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 We make our soaps the old fashioned way;
hand stirred in a large pot. It can take
over an hour of constant stirring, after
which the herbs and essential oils are added.
We then pour the soap into our custom molds
where it sets for 48 hours. Last, we hand
cut each to a uniform size, and put it on
the drying rack to cure for at least 6 weeks.
In each bar of our special soap, you will
enjoy the benefits of olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shay butter, cocoa butter,
beeswax, grapefruit seed extract, pure essential oils, and highest quality herbs
and botanicals. Some of the herbs are grown here on our farm.
Commercially made soaps have the natural glycerin removed. We do not do this. Glycerin
helps the skin retain moisture and provides a gentler way to cleanse the body. Why would
you want to remove that?
All of our scented, herbal, aromatherapy
soaps are made by cold processing:
Our special mixture of oils and ingredients are warmed to melting point, then cooled
to 100 degrees. Sodium hydroxide and water are mixed and cooled to 100 degrees.
These two mixtures are then combined and stirred; the resulting chemical reaction
creates pure, gentle, luxurious, handmade soap, with the benefits of naturally occurring
glycerin.
Our Frontier Soap - lye soap - is made by hot processing: It is cooked over a fire.
Browse through our wide range of soaps, or let us assist
you in custom blending your own personal fragrance. Many herbs, essential oils and
fragrance oils are available to you as well as custom color combinations. Either way,
once you try our soaps, you will
never be satisfied with anything less.
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How To Make Your Own Soap
Getting started is easy and fun. Look around and scavenge items like: a sugar kettle or
iron wash kettle that holds 10 to 15 gallons, a wooden spoon with a 2 to 3 foot handle,
or even a canoe paddle, scales for weighing lard and lye, a 3 gallon size plastic or
enamel pail, freezer paper and soap trays or molds. Molds can be anything from the
bottom of that plastic pop bottles to the more elaborate molds from your soap supplier.
A soap tray can be anything with four sides and a bottom, even a kitchen drawer will
work. (Once your soap has set for 24 hours you cut the bars to the desired size and
return your drawer to its proper place in the kitchen.)
There are many ways and recipes for making soap, but this is the one used by early
pioneers and at our soap shed at the Ozark Folk Center. It will get you started. Of course,
all soap making can be done on top of your kitchen stove and is a lot easier. Again, the
following process is the way the early pioneers made soap, so if you want to demonstrate
pioneer soap making to your children or grandchildren, you will have a procedure to follow.
Make sure your kettle is stable. You sure don't want to have your kettle tip over while
you are stirring. I use both of the following methods for holding my kettle stable.
A kettle hung from a tripod allows you to easily adjust the distance of your pot over the open
fire. Setting the kettle in a ring allows the pot to be set at 4 to 6 inches above the
ground and is more stable over the fire. Start your wood fire under the kettle and get
out your old lye soap recipe.
3 gallons of water - 12 ounces of lye - 6 pounds of lard
1. Place three gallons of water in the kettle then carefully add the lye, turning your
head so the fumes are not inhaled. Inhaled fumes are dangerous, they are caustic and
can cause a sharp burning sensation.
2. When the lye is dissolved add the lard.
3. Cook until thick like gravy, or as some of the old timers say, "cold molasses".
The threads will drip off of your paddle to approximately 50 to 55 inches length.
Thickening of the soap to this consistency, over an open fire, takes 2 to 4 hours depending
on the weather conditions. Try to maintain a fire that keeps your mixture under a boil.
If you don't like the smell of plain soap, add a fragrance such as lavender, and stir
several times. At this point you are ready to pour into your soap tray.
4. Ladle into your soap molds or trays, and cover with a piece of plywood and a blanket.
Let your soap set until the next day, approximately 24 hours.
5. When you start the next step, it helps if you have some place to set your soap bars.
An enclosed area would be great, as I have had raccoons carry my soap to the top of
the soap shed roof. Needless to say I wasn't very happy, but that raccoon had the
cleanest mouth in the woods. Also you need to set your soap where it will be somewhat
dust free. Soap needs to season for 4 to 6 weeks. After your soap has seasoned you can
wrap and store it.
Most people who come through the Soap Shed at the Ozark Folk Center, have had some experience
watching their parents or grandparents making soap. They have mentioned many uses for lye
soap. Some I have heard of and used, and some I'm not ready to try!!
Here are a few that have been mentioned:
Complexion- acne, Hair shampoo, Bathing, Poison Oak and Ivy, Tick & Chigger bites,
Insect control, Dog Shampoo, Laundry, Bait for catfish, Diluted solution for the garden
and flowers, Soap chips around the trees to keep bores down...
Neither Grandma or the Ozark Folk Center makes any of the above claims, and is not
responsible for, nor will we take credit for the result of your experimenting!!
Just about any size or shape of container can be used for a mold. Some old timers say
that their grandmothers left the soap in the kettle until formed, but they don't
remember how they got it out of the pot. Some soap makers placed their soap in peach crates
lined with damp cotton cloth. Others placed the soap in gift boxes or wooden match boxes.
So look around the house for shapes that might work. (Glass is not recommended because
the soap will not release as well as in a plastic or rubber mold.)
At the Folk Center I form my soap in wooden-framed molds. Make your frames into a manageable
size. Either square or rectangular molds work fine. Line your boxes with freezer paper
to keep it from sticking to the wood. Cover your mold with another thin piece of wood,
then place a blanket over the frame. Allow the covers to remain for a day. This prevents
the soap from cooling too rapidly.
Just as there are many forms for holding the soap, there are many ways to cut it.
I have a cutting board at home that allows me to push the soap from the tray through
equally spaced guitar strings. The bars are cut into equal size. The standard method
used here in the mountains is to use a knife steadied against a 1" thick piece
of wood that lays on the top of the tray. This is the method I demonstrate in the
Soap Shed.
After your bars are dried for 4 to 6 weeks you will want to wrap them. There are all
types of paper from brown paper to paper doilies, gift wrapping paper to washi
paper (Wahi is made from plant fibers). Avoid aluminum foil or colored tissue paper since
even cured soap is slightly alkaline. I use a cling and wrap paper to cover my individual
bars, then I place them in a cloth bag or put a labeling band around them.
Some further sources of soap making information you might enjoy looking into:
"Country Living Handmade Soap"
Copy 1998
Hearst Books
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"The Complete Soapmaker"
Norma Coney
1997
Sterling / Lark Books |
"Soap Recipes"
(70 Tried and True Ways to Make Modern Soap.)
Elain White
#1SBN0-9637539-5-9 |
"Art of Soap Making"
Meriilyn Mohr
1979
Camden House |
Go to: Soap Making ~ Its History or Pioneer Soap Making Folk Lore
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800.526.2207 Fax: 870.269.5849
P.O. Box 2504
Mountain View, AR 72560 |
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