Soap! #Science As promised! But first, here's an easy way to make it. We're gonna make a "tertiary" soap using leftover scraps of soap. (did you save them up last week?)
This'll be super easy.
This'll be super easy.
What you need:
leftover soap scraps (total enough to make a small bar)
yogurt container (8 oz. size)
microwave oven
freezer
cheese grater (optional)
leftover soap scraps (total enough to make a small bar)
yogurt container (8 oz. size)
microwave oven
freezer
cheese grater (optional)
What you do:
grate up all your soap scraps. put them in the bottom of the empty clean yogurt container so maybe 1/2 inch deep. (you can crumble them up too, but the grater will make it much easier).
Add a tiny bit of water, maybe enough to wet the grated soap about half way up.
grate up all your soap scraps. put them in the bottom of the empty clean yogurt container so maybe 1/2 inch deep. (you can crumble them up too, but the grater will make it much easier).
Add a tiny bit of water, maybe enough to wet the grated soap about half way up.
Then put into microwave and zap up maybe 30 sec. With a spoon or butter knife, kinda swoosh and swirl up the soap to make a thick but kinda uniform glob.
Bonus: at this point you can add stuff to make your soap unique. Some things to try: a little oatmeal (1/2 teaspoon full), or breakfast corn instant grits (1/2 teaspoon full), or maybe even some ground up rosemary (can be an irritant).
Throw your bonus ingredient in there, and swoosh it around to make it uniform. You may need to zap it in the microwave, but don't cook it, just heat it. When it is all kinda uniform mixed, put it in the freezer. That's it!
I usually leave it overnight, the tap it so the now-frozen soap bar comes out. Let it sit on a cookie rack and allow it to dry out for a few days or longer. It will get harder and then you can use it in sink or shower without it falling apart.
Corn grits in soap is an amazing abrasive. I made several bars with this and it was just AWESOME at cleaning pine pitch off my hands. Keep notes on what added ingredients you add and how it works!
So this is a really easy way to see if you like soapmaking. You are using already-milled soap (that is why it is called tertiary) so there is zero chance of any lye blobs being embedded deep inside the soap. Totally safe.
So. How does soap work anyway? I mean, down at the molecular level, what is going on?
Gonna break this thread and start a new one exploring the #science and #chemistry of soap.
Gonna break this thread and start a new one exploring the #science and #chemistry of soap.
