Trying to learn a new craft... soap making! This was planted in my brain years ago when I saw a segment on "Japan Screen Topic" about a community that recycles used cooking oil from around the neighborhood and turned it into detergent soaps. Working on bees finally pushed me to do it. I was thinking of just doing the "melt and pour" soap making process but I overcame the fear of working with lye and decided to go for the "cold process". I ordered my raw materials, just caustic soda and coconut oil, invited my buddies to come over the weekend so we can have our usual RPG session and make some "beauty soaps." Nope! we did not pour lye on our hands ala "Fight Club!" And we also did not use and human fats!
Forty-eight hours later, and the soap still won't come out clean from the silicon mold. The soap is still soft and soggy especially at the bottom. But the top is smooth and hard.
However, the moment the soap is exposed to air, it hardens. Below, I gave the bottom part a little patting and smoothing so it will look a little bit OK. I'll let the soap stay in the mold for a while. I won't be able to do another batch until maybe next Sunday. Once I figure out the basics of soap making, I'll try to add my bee propolis extract!
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