#soap experiments

I decided to try my hand at making some soap. I believe life is one big science experiment chalk full of hypothesis, with plenty of trial and error. The good thing about the error is you learn, modify, and grow. So with that being said, I tried to make some soap, and it worked. Don’t jump up and down in excitement just yet, this was the basic melt and pour method. The big science experiment of home saponification will be our summer activity. I even have a friend saving wood ash for me, because that is how you make lye from scratch, crazy I know!   Did you know that sugar actually increases the suds of the soap? I had no clue about the chemical compounds of soap until I began my research, and I’ll tell you I was fascinated with what I found out. The fun part about soap making is there are so many ingredients you can use, each new ingredient does something different in the saponification process. I love anything that makes me feel like a scientist, so soap making is right up my alley.

I made some soap, and I loved it, but I already have a few tweaks I get to make.  I used a goat milk base, added a luffa for exfoliation, and lemongrass essential oils for a bright and uplifting scent. I added additional vitamin and mineral oils to make the soap as beneficial for the skin as possible, and to treat the luffa so it would exfoliate but not scratch up my skin. I have one over the kitchen sink for hands, and one in the bathroom that I use on my face. I’m loving it as a face scrub, it lathers really nicely, and the luffa does a fantastic job of scuffing off dead skin. I’m excited to test out another batch and add some sugars to increase the suds.

EPIC FAIL: Epsom Salt Soap Experiment

It seems like salt bars are all the rage of soapers these days. I wanted to try making some with Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) instead of table salt (sodium chloride) since it is so great for treating muscle soreness. I saved a batch of CP soap from my goats milk soap experiment, mixed in the Epsom salt, then poured the mixture in a silicone mold.

All initial research pointed to the fact that this would be a failure, but no one really clearly documented why or how. I really wanted to know. So, here’s what I discovered.

1) Epsom salt grains are bigger, making the soap very crumbly and difficult to unmold and handle.

2) The soap…did not soap. Seriously, something affected the saponification process. The soap did not lather at all.

3) Instead of lathering, the soap slakes off this thick waxy greasy substance. I could not find clear scientific documentation on this, but I conjecture that the Mg molecules turned the soap molecules into what we know as “soap scum.” Still uncertain what the sulfate component affected.

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There you have it guys. I took one or the team. This soap is unusable and I can’t even rebatch this experiment, but at least now I know….