Eric Steinberg

I want to make my own soap. I’ve been buying natural soap that contains none of the nasty chemicals found in commercial store bought soap. It’s a bit pricey, over $5 a bar. So I figured I’d try making my own. I bought a book on Amazon, Smart Soapmaking. The book is a quick read, very simply explaining the soapmaking process. The author, Anne L. Watson, provides all the information needed to get started. She suggests hitting the thrift stores for the basic hardware required to make soap safely (the “cold process” method of soap making involves using lye to saponify the ingredients, and lye can burn you). So I hit the local Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores, as well as a local community garage sale with a few dozen sellers. Came up pretty empty as none of these had the necessary bowls or pots needed. I did, however, get a couple of nice pitchers that should be handy for measuring and pouring ingredients. I ended up at the local Wal-Mart store and found several items that completed my list. Last week I ordered the main ingredients from an online store and should have them in a few days. With those, and a borrowed stick blender, I’ll be able to start making my first batch of home made soap!