Do we have any soap makers or candle makers?

[Guest]

I have recently been noseying about in books and online on bee wax craft and was after hints, tips, supplier recommendations and general info for beginners. It is very interesting but like everything else it is very daunting at this stage.

Thank you as always

[Mrs Bee]

I used to make candles many years ago and strangely, have been reading up on soap making. I don't think I can bothered to make the soap from scratch that seems a bit too chemical and time consuming but I will get some soap base which you melt and add your colours, smells etc.

With candles I remember using an old large saucepan, which I filled with water and then put an old coffee tin filled with wax into the saucepan to melt. You use it like a double boiler. You mustn't melt the wax in a pan on direst heat or you will get the equivalent of a chip pan fire, very dangerous.

I am sure they sell proper wax kettles now, but if you are only going to make a few candles and just want to have a little go and see how you get on, then the saucepan an old tin double boiler method is a cheap way of starting.

You will need a couple of candle moulds, wax, candle wax colours, perhaps some scent and a reel of wick. Be careful that you cover all areas of the kitchen before you start as it is messy and the wax colours stain like the devil!!!!!

If you are going to make candles in glass jars, you will need little metal wick holders and Ikea do robust glass jars in their candle section or you can reuse the jars their scented candles come in.

[mothhawk]

I too, have recently been looking at soap making after my sister brought me some wonderful beeswax soap from the States. I was a bit put off by the cautions about using lye as it heats up so much, but I found a few web pages with recipes that seemed simple, like this one -

Honey and Beeswax Soap Recipe - Health And Wellness - Mother Earth Living

[Alison]

I used to make candles many years ago and strangely, have been reading up on soap making. I don't think I can bothered to make the soap from scratch that seems a bit too chemical and time consuming but I will get some soap base which you melt and add your colours, smells etc.

The bases you're talking about are referred to as Melt and Pour and you can get some beautiful results. However, like most soaps you can buy, the results tend to be full of chemicals which I find bad for me such as the SLSs that are put in to make a fake lather. Actually making Cold Processed soap using lye, water and oils and fragrancing with essential oils is very simple and you end up with a much purer and moisturising product. Yes there is a chemical reaction involved (there is when you make a cake too) and you need to your recipe is weighed out properly but it's incredibly easy and well worth doing. Although my traditional Cold Processed soaps tend to look a bit rustic they are very kind to the skin and can be used by people who can't use modern soaps.

[Guest]

I am lost again with melt and pour and cold pressed method

[bearded bloke]

NG, look up your local branch of the BBKA, I'm fairly sure most areas will do a candle making workshop, there was deffo a demonstration by them at this years EGS (I brought a C*****mad Angel for Mrs.BB)

[Guest]

Unfortunately what little contact I have had with my local BBKA has not been great. I am doing a beekeeping course soon so will ask then and am hoping to go to a honey fair in August. Just researching in the mean time

[veggiechicken]

We used to make beeswax candles when we had bees.
All I remember is melting wax in a double saucepan and pouring it into glass candle moulds with a wick.
Not very helpful, I know

[veggiechicken]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Formu.../dp/0963753975
This is an interesting book with lots of ideas for using beeswax & honey. We used to make polish - not that I now how to use it
Somewhere I have a beeswax chicken, cast in a mould

[Alison]

I am lost again with melt and pour and cold pressed method

There are three basic ways which I'm aware of for making soap (and different recipes for all of them too). I make what is called Cold Processed (CP) which is a traditional method where you don't add heat (ie cold) and the "cooking" is down to the heat produced by chemical reaction. Basically I dissolve caustic soda (lye) in water which causes it to heat up. I warm up oils (I usually use mixtures of cheap olive oil, coconut oil and corn oil, occasionally palm oil but I try and avoid this) then mix with the lye. The amount of lye needed will vary depending on what oils you use and that's the most important bit. If you get it wrong your final soap can be caustic but there are some good websites that work it out and you always add extra oil to ensure its fine. I use an old stick blender to get the right consistency and when it first starts to thicken I add essential oils to scent and mica powders to colour. Then pour into moulds, cover with cling film then wrap in towels overnight. At this point the mix is still very caustic. By the following morning the chemical reaction will have occurred and the soap will have set and be neutral pH. Demould and leave to harden up a bit before using.

Hot Processed is another more traditional method but you add heat to it as well as internal generation. I have done this using an old cook pot, mainly for liquid soaps but it is a right faff.

Finally there is Melt and Pour which is more kit form where you basically melt it all in a pan then shape as you want, adding colour and scent. The likes of HŁbbycr@ft sell this but you can do some quite advanced soaps too. As I said before I don't like it as much as I prefer to know what is in my products and work from base ingredients. By choosing my own oils I can target specific needs but it suits some people.

[Guest]

^^^ Thank you