my own two hands...

There is something wonderfully satisfying about watching something spring forth from raw materials at the bidding of my hands. Even though I am fully aware of the time and effort that went into creating a painting or a novel or, in this case, a bar of soap, when I'm holding the finished product in my hands, I can't help but regard it in wonder. I made this and it looks pretty good. It's an addictive feeling. I am not ashamed to admit that I've been slowly making my way through the creative spectrum, dabbling in this and that and, yes, spending more and more money along the way. Hey, I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy.

As I alluded to earlier, my current project is handmade soap. It's a simple process, but you have to be very careful that you measure precisely. Sodium hydroxide (lye), a caustic chemical, is one of the main components of soap making and care also has to be taken when you handle it. For an in-depth explanation of the process, check out about.com's step by step instructions.

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldprocesssoapmaking/ss/sscpsoap.htm

I also got a lot of help from this thread on one of my favorite guilty pleasure sites, Crafster.com

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=267859.0

Now, on to pictures of the fabulous handmade soap:



They aren't perfect, though. They are supposed to be unscented, but they still carry a slight aroma of the olive oil that I used to create them. It's not a bad smell, but next time I think that I will try to find the extra light scented variety of olive oil in the grocery store. I used the cold process/oven process method with this batch and while it sped up the curing process dramatically, I wonder if the time the soap spent open and exposed to the air in the oven contributed to the amount of "soda ash" that formed on the top and sides of the soap.



From what I've read, soda ash is the name given to powdery white substance that sometimes forms on the top of soap when it is exposed to air during the first 24 hours. It's a chemical reaction between the lye and carbon in the air. Most sites say that it's harmless and can easily be removed by washing or scraping it off. It's not very pretty to see, though, and I think I'm going to use cold process alone and wait the full time for it to cure to see if that makes a difference. I may try out a different mold, too. I used a silicone mold with this batch because I didn't want to deal with the freezer paper lining, but I wonder if using a sturdier mold would make a difference.



All in all, it was a good experience and I can't wait to start my next batch.