I did it!!!! I made soap, I think. It was hard to tell when it was done. I'm hoping that it will turn out. I didn't burn me when it got on my skin (caustic burn) so I think it will be okay. It's already setting up in my mold (a paste board box lined with freezer paper). I'm doing this very low budget to start just to see if I can do it. Tomorrow I get to take the soap out of the mold and cut it into bars. Then the bars have to cure for 30 days before we can use the soap.
Here's the recipe that I used.
39 oz. olive oil
24 oz. coconut oil
18 oz. palm oil
28 oz. cold distilled water
12 oz. lye
You mix the lye and water, let it cool because there is a heat of reaction that occurs, plus it fumes, so you have to be very careful doing this. I did it very carefully in the backyard while wearing goggles and gloves. Can't be too careful with dangerous stuff.
Then you melt the solid oils and blend in the olive oil. When the oils are at 110 deg F and the lye water is at room temperature, you slowly add the lye water while you stir. Then I used a stick blender until it had reached what I think is full trace, then I poured it into my prepared mold.
Nothing fancy this batch, just basic stuff to see what happens.
I can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow evening when I remove it from the mold. I used the website
www.millersoap.com in case anyone is interested. It is Kathy Miller's classic soap recipe.
I remember my great aunt who made her own lye soap used rain water to make it & bacon grease. I might try using lard to make a batch. It's supposed to make the best soap, and here in So. TX, lard is very easy to find at any grocery.