Your questions are why you MUST get some books and read about soapmaking. Soap making is all about chemistry. If you don't understand what is happening you could get seriously injured.
Water and lye are explosive when mixed together. They create chemical heat that will severely burn and disfigure you.
Once combined with fats (oils and butters) and the another chemical process is allowed to happen the end product needs to cure in order for the lye and oils to complete the saponification process.
Soapmaking sounds fun and easy. And it is fun and easy. But is it only fun and easy when you done your homework, learned the processes and fully understand the hazards, the safety precautions and the chemistry behind the end product.
In very few books have I seen this tip - and it is one every beginner should know -
1. Pour the lye into the water. If you pour the water into the lye you will cause an eruption that could potenitally cause a minor explosion. Lye is caustic and will burn you quick. If one splash gets in your eye you could go blind.
2. Use vinegar to nutralize the lye if any gets on your skin in the process of handling, mixing and pouring.
3. After 4 weeks test a bar of soap. If it feels like your hands are a little burning - it is not cured. Leave it another few weeks.
4. Use a lye calculator. Check and recheck your recipes. NEVER, EVER, rely on a recipe without first running it through a lye calculator to make sure there isn't any errors or typos.
I urge you to go to the library. Check out several soap making books. Read them cover to cover beore you try your hand at making soap alone.
If you can find someone local to you that makes soap ask them to help you with the first batch and explain everything first hand until you understand what is happening.
Water and lye are explosive when mixed together. They create chemical heat that will severely burn and disfigure you.
Once combined with fats (oils and butters) and the another chemical process is allowed to happen the end product needs to cure in order for the lye and oils to complete the saponification process.
Soapmaking sounds fun and easy. And it is fun and easy. But is it only fun and easy when you done your homework, learned the processes and fully understand the hazards, the safety precautions and the chemistry behind the end product.
In very few books have I seen this tip - and it is one every beginner should know -
1. Pour the lye into the water. If you pour the water into the lye you will cause an eruption that could potenitally cause a minor explosion. Lye is caustic and will burn you quick. If one splash gets in your eye you could go blind.
2. Use vinegar to nutralize the lye if any gets on your skin in the process of handling, mixing and pouring.
3. After 4 weeks test a bar of soap. If it feels like your hands are a little burning - it is not cured. Leave it another few weeks.
4. Use a lye calculator. Check and recheck your recipes. NEVER, EVER, rely on a recipe without first running it through a lye calculator to make sure there isn't any errors or typos.
I urge you to go to the library. Check out several soap making books. Read them cover to cover beore you try your hand at making soap alone.
If you can find someone local to you that makes soap ask them to help you with the first batch and explain everything first hand until you understand what is happening.
