap, pre-made store bought stuff just doesn't cut it for me. Too simple! Ya gotta git down and actually use your brain! :D I use lye measurements and oils and the temps have to be JUST right! The first batch I did I actually went to the butcher, got some REAL cow fat, rendered it (man, did that STINK!!!) and proceeded to use my own rendered lard. Now, using the oils compared to the lard was a breeze! Once you get the first batch downpat, it's all downhill from there, baby! :)

I can probably dig up some sites for homemade soap-making....OR, if you're like String :P ... You can google it yourself! :tease:

Once the munchkins are back in school, I'm gonna pick this hobby up again....I love doing stuff and seeing my accomplishments. :thumbsup: It takes time and patience and some open windows! :D

Honey, if I can do it....ANYbody can! You seem exceptionally bright, so boogy it! :whip: :nod:

rendering lard?? Stinking up my house? I don't know that I'd be able to make it through a batch without :puke: ing....

Right! That's why I only did that ONCE! Now I stick to oils! :smack: It actually smells like soap.

ok....I did a quick google & the ones that don't have you doing the lard/lye thing call for melting unscented glycering soap OR grating up something like Ivory....then adding other ingredients....

Is that what you're talking about?

Alright....I don't have time right now....gotta get supper started...but I'll post ONE recipe here tonight. That will show you how I do things.

:thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

:booyah: :booyah: :thanks:
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THAT RECIPE! I'D LIKE TO TRY IT. ALTHOUGH, I'VE HEARD THAT IT SMELLS YOUR HOUSE UP WORSE WHEN THE WEATHER/HOUSE IS REALLY HOT. MAYBE FALL WOULD BE BETTER ??? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT LENA??

I WAS SUGGESTING THE STORE BOUGHT KITS FOR HER CUZ IT IS AN EASY BEGINNER LESSON FOR THOSE OF US WHO AREN'T PRO'S YET SILLY. :rollseyes:

Yes, proper ventilation is very important when it comes to making the REAL soap. :) Otherwise, you could get some headaches and feelings of irratable....take it from one who knows! :rollseyes:

And speaking of headaches....I've got this horrible PMS crap here and I just got home from a meeting and NOW I can't FIND my soap recipes! I KNOW I had them in the one drawer!!!! :wall: :sigh:

Totally off-topic, but I get headaches with PMS and when I'm on my period....found out it's more than likely from dehydration....so I just make sure to drink alot more than usual & the headaches usually stay away....

ok...back to discussion.... B)

Thanks for the newsflash, Deb. :rollseyes:

Ok, I haven't forgotten about this because I myself, would like to get back into this. I just haven't been able to FIND my recipes! I asked Abe and he says, "Oh, I put them........" :smack: Hopefully tonight, he'll recover them and I WILL post a recipe. I'm willing to share! I'm not greedy! :whistle:

:whistle: STILL WAITING.....

:) WHENEVER YOU FIND THEM YOU JUST LET US KNOW....I'D LOVE TO SEE THEM! IS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD MAKE IN BULK AND SELL MAYBE?? WE HAVE A CRAFT SHOW COMING UP IN SEPT. I WAS TRYING TO COME UP W/ A PLAN TO MAKE A FEW EXTRA BUCKS.... :dunno:

Well, it usually is a fairly big batch. So yep! Once you've cut them up, you've got alot of soap! But it takes abou 6 - 8 weeks for them to "cure" properly....if it's too caustic, it'll sting. Stinging's not good. ;)

yeah, I'm curious to see how involved this is....I wanna try it for Christmas gifts....:thumbsup:

Yay! I found my book! Hubby's looking around....I know it was here somewhere....So I did my rampaging and he's going, "Hey! Don't mess it up!" :rollseyes: Whatever! Now he's back in the storage room straightening it out. :D

Anyhoo....here's a list of things you'll need BEFORE you attempt this project.

* Rubber gloves
* Wooden spoons (dollar stores are good to get some things!)
* One or two meat or candy thermometers ( I prefer meat, they're metal and don't break too easily. Yep, I learned from experience. B) )
* Kitchen Scale (not the kind you step on...one you use to measure food in)
* Stick blender
* Safety glasses (Protect those precious eyes!)
* Tall, plastic juice pitcher (one you will never drink out of again)
* Plastic Rubbermaid or other plastic rectangular shape, like a large, old margarine container is what I use. This is to pour in your soap!)
* Preferably a long sleeved shirt. (I've not always worn a long sleeved shirt and I've done fine.)

Ok....here's how I've done it.

BASIC SOAP

52 ounces of oil (I find canola oil is cheap and provides a harder soap. You can use vegetable oil or any oil of your choice...so long as you have 52 ounces of it. It must be weighed in the kitchen scale. First of all, measure an old, plastic bowl and with the bowl ON the scale, set it back to 0. )
24 ounces of cold water This is for your LYE mixture. This you will want to do in a well ventilated area. By a window, or something. I don't recommend taking it outside because I've heard stories where folks trip over something and they have a big, nasty boo-boo because lye mixture is very HOT. (Not to scare anyone, just for safety reasons.)
12 ounces lye You can get lye in most hardware stores.

Now. Do the LYE mixture before you do the oil mixture. Oil heats up much faster than lye. When mixing lye and water together put in the lye crystals first, then the water to prevent too much splashing. (You should be wearing your protective wear anyway.) And stir with the wooden spoon until the crystals all dissolve. Make sure it's ALL dissolved or you'll have some funky unwelcome lumps! Let it cool down to around 100 or even 110. Before the lye mixture gets down that low, start heating the oil. BOTH mixtures MUST be the SAME temperatures! Once you've got them both at the same temp, mix together! Now the fun begins! :eyebrows: Get out the stick blender and start blending. You will see it...it is so neat the way it mixes and combines....it will mix into a texture like pudding. Once it has reached that stage (about 15 - 20 minutes of mixing) and if you see no more oil traces....you're ready to pour it into the plastic mold! Once you've poured it in, set it aside and about 24 hours later, your batch of basic soap will be ready to cut into bars.

A little side tip. What I've done is I set the oven light on I (not the oven, JUST the light!) and with my frying pan with some water in, I set the soap in there. Come time to take it out, it comes out nice and smoooothly.

Now, you need a drying rack. You can set it on wax paper and let it dry. Preferrably out of kids' reach. Set it by an open window or other well-ventilated area. It CAN take up to 4 weeks for the soap to cure properly. But if the soap doesn't sting, then it's fine. If it DOES sting, let it sit longer.


That was just a basic soap. Basic soap is what you'll need to make "flavoured" soap. I'll let y'all digest this first. B) I'll be browsing for more links for you, too. There's usually more and more out there....it's hard to keep up with all the soap makers! :D

:blink: :unsure: :blink:

What did you expect? :P Once I had it down-pat, I timed myself and it takes about 4 hours for me to do one batch. Most of it's the cool-down process with the lye mixture.

C'mon! At least try it! :bounce:

We were thinking of making homemade soaps and like things for Christmas since we are poor this year.. Thanks for the recipe!

In your directions, you talk about the lye mixture being VERY HOT....do they have directions on the package as to the temp needed to mix the lye? Because you mention COOLING it down to about 100 or 110.....

I'm THINKING about trying it..... :rollseyes:

Yeah, the directions are to let it cool. And no, there are no particular cooling directions on the bottle....not on the one I have, anyway.
You can't MAKE it cool down much faster and you really don't want that in your fridge. :sick: It needs to cool down on its own. Or stick it in front of your air conditioner....so long as it does NOT tip over!

You're welcome, String! Just remember to watch those little ones while making it! :)

I make almost all of my hair and skin products. I haven't tried soap-making yet, but I plan to try it this fall. I found a book on Amazon with lye-free recipes, and it looks like fun :D

Yanno, I've heard of folks making soap "without lye"....if you do it, let me know how it works! :)

Okay, I will :) It'll be a bit though.