Quote Originally Posted by badger View Post
I would love to make my own soap as well. I certainly have enough stuff to go into them! (like jojoba, shea, coconut, and cocoa).
You should go for it! Cold process soap is really super easy, and it only has to cure for a month before you can use it (and that month flies by if you put your soap somewhere you can't look at it). A 2lb batch of soap will last me about a year... less if I give a lot away I make mine with a relatively simple modified castille (olive oil) recipe, and everything except the lye is available at the supermarket... no exotic stuff required unless you really wanted to use it.

I was afraid to make my own soap at first.. scared of using lye, but it's really safe if you use gloves and eye protection (and have vinegar handy if any does get on your skin - I have yet to have that happen, but am always prepared). It takes about an hour to prep everything and "make" the soap, and it's cut 24 hours later. Then it sits in a box in the closet until my phone calendar tells me it's ready

Lye is becoming increasingly hard to find in stores though.. Apparently it's used at some point in the process of making meth, and many retailers have opted to just plain NOT carry it since there are many alternative drain cleaners available now (ask at Home Depot or Lowes and they'll just look at you funny). The only place I've been able to find it local to me is Tractor Supply. It can be ordered on the internet but it involves faxing things for them to be able to ship it - more of a hassle than I've ever wanted to deal with for as little as I use. I am only on my second 2lb container of Lye in 3 years, and I've only used a tiny bit of that second container.

I try to use only stuff that you can ingest and not have any ill effects. Especially on your lips - the stuff some of those conventional lip balms have is frightening, and you're eating them!
I agree.. when you start looking at ingredients it's a lot of "WTF?!".. scary that many people just don't give it any thought at all.