So how do you make soap anyway?

Many of our friends have asked us " So how do you make soap anyway?"
The first thing that we need to do, is decide on a recipe, and run it through a lye calculator such as Soap Calc.

This helps us make sure that we are using a safe amount of liquid, oils, and lye. Different oils react differently with lye, so we make sure to always recalculate each new recipe entering the exact oils that we plan to use.
We set out all of our equipment before hand, including gloves, safety glasses and an accurate scale.
Next we melt the solid oils in a stainless steel double boiler
and we measure the liquid oils into a plastic paint bucket.
Now we measure essential oils at 1 oz per pound of base oils. 7 oz of Frankincense and Myrrh for this 7 lb. batch.Then we pour the warmed oils into the bucket of liquid ones,
and stir until completely incorporated.
Next we VERY slowly add the precisely measured lye to the frozen goat's milk.
After the milk melts, but before it over heats and turns yellow, we slowly add the lye/milk solution to the oils
and incorporate thoroughly.
When the mixture reaches light trace ( slightly thickened, like thin pudding), we add the essential oils and mix well.
When the mixture thickens again, we quickly pour it into our soapmolds.

Unmold after 24 hours, and place in a cool, dry place for 4-6 weeks until fully cured.