I have a secret that isnt shared by most soap makers….I love to handmill soap, its allso called rebatching amoung soapers. I LOVE IT! Yep there ya go, I do enjoy it. Some parts I loathe, like the grating of 17 pounds of the most deliciously swirled (7 color!) sweet cinnamon scented soap that separated ever so slightly in the mold. I could have just left those couple of bars out (one or two) and called it a day but instead I started the extreemly tedious task of grating the soap up, melting it down and remolding. But I like to do it because it makes such a gorgeous gentle bar of soap its so worth the effort in the end! Some people add extra oils when they rebatch but I do not, when I did my first rebatch I did it by the book- I measured out my shredded soap, I measured out the oil and water that I was to add while melting it down. I mashed and stirred every couple of hours and read the directions until my eyes ached. Then I developed my own way 
and its resulted in many compliments from other soapers that is one heck of a feat! I wont give away all my secrets but I dont add any extra oils, why would I want to zap my yummy soap suds? My soap is gentle enough to begin with, no need for extra oils floating around. I do use a crock pot, extreemly slow melting is the way to get the best handmilled soap. Sure you can melt it down in the microwave but its not going to make a smooth product, Ive tried that way, I was really impaitent once. Now my soap spends all day melting down. Litterally all day, the longer and slower it melts the better, that is absolutly key!
Oatmeal milk and honey has been one of my best selling soaps since I first began selling! It is such a gentle comforting scent, its such a classic, I dont mess with it by blending it with anything. My next batch of oatmeal milk and honey will be slightly different than my last batches. Ive played with the percentage of oatmeal trying to get a happy medium of scrubbiness and gentleness from the ground oatmeal that is in my recipe. I think Ive finally found that! I will be adding just a hint of real honey and real buttermilk to the recipe along with the ground oatmeal. I love making this classic! It does tend to overheat, its just the nature of the ingredients. Ive tried a few different methods in keeping it from overheating and will have to settle on which method I want to use this time around, I have in the past tried direct cold, which was really cool!! But I think I want this batch to gel and become transluscent. Ill just have to watch it like a hawk and get it cooled down as fast as possible!
Next week Im making Watermelon scented soap. I know the fragrance oil discolors a bit, it turns a light tan so Im going to have to make a few allowances for that. I have a visual in mind, a dark green skin, whiteish rhined and juicey looking red inner. Im still trying to figure out how I will do the seeds. I have something in mind. Im crossing my fingers that it will work! This is going to be a soap of the month option later this summer. Im excited to soap this fragrance oil. It smells so juicey and yummy! It absolutly screams SUMMER!! My tests show that this scent can really mellow in cold process soap so Im going to have to watch my measurements very close for it and go a bit on the higher side to make up for that. But Im really looking forward to soaping this. It should be a very fun and playful soap! At first I thought something with a pink and green swirl, something a little sophisticated, then I realised how silly that is- its WATERMELON!! Thats such a fun scent, I have to do it justice!
On the most basic level there are three types of oil.
1)Vegitable based-Olive, Soybean, Shea Butter etc. Any oil or butter derived from a plant. Can be used in soap making
2)Animal based-Lard (rendered pig fat…yummy *gag* )Tallow, which is rendered fat from beef. Can be used in soap making
3)Mineral Oil-This oil will not saponify, it will not turn into soap.
Without getting into the bazillion types of oils out there, there are a couple that are most often used in soap making. At least as a beginner. My first batches were made with lard, coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil. I bought the palm oil with my mould but have not used it since. I wasnt sold on it, it wasnt anything super special. After I got the hang of making soap I dropped the lard and went to an all vegitable based recipe that I created myself. Lots of soap makers swear by tallow and lard, I just prefer not to work with the animal based fats, it just creeps me out a little to think Im washing with rendered pig fat. Yummy! (blech!)
You should be able to find all the oils you need for a decent batch of soap at your local grocerie store- you may have to go to one of the ’super stores’ but even in my small town I can find enough oils for a nice soap.You can make a decent soap with just olive oil, coconut oil, and lard. Just make sure the oils you are buying are 100%. Check the ingredients. If there is anything listed besides the oil, move on to the next brand.
The one most important item in home made soap is lye. There is no way around it you must have lye to make soap. If you prefer to not use lye but still wish to dabble in soap making melt and pour is a much safer and easier route to go. Unfortunatly it just isnt nearly the same as truely homemade soap, it lacks certain qualities but it definatly is fun to work with! Ive played with it and rather enjoy it! But if you are looking to make soap from scratch lye is the only way to go. Finding lye can be a bit of a challange these days since it can be used to manufacture illegal drugs. Ive purchased lye from several places my most recent favorite supplier is www.organic-creations.com and www.thesoapdish.com Ive had excellent experiences with purchasing from both of these suppliers. There are a few safety rules about working with lye. If you dont know already this is a very dangerous substance that will burn unprotected skin. Its nasty stuff, so you need to be extreemly careful handling it! Gloves, the higher the better, and goggles are absolutly required. Also having lots of paper towels handy is a good thing along with some vinegar. Vinegar is supposed to neutralize the reaction of the lye if it hits skin. Personally I wash with water first and then splash on some vinegar and then wash again. If the area is slippery you still have lye on you! wash wash wash! Keep washing! If you get it in your eye start rinsing immediatly and get to a doctor immediatly.
If you have children or pets keep them away, out of the room, out of the house is even better. I have two small boys, ages 2 and 3. I never make soap when I am home alone with them. My husband watches them and I put a baby gate up at the end of the hallway so they cant get into the kitchen at all. They know now that they cant come into the kitchen when mommy is soaping but I still take all the precautions I can. Little curious fingers can turn into painful burns all over their body.
When measuring and mixing lye, water, or whatever liquid you chose to use (milk, coconut milk, goatsmilk, tea are all popular choices) you have to be sure to use the correct types of vessels. For measuring lye I use a stainless steel mixing bowl. One tip for pouring the lye crystals to be measured- rub down your bowl with a fabric softener sheet. Lye is staticy and can go flying all over, the rub down of the fabric softener seems to keep everything in the bowl. Some people prefer to use pyrex measureing cups to measure their liquid out but all I can think about is shattered glass everywhere mixed in with lye water. I use a rubbermaid pitcher- this one to be exact and I always mix my water and lye in a sink. ALWAYS pour your lye into the liquid, otherwise you can have a volcanic like explosion of lye and water. On my pitcher I have in black marker “LYE INTO WATER†just to remind me, just in case. I use hard plastic spoons to stir the mixture, keep clear from aluminum and any metal that isnt stainless steel. I even have a few wooden spoons Ill use in a pinch. Stay upwind of your lye solution when you are combining them! The fumes will knock you on your butt! Open a window near your work space, turn on an exhaust fan or something. Ive read about people who mix their lye water outside then bring it inside….ah thats just too much movement for me! I prefer my caustic liquids to not be moved about my house!
Clean up- lots and lots of water. I do most of my work right in the sink and let the water run as I use utensils and my rubbermaid pitcher. Once Ive got my soap to bed I go back over my work space with water and vinegar and then soap and water to make sure I didnt miss a speck of lye or lye water somewhere.
Lye is a pretty dangerous substance and its not to be taken lightly, a little healthy respect for it can keep you injury free and enjoying soap making!