Soap making lesson

Michaele makes many different types of soap; including lemongrass, cedar saffron, tea tree, french clay, citrus, lime, lavendar, lemon, birch, cinnamon, clove, peppermint, and spearmint. The recipe she uses is: 3 pounds coconut oil; 3 pounds olive oil; 4.5 pounds palm oil/tallow; 4 pounds water; 1.5 pounds lye. She uses this mixture of oils because the olive oil and coconut oil are very moisturizing and the palm and tallow are hard, which gives the soap a good lather. Mixed together creates the perfect soap.

First the lye and water are mixed together; this mixture gets very hot as it produces a toxic gas that burns the lungs. This mixture must be cooled as the oil is heated up. Both oil and lye mixture must be at the exact same temperature, which should be 98 degrees. If the two are not at the exact same temperature the soap will not set up properly. Once they are both at 98 degrees they are mixed together and blended with a hand blender. Once the mixture thickens some the fragrance oil, colorant and texture materials are added. When the mixture begins to 'trace', when the spoon leaves a mark across the top, it is poured into the molds. Michaele uses recycled half and half or buttermilk containers.

The various spices and natural materials that give the soaps color and texture. Clockwise from top are lavender buds, clove, french clay, alkanet root, tumeric, and annatto seed. Michaele also uses fresh materials such as spruce tips that she harvests herself, as well as parsley and fennel from the farm.

The bags of ingredients and a few of the oils that give the soaps their marvelous scent.

Michaele mixing the lye, water and oil mixture with "the propeller"

Adding in the birch bark to give the spruce soap texture.

Carefully pouring the mixture into milk cartons as it begins to saponify. The mixture is still very caustic and if you get it on your skin it burns. It must set overnight before the causticity dissipates. 

Each batch produces six small milk cartons full. Fellow intern Nick watches in the background. The soap will be left to set for several weeks.