Dustpuuppy Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Has anyone seen a recipe for making soap using homemade liquid lye solution?I know how to make the lye from ashes, just have no idea where you would start as far as percentages of lard or oils and such if you were using it.Can't seem to find any recipe, anywhere.TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingtoshopabout Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I master batch my lye 50/50 if that is what you mean. I just double my lye in my formula and deduct 1/2 of that amount from my total liquid.not sure if that is what you meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietgirl2004 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Does this help?http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/liquidlye.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 ROFL!This is making me nuts. I'm going to a lot of trouble to research something to get one cheap joke, in one story that I may not even write, which I doubt anyone will ever read, if I do.Here's the deal. Some people get stranded on an island. They find someone's abandoned vacation cabin. There's a wood cookstove. Some canned goods, mostly beans. There's a bed and some very basic camping gear type things like cook ware and such. Rain barrels to catch water. Just a couple of steps above camping out with a tent. While searching the hut, they find some olive oil and the guy who's kind of taken charge decides to make some soap with it. When asked why the hell soap is a priority, he says, " Well, if we're here for more than a week, with no soap, no deodorant and a steady diet of beans... even if someone finds us, they won't want to take us home." :rolleyes2Thing is I know how to make the lye solution from wood ashes. I know that in the old days they measured the lye content of the solution by floating an egg or potato in the solution. Not sure if what they considered potent enough was a 50/50 mix, though.Also, I know how to render fat into lard and how to get coconut milk from the 'meat' of the coconuts.Not sure if the amounts of olive oil, coconut milk and lard are all interchangeable. Like would using one more cup of coconut milk mean you could use one less cup of lard...etc. (I think somethingtoshopabout just answered that, if I think on it a bit.)And if you want to get right down to it, the only reason I'm being so anal about getting everything just right is that I'm so arrogant I don't want to leave anyone an opening to call me out on a mistake. Thanks guys. If you run across anyone's grandma's recipe, though, it would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 you will probably have to work with an excess of lye and then need to "wash" your resulting soap in a strong saline solution to help eliminate the excess lye and to make your soap hard.this guy may be able to help you: http://www.cavemanchemistry.com/scisoap.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Thanks CareBear.I know all this is a bit silly. So thanks to all who are taking the time to answer.I'm wondering if saltwater could be used as that saline solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I wonder if you necessarily need to make it lye heavy. Maybe you can test and adjust during the cook. This is the only link I have with hints about pioneer-style soaping. Hope it helps in some way.http://waltonfeed.com/blog/show/article_id/172I'm not sure that a recipe is what you need so much as a way of getting it right on the fly. Once you have experience doing that with your particular lye-making technique and oils, future batches will be easier. I imagine that's the way it worked for the old-timers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quietgirl2004 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Imtotally confused but I usually am :rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonrose64 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) Well, this sounds very interesting and I can't wait to hear/read more.I love how they used to do stuff in the old days.Top...Great link, thanks for posting that.Your book sounds like it is going to be cool.You must let us read it when done. Edited November 1, 2009 by moonrose64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Imtotally confused but I usually am :rolleyes2Me too, obviously. LOLIt's just this stupid little story that popped into my wee wittle brain. Just trying to find whether it's believable that this character could find the stuff to make a batch of soap the way our ancestors did. I've actually seen people make old fashioned lye soap from potash but wasn't all that interested in the specifics, at the time. Wish I'd paid more attention, now.:rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Well, this sounds very interesting and I can't wait to hear/read more.You must let us read it when done.Don't know about a book. I get these silly stories in my head and they refuse to leave until I start typing them out. Then they vanish. Like a song that gets stuck in your head but when you try to sing it, you can't remember the lyrics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I think it's a great idea. Then again, I recently got myself a spinning wheel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.