Come and join the community! 🌻www.buymeacoffee.com/ellyseveryday *DISCLAIMER:* The information provided within Elly's Everyday videos, website, social media pages and for Elly’s Everyday group members is based on my own personal research and experience and is provided for informational, entertainment and general educational purposes only. I am not a professional soap manufacturer and do not hold any qualifications in chemistry or skincare formulation (or any other related field) and I make no guarantees about the correctness of the information provided. Please use any information provided at your own risk and view this video if you are new to soap making: th-cam.com/video/EZTsW9UvNmU/w-d-xo.html. Thank you!
Wow! That is a real honor that Prem is helping the women to start a soaping business using your recipes. Great suggestion to plant the trees in your name. You deserve it. Nice video again, Elly! Thank you!
Wonderful ma'am. You are an inspiration for so many people. I usually watch soap making videos just for relaxation but I've learnt a lot from your videos and it has inspired me to make my own soap. I've made a few batches for my family members as well as sold out some of them. Thank you so much for your tutorials. Love from Tamilnadu ❤️❤️
The story you shared about the man in India using your videos to teach the women is so wonderful. I bet you never imagined that your videos would be used that way, such a wonderful thing!
Hi Elly. Brilliant idea that Prem had to honour you. I learnt most of my soap making skills watching your videos too. Because they’re complete and you do a great job explaining what you’re doing. Thank you for that.
Oh, wow! The story about the women in India is so wonderful! What an honor. I'm actually an aspiring beekeeper so I'll be using my own honey and probably my own beeswax when I work up the courage to make this recipe. You're the best Elly!
Beautiful color. 😍 I have also made soap with honey and beeswax. Beeswax was fine, but it caused the honey to overheat in a short amount of time and created that phenomenon. It was a good experience. 😄
Such a great honor!! There is something in planting trees that signifies respect and continuity. It's a wonderful gesture of their part and a very well deserved one!!Keep up the good work!!
Greetings Elly, I am honored that I have come in your Video it is so delightful. I am going to circulate video to Tribal people. Thanks Elly. Keep doing good work.
Thank you Prem! I'm so pleased you liked it and hope others enjoy it as well. I'm not sure if the recipe is useful or not, I'd be happy to help the communities work out recipes with the oils and fats they have on hand.
What a blessing to have your videos being spread all over the world and teaching people new skills. Thank you for teaching me too! Thanks from California. 🙏🏻
Wow Elly, what an honor! Isn't it great to find out by sharing your love of something that it inspires others too?! I really liked how you did a voice over on this and told us the good and bad things that happened, it helps us learn too.
Thanks Mary, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it was such a lovely experience to learn about the tree planting. I hope I can help them to make some nice soap! Thanks for your kind words.
How amazing to have a tree planted in your honour, and to know that your videos are helping women to improve their lives. I have always used beeswax in my soap and usually combine lye and oils at around 50-55C with no problems. I make a soap with oatmeal (but no honey), which I add after a very light trace. I have never had that volcano happen. I do add honey to another of my soaps, again with no volcano.
Hi, and thank you! I was hoping some others with more experience on this would comment. I am glad to know this works for you at lower temps. I did add quite a bit of honey to this recipe, but I think my high temps were the main culprit. Thanks for commenting.
I loved how you shared and embraced the crack in your soap. It makes learning fun and learning from our mistakes. I feel motivated every time I watch your videos. The plant of trees in your honor was beautiful, that's how you know, you are helping humanity with your gift. Love from Jamaica 🇯🇲 Elly.
I wondered how this video was going to turn out after the hints and teasers. Well worth it!So interesting to see the contrast between the log mold and the individual molds. I had a go at a honey and beeswax CP soap and found it a bit of a learning curve.
Hi Elly! I just mixed my favorite moisturizing cream with 100% olive oil soap, 10 to 1 ratio, using the melt and pour method. I'm not using it for cleaning my hand but using it for conditioning. It's nearly winter here and always had cracks on my hand before when I used to use store bought liquid soap. Which is indeed nothing but sodium sulfate. I completely stopped using SLS containing products so my hair and hands are in much better shape than before!
Wow congrats from India. What an honor though. I have seen so many soap making videos but none are as nicely made as yours. You are such a good teacher, I think that's what makes all the difference.
I just made my first ever soap today using your Castile soap recipe, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow that all went well. Thank you for your excellent videos and for sharing your knowledge, I really enjoyed myself today.
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me. I love your part of the world, I had a wonderful time in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala when I was there in 2018. I hope this helps Reforest India as well.
What a lovely thing for the people in India to do. So sweet. I made a similar soap recently, but i made the lye ahead of time as you suggest in your early videos and i had no problems with my soap gelling. I also put it in my esky to gel, and to be honest it was a bit like a sauna in there when i took the soap out, but it worked well. I have had the crack problem before too.... and i must admit i had a little giggle at your commentary when you are just staring at the crack.... it's hard to take cracks lol thanks again Elly for your videos and honesty. :) Sam.
Oh thanks Sam. I love that you enjoyed this. I was a bit annoyed by the crack at first, but then decided it could be interesting for people to see. I really want to try this again someday with cooler temps. Thanks for sharing your experience with it :)
Thanks Vanessa, you're welcome! Have you seen my hot process version as well? th-cam.com/video/4-2PM2NxlgM/w-d-xo.html It's interesting to compare the two :)
Just wanted to say that I've found that adding a tsp of yogurt ppo will keep your batter fluid when you have a high sugar recipe. I really like your soap recipes. Which I found completely by accident just today. I've been watching your sourdough whole wheat bread videos because they give me such good guidance! Ugh! I do ok with my regular bread flour and whole wheat blends, but those 100% whole wheat recipes... The last one I baked, the loaf looked gorgeous! But it weighed over a kilo! And my son bounced it off the wall and it was intact. The wall, not so much... That was my 3rd attempt. At least my soap recipes work.
Yes I love the yoghurt trick too! Have done that in other videos :) Great to hear you're persisting with the bread. Don't give up. I still make bricks sometimes!!
Elly, I like watching your soap making. You explain things well. If I have already a soap recipe created and the percentage calculated that includes lyle but later decide to include 1 to 2 tablespoons of herbs (fenugreek or Alma) into my water will I have to recalculate the entire recipe?
Hi Sandra, thank you :) No, you don't need to recalculate anything if you want to add herbs. You can add those to your heart's content without them affecting the recipe.
Your Castile recipe is still my go to for soap… I am able to use bramble berry’s gardenia with it and my friends and family love it… it is an accelerating fragrance, so it is perfect for a Castile… I just bought a big soap mold, so I can try a big pour! I plan to soap tomorrow! Btw, I’ve been making soap for 2.5 years, and I love it! People are actually really receptive when they get them as gifts, and I get a lot of compliments, even if it doesn’t look perfect! My brother complains about the smells, which is hilarious!
dear elly, thank you so much for your wonderful in-depth videos. i recently decided to learn about soap-making and i've filled up my notebook with notes from your whole channel. you are a great teacher and your voice is so soothing! i am definitely adding this recipe to my notebook for the future. the tree planting tribute was lovely. i hope those ladies have proper PPE when they make their soaps!
Hi, thank you, I'm so pleased you're getting so much from my channel. Prem is an engineer and I think he's pretty sensible, but yes, I hope they have some good PPE too! I'm sure they will find a way to make it safely.
I did a cold process honey, bees wax and oat soap. Instead of water I used frozen oat milk in the lye solution and it worked perfectly well. Hope this tip is useful .
Another lovely video, Elly. Such a beautiful gesture, and high compliment of planting trees in your name! Thank you for sharing that you are not totally perfect in your soapmaking skills;), and you still manage to produce a pretty product!! Definitely a teaching/learning moment. Laughing at yourself is good therapy, also...:) Hope to see you again, soon.
What an incredible honour that's been bestowed on you. Congratulations, your guidance has been invaluable. I watched you make this batch, you kept it under control, beeswax can be a challenge in soaping. I now use the Heat transfer method, more because of my nerve damage to my spine, but also because I can detour all those problems that can trip me up. The quicker I can get it in the moulds, the less painful it is. Your bars look beautiful. 😍 😍
Thanks so much Barbara, I appreciate you sharing your wisdom! I would definitely have made this at cooler temps with hindsight. Thanks for your feedback :)
Hi Ms. Elly. Thank you for this video. I did a "honey soap" just now. But I added the honey and essential oil after trace. Of course it got me all stressed out because it is quick to set. I wondered if I could add the honey and EO to the oils before the lye. Well, it turns out I could! Thank you for this demo Elly😚
This video reminded me that people are genuinely good for the most part (excluding many politicians.) I actually teared up at the beginning of the video. I guess we all love your videos.
Thanks for sharing, I prefer the HP way for honey soap as well. I tried making mine CP one time and mine cracked like yours did. At first I didn’t know why and after doing research I learned it got too hot. Love your videos 😃
Hello. Thank you so much for your videos. I have just made my third batch and I am hooked with soap making, and your videos have been essential to my understanding the process. I wanted to ask you, how can I test the PH, because my 100% coconut soap “volcanoed”, and when I cut it there was a part where liquid came out and there is a very small cavity left there. I just thought I had to leave it to cure but now that I see this video, I am not so sure if I need to check something else, so it ends up being a safe soap. Thanks again.
Hi, it's probably fine, but you should always test your soap bars before you use them anyway. This video shows how th-cam.com/video/3BP7089FqOI/w-d-xo.html
Just discovered this video…congratulations on the tree planted in your honor. I love the soap in the big mold. It looks more artisanal due to the brittle edges and the color is great. I personally prefer a more artisanal look for a homemade soap anyway…
Hi Elly, I am watching your video of the honey and beeswax soaps. First of all I want to thank you, long ago I saw one of your videos where you add oats and kaolin clay to your soaps, since then I do the same, pretty much I copied from you 🤗 and I remember your soaps with beeswax that I would like to make, I have a question, do they last longer? I make soaps for my daughter that has eczema but they don't last long. I am really glad to hear that you have helped people from India, there are many youtuber that make soaps but wants to sell the recipe, I am glad that you don't have that in your videos. I probably will make this recipe by Monday, I have 10lbs of beeswax that needs to be used. Thank you Elly.
Hi, yes beeswax soap can last longer, but it really depends on the total oil combination. You need more saturated fats/butters/hard oils for a longer lasting soap. This video explains th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
@EllysEverydaySoapMaking thank you Elly, I do have mango butter, coconut oil, palm oil, Shea butter, to much Shea butter that I need to use, thank you for taking the time to answer me. Have a blessed day.
Hey, Elly! These cracks I had in my last oat soap as well. Without any beeswax or honey... Lye and oils where way cooler than yours... But I put it in the oven for gelling...
Great experience! Nice to see how the crack lowered and settled. Y do a similar recipe, but just 1% of oils and fats of bees wax. I mix lye at about 35-40 degrees, trying to have all my hard and soft oils as emulsified as possible. And te result is nice too :-) thanks again for always share you knowledge, wisdom and sympathy!! Hugs from Argentina :)
Thanks for showing all the steps, and the minor missteps, in this video. The Crack of Doom was awesome! I am always struggling with cracks! I think it must reflect my personality, you know, a bit cracked! Lol!
Hi Elly. My wife and I made this recipe today and indeed it sets very quickly. All in all, it worked very well. Thank you so much.We do have a question in general about soap making. Today it was our third batch. The two previous ones were poured into silicon molds and we found it extremely difficult to remove the fragrance from them, even after two or three washes. We were concerned that it would affect the following batch and decided to use freezer paper instead. Do you know of any good method to remove the scent from a batch from a silicon mold ? thank you so much.
Thank you Elly for another lovely video tutorial, you are always so inspiring...it's no wonder that you were honoured with a tree planting...I could not imagine a sweeter dedication to your channel 😃🌳 I made a batch of CP 100% Coconut Oil and Rooibos soap last weekend with Honey and it also developed a small crack and it started gelling so quickly...within minutes. When I unmoulded and cut the soap the next day I was surprised at how soft it was (not like the usual firm log of coconut oil soap that I make), and not unlike a glycerine look. Could this be because of the addition of honey? (this was my first attempt at using honey) 🍯 The other additions were essential oils and kaolin clay. The temperature of oils and lye were around 45 degrees Celsius. Five days later and the colour is the same as a good cup of rooibos tea, sans milk.🫖 The lather is deliciously soft and fluffy but the soap is still so soft? I don't think that I did anything wrong but did I do everything right? (hahaha) Any insight would be great. Thanks again for all the guidance you share 🌿
Hi, and thank you :) I'm not sure why your soap is soft, perhaps you used a lot of honey, or extra water in the recipe? If it was made accurately and your recipe was good I wouldn't worry, it should firm up during the cure.
Hi Elly, could you tell me whether the ungelled soap bars stay this darker colour or do they get lighter over time? I love the fact you show us your mishaps as well as your beautiful masterpieces. I think I learn just as much by watching what not to do. ❤
Hi Elly, thank you for another wonderful tutorial, and what an honour to assist the women of India with their soap making pursuits. I have a question about the combination of honey and castor oil in your soap. Will it be extra bubbly as a result?
Hi Maureen, yes this soap has a nice lather for sure, as a result of the honey, castor and coconut oil mainly :) There's a link to the lather test for the HP version in the description box if you want to see the test run.
Hello from Italy… is fragrance oil the same as “essential oil”. Here we have what they call pure essential oils in all sorts of fragrances and it’s normally 100% pure. Would that be too strong and maybe I need less than the 19g? Thanks for your advice. Love the video!
Hi, no in the world of soap making 'essential oil' refers to pure concentrated plant extracted oils, while 'fragrance oil' tends to refer to synthetic fragrance oils. This video has more on amounts to use th-cam.com/video/JkcjC3wV0ZA/w-d-xo.html
Hi Elly! I tried this last night. A turmeric honey loaf and mone cracked too 😢😢 Also, the top was very crumbly. I dont know how it will turn out after curing. 2% beeswax and 1.5% honey. 1kg loaf. The keft over batter that i put in a small moukd turned out ok! Just like yours 😅
Thank u Elly. I have learnt all about sopa making from your videos. I have made my own recipes with oil combinations specific to things locally produced in Odisha, a state in Eastern coast of India. As an organisation promoting entrepreneurship, we have also trained entrepreneurs, especially, women's self help groups (SHG) groups on handmade soaps with local ingredients. Your are a great teacher and we would be honoured to be your host during your next visit to this part of India. Would be happy to connect over email.
Hi Elly, I've just started to watch your videos. I like the way you clearly and simple explain the process. For this recipe, can I use just Olive oil, Shea butter and beeswax? It's all the ingredients I have available.
Hi Elly, what an awesome video to watch. So happy for you. Thank you for everything. I wanted to ask, what can I use as an alternative for beeswax and coco butter . Or can I leave it out. We do not have access to most nice stuff in my town. Thank you xx
Thanks Rochelle. There aren't any subs for beeswax, but if you have other butters you could use them in place of cocoa butter. If you don't have any butters at all, you can leave them out but you'll have to recalculate the recipe in a lye calculator for the correct NaOH amount. I have videos that show how to do that :)
Ooooh! I have been looking for a video of a nice Honey and Oat soap!!! Thank you soooooooooooo much for sharing all of your knowledge with us! It is so appreciated! I'm curious what the clear covering is on your counter? It looks like a great idea to protect countertops. :) Also, the tree project is incredible! I absolutely LOVE India and hope to travel there one day. What an amazing culture they have.
Thanks Heather! Glad you enjoyed this. The bench cover is just some PVC plastic sheeting I bought from the hardware. It's nice and thick so I just wipe it down, roll it up and it stores away easily. Yes, the tree project is truly fantastic :)
Hi Elly, I just tried this recipe (differences in that I used frozen goat milk in my lye mixture and some differences in oils and no fragrance or E.O.) and I had it in my mind that if I put the mould in the freezer that I could avoid the eruption, but my eruption was super dramatic and made a bit of a mess in the freezer. I took the mould out and let it sit room temperature at the barn and I’m hoping to return to it later this afternoon with some salvageable for personal use. I am curious: do you think I can avoid that eruption if I just leave it out in the open instead of putting it in a fridge or freezer? I’m just a bit confused at what to do next and just wanted your opinion before I try another batch. Additional details: My oils were right about 160 F when I added the lye mixture. I wasn’t getting much trace action with the whisk so I used a stick blender for a little bit. What do you think I can do to prevent that explosion when I try again in a couple days?
I’m more than halfway tempted to just remove the honey from the whole recipe. I can’t seem to figure out what else I can do about it since it will accelerate an already high temp required by the beeswax melting point 🤔
You could remove the honey, or the milk I'd say. People forget that milk has sugars in it. Or, you could use less beeswax. Another approach would be to use a higher water amount in the recipe. Many options to slow down the saponification :)
I just love your Zen like kitchen. I loved this as a hot process soap now I’m keen to try it as CP. I don’t quite understand what you mean when you talk about the gelling. How does it affect the final outcome? Thanks. Cathy from 🇨🇦
Thanks Cathy, glad you found it interesting. Gelled soap is usually a bit darker than ungelled soap, and it has some different qualities. I normally like to gel my soap, which is why this is nicely made HP as well. This video th-cam.com/video/pl7ONfaWPWE/w-d-xo.html and this post on my website about gelling soap might be helpful www.ellyseveryday.com/ellys-everyday-blog/gel-phase-in-cold-process-soap-making
Hello ma'am, I tried using bee wax for soap making but instead of a loaf mould i used 100 g n 60 gm moulds. It saponified so fast that i could pour in the moulds. So i watched urs n will definitely try this way of keeping all the oils hot engh to slow down the hardening. Also can u pls suggest to anchor the aroma in th cp soap making since while curig the sopas, the frangrance fades away. Tq so much...
Thank you somuch for this video. How do you measure the quantity of additives to be used (honey, oats, clay etc). And what is the best temperature to mix the lye solution and oils?
I tried this recipe today and really struggled with it. I kept the oils hot enough the beeswax wouldn't melt but I think it's just too hot for me. I added all the additives to the oils before the lye (kaolin clay, oatmeal, honey, fragrance). The minute I stick blended the mixture it turned almost red and I thought I had riced it. I stick blended it more just in case it was the beeswax hardening and it did come together but it was very thick. It won't be the prettiest soap considering it was like trying to slap mashed potato in the mould but it smells amazing. I also stuck it in the fridge because it was very hot and starting to rise in the middle. I think next time I will leave the beeswax out so I can let everything cool a lot more and maybe forget the stick blender as well and just whisk it. Somehow I think I still got a workable soap that smells amazing and looks like porridge! 😂
Oh dear!! Gee, that was more of an adventure than you were looking for eh? I wonder if your fragrance oil acellerated it? That's the only issue I can think of. They can be notorious for speeding up trace, and overheating.
@EllysEverydaySoapMaking I think so too. I'll probably leave out the beeswax and just stir in the fragrance at the very end. It looked nothing like how you did it. I looked at reviews and a lot people stated the honey & oatmeal fragrance from mystic moments accelerates so I goofed there. I'm pretty new to soap making and so far it was easy just following along the recipes with you. This time I was just "this is not how Ellys looked!, what have I done?!" 🤦🏼♀️
Elly, I just have to say that you’re an amazing inspiration for so many of us! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes! Do you have a soap book for sale? I’d love to but it, if you do!
Hi Elly, I admire your work and I tried this recipe. Now is about 5 weeks in curing and I'm wondering when does it stops loosing weight? Or when would you say that is cured and can be tested? Should I first try to measure pH? Thank you
Hello elly, i want to let u know that i had made few soaps by following ur video. I am really grateful that i found u as my guru. However i find it, cold processed soap quite harsh on my dry skin. Any advice my dear?
This video might help? Choosing Oils for Soap Making - Oil types and fatty acids, balancing recipes and Soapcalc explained th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
I am keen to try this as we have our own beehive. My son (24 yrs) and I are going to give it a go but he would prefer dot to use the oat. Is that ok or should I change the receipe someway?
A great fan of your videos, lots of love from India. I have tried most of your recipes but I am getting less lather in my soaps Is there any tip you can mention where we can increase the lather organically rather than using other chemicals?
Hi Aishwarya, thank you! This video goes into depth on the topic of choosing oils for soap making - including how to increase the lather th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
I have been dying to make another honey oat soap, and I have been wanting to try it CP(my first one, which I only have one bar left of, was HP). It's amazing for my eczema prone skin, I'm just trying to decide on the scent. Just a plain, all natural very light honey scent from the organic honey I will incorporate, or an essential oil/scented oil? I can't decide, and I don't know what scent I would use. Maybe lavender essential oil? A light honey lavender scent might be nice!
Hi Liz, check out my blog post about this soap. I think eucalyptus would go great with this soap! www.ellyseveryday.com/ellys-everyday-blog/honey-and-oat-cold-process-soap-with-beeswax
Thanks a lot... I am in my way to start my project in making soaps and creams..but still I have some questions about additions in soap.. Can we add stearic acid?and how much ? Can we add frozen fresh juices instead of the lye??? I have bees wax but the raw brown one..can I use it in soap??
Come and join the community! 🌻www.buymeacoffee.com/ellyseveryday
*DISCLAIMER:* The information provided within Elly's Everyday videos, website, social media pages and for Elly’s Everyday group members is based on my own personal research and experience and is provided for informational, entertainment and general educational purposes only. I am not a professional soap manufacturer and do not hold any qualifications in chemistry or skincare formulation (or any other related field) and I make no guarantees about the correctness of the information provided. Please use any information provided at your own risk and view this video if you are new to soap making: th-cam.com/video/EZTsW9UvNmU/w-d-xo.html. Thank you!
Oh Elly what an honor, I bet your heart took a big thump on hearing it.
It sure did, as it does regularly with this channel. I am very blessed :)
Wow! That is a real honor that Prem is helping the women to start a soaping business using your recipes. Great suggestion to plant the trees in your name. You deserve it. Nice video again, Elly! Thank you!
Thanks Sonja, it was such a special thing! I have donated some funds to plant some more trees as well. They are doing important work!
Wonderful ma'am. You are an inspiration for so many people. I usually watch soap making videos just for relaxation but I've learnt a lot from your videos and it has inspired me to make my own soap. I've made a few batches for my family members as well as sold out some of them. Thank you so much for your tutorials. Love from Tamilnadu ❤️❤️
Thank you so much, how nice to hear from you in Tamilnadu. I appreciate your comment very much. Glad you're enjoying my channel :)
The story you shared about the man in India using your videos to teach the women is so wonderful. I bet you never imagined that your videos would be used that way, such a wonderful thing!
Thanks so much Kimberly, yes it was a nice surprise!
Hi Elly. Brilliant idea that Prem had to honour you. I learnt most of my soap making skills watching your videos too. Because they’re complete and you do a great job explaining what you’re doing. Thank you for that.
Thank you Sunita, it was very special indeed :)
Oh, wow! The story about the women in India is so wonderful! What an honor. I'm actually an aspiring beekeeper so I'll be using my own honey and probably my own beeswax when I work up the courage to make this recipe. You're the best Elly!
You have the sweetest voice and humor! I really enjoy your tutorials.
Beautiful color. 😍
I have also made soap with honey and beeswax. Beeswax was fine, but it caused the honey to overheat in a short amount of time and created that phenomenon. It was a good experience. 😄
Such a great honor!! There is something in planting trees that signifies respect and continuity. It's a wonderful gesture of their part and a very well deserved one!!Keep up the good work!!
Thanks so much Despina. Yes, I was so pleased by this event and I agree planting trees is so important and special on many levels :)
Oh, how special. I love women learning skills to help improve their lives. What an amazing man to help these women.
Glad you enjoyed it Tracey, yes it's a nice initiative.
Greetings Elly, I am honored that I have come in your Video it is so delightful. I am going to circulate video to Tribal people. Thanks Elly. Keep doing good work.
Thank you Prem! I'm so pleased you liked it and hope others enjoy it as well. I'm not sure if the recipe is useful or not, I'd be happy to help the communities work out recipes with the oils and fats they have on hand.
What a blessing to have your videos being spread all over the world and teaching people new skills. Thank you for teaching me too! Thanks from California. 🙏🏻
You're welcome Ellie, thanks!
Wow Elly, what an honor! Isn't it great to find out by sharing your love of something that it inspires others too?! I really liked how you did a voice over on this and told us the good and bad things that happened, it helps us learn too.
Thanks Mary, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yes, it was such a lovely experience to learn about the tree planting. I hope I can help them to make some nice soap! Thanks for your kind words.
How amazing to have a tree planted in your honour, and to know that your videos are helping women to improve their lives. I have always used beeswax in my soap and usually combine lye and oils at around 50-55C with no problems. I make a soap with oatmeal (but no honey), which I add after a very light trace. I have never had that volcano happen. I do add honey to another of my soaps, again with no volcano.
Hi, and thank you! I was hoping some others with more experience on this would comment. I am glad to know this works for you at lower temps. I did add quite a bit of honey to this recipe, but I think my high temps were the main culprit. Thanks for commenting.
I loved how you shared and embraced the crack in your soap. It makes learning fun and learning from our mistakes. I feel motivated every time I watch your videos. The plant of trees in your honor was beautiful, that's how you know, you are helping humanity with your gift. Love from Jamaica 🇯🇲 Elly.
Thank you Natesha, I love this video for all of those reasons too :)
I wondered how this video was going to turn out after the hints and teasers. Well worth it!So interesting to see the contrast between the log mold and the individual molds.
I had a go at a honey and beeswax CP soap and found it a bit of a learning curve.
Ah yes, it's a bit tricky! I do find it easier to make with the HP method, but this was fun to try. Glad you enjoyed it Trisha :)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking how lovely to have trees planted as a tribute to you. It's richly deserved 👍
Hi Elly! I just mixed my favorite moisturizing cream with 100% olive oil soap, 10 to 1 ratio, using the melt and pour method. I'm not using it for cleaning my hand but using it for conditioning. It's nearly winter here and always had cracks on my hand before when I used to use store bought liquid soap. Which is indeed nothing but sodium sulfate. I completely stopped using SLS containing products so my hair and hands are in much better shape than before!
Oh that's great to hear Ozzy! Handmade soap is very gentle. I've never made my own moisturizer - maybe one day!
Wow congrats from India. What an honor though. I have seen so many soap making videos but none are as nicely made as yours. You are such a good teacher, I think that's what makes all the difference.
Thanks so much Joya, I appreciate that very much :)
What a beautiful honour! So beautiful to know that what you do is helping so many people 💞
I just made my first ever soap today using your Castile soap recipe, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow that all went well. Thank you for your excellent videos and for sharing your knowledge, I really enjoyed myself today.
Thank you Rose, that's so nice to hear :)
J
Couldn't be prouder of you to mention my people,my country and my state,hope more awareness is created about this movement through your video
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me. I love your part of the world, I had a wonderful time in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala when I was there in 2018. I hope this helps Reforest India as well.
What a lovely thing for the people in India to do. So sweet. I made a similar soap recently, but i made the lye ahead of time as you suggest in your early videos and i had no problems with my soap gelling. I also put it in my esky to gel, and to be honest it was a bit like a sauna in there when i took the soap out, but it worked well. I have had the crack problem before too.... and i must admit i had a little giggle at your commentary when you are just staring at the crack.... it's hard to take cracks lol
thanks again Elly for your videos and honesty. :) Sam.
Oh thanks Sam. I love that you enjoyed this. I was a bit annoyed by the crack at first, but then decided it could be interesting for people to see. I really want to try this again someday with cooler temps. Thanks for sharing your experience with it :)
Thank you for all the knowledge you are kindly sharing with us Elly ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I am relatively new to soaping, and was just about to try a cp honey/oats. I was very happy that you did this one.
Thanks Vanessa, you're welcome! Have you seen my hot process version as well? th-cam.com/video/4-2PM2NxlgM/w-d-xo.html
It's interesting to compare the two :)
Beautiful. Love the natural look of the soap.
Thanks so much Consuela!
That's fantastic that your videos have that kind of reach to help people around the world. A natural teacher ❤
Thanks so much T. It's truly a wonderful thing. I feel very humbled by it all a lot of the time. So many good people in the world :)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking im learning soap making through this channel from Africa.
That is absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing your knowledge around the world.
so nice to see the color changes of the oil during the video from green to red! greetings
Thanks Rocky.
Hi Elly, thank you for the great video :) what could I use instead of the Macadamia oil? So that the amount of Lye doesn’t change?
What a lovely gesture! Congratulations!
Thanks Michelle!
Just wanted to say that I've found that adding a tsp of yogurt ppo will keep your batter fluid when you have a high sugar recipe.
I really like your soap recipes. Which I found completely by accident just today. I've been watching your sourdough whole wheat bread videos because they give me such good guidance! Ugh! I do ok with my regular bread flour and whole wheat blends, but those 100% whole wheat recipes...
The last one I baked, the loaf looked gorgeous! But it weighed over a kilo! And my son bounced it off the wall and it was intact. The wall, not so much... That was my 3rd attempt.
At least my soap recipes work.
Yes I love the yoghurt trick too! Have done that in other videos :) Great to hear you're persisting with the bread. Don't give up. I still make bricks sometimes!!
So inspiring, well done Elly! Love your honesty and sharing your learnings. Thanks for another great video .
Thanks Corina! I really appreciate that.
Elly,
I like watching your soap making. You explain things well. If I have already a soap recipe created and the percentage calculated that includes lyle but later decide to include 1 to 2 tablespoons of herbs (fenugreek or Alma) into my water will I have to recalculate the entire recipe?
Hi Sandra, thank you :) No, you don't need to recalculate anything if you want to add herbs. You can add those to your heart's content without them affecting the recipe.
Your Castile recipe is still my go to for soap… I am able to use bramble berry’s gardenia with it and my friends and family love it… it is an accelerating fragrance, so it is perfect for a Castile… I just bought a big soap mold, so I can try a big pour! I plan to soap tomorrow! Btw, I’ve been making soap for 2.5 years, and I love it! People are actually really receptive when they get them as gifts, and I get a lot of compliments, even if it doesn’t look perfect! My brother complains about the smells, which is hilarious!
Ah that's nice to hear. Good for you Jessica!
dear elly, thank you so much for your wonderful in-depth videos. i recently decided to learn about soap-making and i've filled up my notebook with notes from your whole channel. you are a great teacher and your voice is so soothing! i am definitely adding this recipe to my notebook for the future. the tree planting tribute was lovely. i hope those ladies have proper PPE when they make their soaps!
Hi, thank you, I'm so pleased you're getting so much from my channel. Prem is an engineer and I think he's pretty sensible, but yes, I hope they have some good PPE too! I'm sure they will find a way to make it safely.
I did a cold process honey, bees wax and oat soap. Instead of water I used frozen oat milk in the lye solution and it worked perfectly well. Hope this tip is useful .
Thanks for sharing!
Was the colour quite different and did you need to change up anything else in the soap calc to compensate?
Did you heat up your oat milk lye solution to match the 70 degrees of thr oils?
This is awesome!!! I love your videos, energy, and authentic nature.
you can avoid cracks by spraying water on top or covering it with a box. it happens because the top dries while it’s still hot inside
Oh, how lovely you got trees planted in your honour in India. This is beautiful.
Another lovely video, Elly. Such a beautiful gesture, and high compliment of planting trees in your name! Thank you for sharing that you are not totally perfect in your soapmaking skills;), and you still manage to produce a pretty product!! Definitely a teaching/learning moment. Laughing at yourself is good therapy, also...:) Hope to see you again, soon.
Thank you Kathy :)
What an incredible honour that's been bestowed on you. Congratulations, your guidance has been invaluable. I watched you make this batch, you kept it under control, beeswax can be a challenge in soaping. I now use the Heat transfer method, more because of my nerve damage to my spine, but also because I can detour all those problems that can trip me up. The quicker I can get it in the moulds, the less painful it is. Your bars look beautiful. 😍 😍
Thanks so much Barbara, I appreciate you sharing your wisdom! I would definitely have made this at cooler temps with hindsight. Thanks for your feedback :)
Hi Ms. Elly. Thank you for this video. I did a "honey soap" just now. But I added the honey and essential oil after trace. Of course it got me all stressed out because it is quick to set. I wondered if I could add the honey and EO to the oils before the lye. Well, it turns out I could! Thank you for this demo Elly😚
You're welcome! :)
This video reminded me that people are genuinely good for the most part (excluding many politicians.) I actually teared up at the beginning of the video. I guess we all love your videos.
Oh thank you so much Amy, this all has that affect on me too :)
so happy for you ! What an honor! Thanks for another interesting soap experiment too Elly xx
Thank you boop! (I'm just going to call you boop because I have forgotten your first name... sorry!)
Thanks for sharing, I prefer the HP way for honey soap as well. I tried making mine CP one time and mine cracked like yours did. At first I didn’t know why and after doing research I learned it got too hot. Love your videos 😃
Thanks Dawn, yes I think I like the HP one better too. Definitely easier to make :)
Elly you are such a soap cutting boss!! I have to use my wooden soap guide to cut lol
I just love this soap 🥰
Thanks Kasie, actually I did a terrible job on this soap! I just didn't show the crooked bits ;)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking lol
Aww this is amazing Elly! Indeed you have helped a lot of us. I am learning so much from your tutorial. God bless you.
Thanks so much, I'm so pleased to hear that! Blessings to you too :)
I think it's absolutely beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing! ❤️
Thanks!
Hello. Thank you so much for your videos. I have just made my third batch and I am hooked with soap making, and your videos have been essential to my understanding the process.
I wanted to ask you, how can I test the PH, because my 100% coconut soap “volcanoed”, and when I cut it there was a part where liquid came out and there is a very small cavity left there. I just thought I had to leave it to cure but now that I see this video, I am not so sure if I need to check something else, so it ends up being a safe soap. Thanks again.
Hi, it's probably fine, but you should always test your soap bars before you use them anyway. This video shows how th-cam.com/video/3BP7089FqOI/w-d-xo.html
Just discovered this video…congratulations on the tree planted in your honor. I love the soap in the big mold. It looks more artisanal due to the brittle edges and the color is great. I personally prefer a more artisanal look for a homemade soap anyway…
Love you both for the recipes and for your connection with my country ♥️
Thank you, you're very welcome.
What an amazing gesture! So cool!
Hi Elly, I am watching your video of the honey and beeswax soaps. First of all I want to thank you, long ago I saw one of your videos where you add oats and kaolin clay to your soaps, since then I do the same, pretty much I copied from you 🤗 and I remember your soaps with beeswax that I would like to make, I have a question, do they last longer? I make soaps for my daughter that has eczema but they don't last long. I am really glad to hear that you have helped people from India, there are many youtuber that make soaps but wants to sell the recipe, I am glad that you don't have that in your videos. I probably will make this recipe by Monday, I have 10lbs of beeswax that needs to be used. Thank you Elly.
Hi, yes beeswax soap can last longer, but it really depends on the total oil combination. You need more saturated fats/butters/hard oils for a longer lasting soap. This video explains th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
@EllysEverydaySoapMaking thank you Elly, I do have mango butter, coconut oil, palm oil, Shea butter, to much Shea butter that I need to use, thank you for taking the time to answer me. Have a blessed day.
Hey, Elly! These cracks I had in my last oat soap as well. Without any beeswax or honey... Lye and oils where way cooler than yours... But I put it in the oven for gelling...
Ah yes, the oven will warm things up a bit too much sometimes. It depends on the oils/fats used as well (some saponify more rapidly than others).
Elly U are such an Inspiration🙏🏽❤
~ I'm slowly getting bk2 my soap mkg Thks2U 💚💚💚💚💚
A Beautiful gesture🌳 🌳 🌳
Good for you! Thanks :)
Great experience! Nice to see how the crack lowered and settled. Y do a similar recipe, but just 1% of oils and fats of bees wax. I mix lye at about 35-40 degrees, trying to have all my hard and soft oils as emulsified as possible. And te result is nice too :-) thanks again for always share you knowledge, wisdom and sympathy!!
Hugs from Argentina :)
Thanks for showing all the steps, and the minor missteps, in this video. The Crack of Doom was awesome! I am always struggling with cracks! I think it must reflect my personality, you know, a bit cracked! Lol!
Haha Susan, thank you! You're not alone in the cracked department ;)
your videos are powerful. CONGRATULATIONS
Thank you Joana, what a statement! I am pleased to be able to help and connect with others through the channel.
Today i made this soap following your recepie ☺
Great! Hope it worked out well for you :)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking yes. Waiting to do unmoulding and cutting.
Fantastic!! What an honor, your videos have taught me so much.
Thanks so much Debra, yes I was so delighted!
I love you elly! Thanks for your awesome videos and great teaching!!🎉
Glad you liked them. Thank you for your support. :)
What a wonderful thing Ella🕊
Hi Elly. My wife and I made this recipe today and indeed it sets very quickly. All in all, it worked very well. Thank you so much.We do have a question in general about soap making.
Today it was our third batch. The two previous ones were poured into silicon molds and we found it extremely difficult to remove the fragrance from them, even after two or three washes. We were concerned that it would affect the following batch and decided to use freezer paper instead. Do you know of any good method to remove the scent from a batch from a silicon mold ? thank you so much.
Thank you Elly for another lovely video tutorial, you are always so inspiring...it's no wonder that you were honoured with a tree planting...I could not imagine a sweeter dedication to your channel 😃🌳
I made a batch of CP 100% Coconut Oil and Rooibos soap last weekend with Honey and it also developed a small crack and it started gelling so quickly...within minutes. When I unmoulded and cut the soap the next day I was surprised at how soft it was (not like the usual firm log of coconut oil soap that I make), and not unlike a glycerine look.
Could this be because of the addition of honey? (this was my first attempt at using honey) 🍯
The other additions were essential oils and kaolin clay. The temperature of oils and lye were around 45 degrees Celsius.
Five days later and the colour is the same as a good cup of rooibos tea, sans milk.🫖
The lather is deliciously soft and fluffy but the soap is still so soft? I don't think that I did anything wrong but did I do everything right? (hahaha)
Any insight would be great.
Thanks again for all the guidance you share 🌿
Hi, and thank you :) I'm not sure why your soap is soft, perhaps you used a lot of honey, or extra water in the recipe? If it was made accurately and your recipe was good I wouldn't worry, it should firm up during the cure.
Thanks Mum for teaching Iam still leaning🙏
Hi Elly, could you tell me whether the ungelled soap bars stay this darker colour or do they get lighter over time? I love the fact you show us your mishaps as well as your beautiful masterpieces. I think I learn just as much by watching what not to do. ❤
Thanks Jacqui, the soap does lighten up a bit over time. They are always darker when fresh :)
Hi Elly, thank you for another wonderful tutorial, and what an honour to assist the women of India with their soap making pursuits. I have a question about the combination of honey and castor oil in your soap. Will it be extra bubbly as a result?
Hi Maureen, yes this soap has a nice lather for sure, as a result of the honey, castor and coconut oil mainly :) There's a link to the lather test for the HP version in the description box if you want to see the test run.
Hello from Italy… is fragrance oil the same as “essential oil”. Here we have what they call pure essential oils in all sorts of fragrances and it’s normally 100% pure. Would that be too strong and maybe I need less than the 19g? Thanks for your advice. Love the video!
Hi, no in the world of soap making 'essential oil' refers to pure concentrated plant extracted oils, while 'fragrance oil' tends to refer to synthetic fragrance oils. This video has more on amounts to use th-cam.com/video/JkcjC3wV0ZA/w-d-xo.html
Hi Elly! I tried this last night. A turmeric honey loaf and mone cracked too 😢😢
Also, the top was very crumbly. I dont know how it will turn out after curing.
2% beeswax and 1.5% honey. 1kg loaf. The keft over batter that i put in a small moukd turned out ok! Just like yours 😅
Thank u Elly. I have learnt all about sopa making from your videos. I have made my own recipes with oil combinations specific to things locally produced in Odisha, a state in Eastern coast of India. As an organisation promoting entrepreneurship, we have also trained entrepreneurs, especially, women's self help groups (SHG) groups on handmade soaps with local ingredients.
Your are a great teacher and we would be honoured to be your host during your next visit to this part of India. Would be happy to connect over email.
Thank you so much, I would love to visit India again someday. Thank you for your generous offer :)
Hi Elly, I've just started to watch your videos. I like the way you clearly and simple explain the process. For this recipe, can I use just Olive oil, Shea butter and beeswax? It's all the ingredients I have available.
Thanks Judy. You would have to calculate a new recipe for any oil changes. This video shows how th-cam.com/video/AqKxin0q1bM/w-d-xo.html
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking Thank you
Hi Elly, what an awesome video to watch. So happy for you. Thank you for everything.
I wanted to ask, what can I use as an alternative for beeswax and coco butter . Or can I leave it out. We do not have access to most nice stuff in my town.
Thank you xx
Thanks Rochelle. There aren't any subs for beeswax, but if you have other butters you could use them in place of cocoa butter. If you don't have any butters at all, you can leave them out but you'll have to recalculate the recipe in a lye calculator for the correct NaOH amount. I have videos that show how to do that :)
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking thank you I understand. Blessings in abundance xx
Ooooh! I have been looking for a video of a nice Honey and Oat soap!!! Thank you soooooooooooo much for sharing all of your knowledge with us! It is so appreciated! I'm curious what the clear covering is on your counter? It looks like a great idea to protect countertops. :) Also, the tree project is incredible! I absolutely LOVE India and hope to travel there one day. What an amazing culture they have.
Thanks Heather! Glad you enjoyed this. The bench cover is just some PVC plastic sheeting I bought from the hardware. It's nice and thick so I just wipe it down, roll it up and it stores away easily. Yes, the tree project is truly fantastic :)
Hi Elly, I just tried this recipe (differences in that I used frozen goat milk in my lye mixture and some differences in oils and no fragrance or E.O.) and I had it in my mind that if I put the mould in the freezer that I could avoid the eruption, but my eruption was super dramatic and made a bit of a mess in the freezer.
I took the mould out and let it sit room temperature at the barn and I’m hoping to return to it later this afternoon with some salvageable for personal use.
I am curious: do you think I can avoid that eruption if I just leave it out in the open instead of putting it in a fridge or freezer? I’m just a bit confused at what to do next and just wanted your opinion before I try another batch.
Additional details: My oils were right about 160 F when I added the lye mixture. I wasn’t getting much trace action with the whisk so I used a stick blender for a little bit.
What do you think I can do to prevent that explosion when I try again in a couple days?
I’m more than halfway tempted to just remove the honey from the whole recipe. I can’t seem to figure out what else I can do about it since it will accelerate an already high temp required by the beeswax melting point 🤔
You could remove the honey, or the milk I'd say. People forget that milk has sugars in it. Or, you could use less beeswax. Another approach would be to use a higher water amount in the recipe. Many options to slow down the saponification :)
Wow fantastic. Very inspired video! Nice honor indeed. Soap turned out great in the end 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you George! It was a fun thing to make. I learned a lot! The tree planting was very special indeed :)
I just love your Zen like kitchen. I loved this as a hot process soap now I’m keen to try it as CP. I don’t quite understand what you mean when you talk about the gelling. How does it affect the final outcome? Thanks.
Cathy from 🇨🇦
Thanks Cathy, glad you found it interesting. Gelled soap is usually a bit darker than ungelled soap, and it has some different qualities. I normally like to gel my soap, which is why this is nicely made HP as well. This video th-cam.com/video/pl7ONfaWPWE/w-d-xo.html and this post on my website about gelling soap might be helpful www.ellyseveryday.com/ellys-everyday-blog/gel-phase-in-cold-process-soap-making
@@EllysEverydaySoapMaking Thanks Elly. I remember watching the video and reading the post before but it was a nice refresher.
Hello ma'am, I tried using bee wax for soap making but instead of a loaf mould i used 100 g n 60 gm moulds. It saponified so fast that i could pour in the moulds. So i watched urs n will definitely try this way of keeping all the oils hot engh to slow down the hardening. Also can u pls suggest to anchor the aroma in th cp soap making since while curig the sopas, the frangrance fades away. Tq so much...
Thank you somuch for this video. How do you measure the quantity of additives to be used (honey, oats, clay etc). And what is the best temperature to mix the lye solution and oils?
They look super nutritious & look like they smell good!
Thanks Aniqua, it's a really nice soap! I love it. The colour has mellowed after curing for a week now :)
I tried this recipe today and really struggled with it. I kept the oils hot enough the beeswax wouldn't melt but I think it's just too hot for me. I added all the additives to the oils before the lye (kaolin clay, oatmeal, honey, fragrance). The minute I stick blended the mixture it turned almost red and I thought I had riced it. I stick blended it more just in case it was the beeswax hardening and it did come together but it was very thick. It won't be the prettiest soap considering it was like trying to slap mashed potato in the mould but it smells amazing. I also stuck it in the fridge because it was very hot and starting to rise in the middle. I think next time I will leave the beeswax out so I can let everything cool a lot more and maybe forget the stick blender as well and just whisk it. Somehow I think I still got a workable soap that smells amazing and looks like porridge! 😂
Oh dear!! Gee, that was more of an adventure than you were looking for eh? I wonder if your fragrance oil acellerated it? That's the only issue I can think of. They can be notorious for speeding up trace, and overheating.
@EllysEverydaySoapMaking I think so too. I'll probably leave out the beeswax and just stir in the fragrance at the very end. It looked nothing like how you did it. I looked at reviews and a lot people stated the honey & oatmeal fragrance from mystic moments accelerates so I goofed there. I'm pretty new to soap making and so far it was easy just following along the recipes with you. This time I was just "this is not how Ellys looked!, what have I done?!" 🤦🏼♀️
Hi Elly, very good of you to help woman to make some income. I love the soap, lovely. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!
Elly, I just have to say that you’re an amazing inspiration for so many of us! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes!
Do you have a soap book for sale? I’d love to but it, if you do!
Thank you, no, not yet :)
Hi Elly, I admire your work and I tried this recipe. Now is about 5 weeks in curing and I'm wondering when does it stops loosing weight?
Or when would you say that is cured and can be tested? Should I first try to measure pH? Thank you
It loses more weight as time goes on. But you can test for pH after the first week. After 5 weeks it's probably ready to use :)
Hello elly, i want to let u know that i had made few soaps by following ur video. I am really grateful that i found u as my guru. However i find it, cold processed soap quite harsh on my dry skin. Any advice my dear?
This video might help? Choosing Oils for Soap Making - Oil types and fatty acids, balancing recipes and Soapcalc explained
th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
You're great woman more grace ,thank you so much ma
This is really good, it came out well, good job 👍🏼
Thanks Linda! Not too bad despite the crack :)
Looks yummy and edible.
Thanks
No worries Dan :)
Hi Ellys. Thanks.
You're welcome Claudineia!
Loved ur video ❤ one question Can we make it without lye? If yes then how?
www.ellyseveryday.com/soap-making-faqs
Awesome video, thanks for sharing
I am keen to try this as we have our own beehive. My son (24 yrs) and I are going to give it a go but he would prefer dot to use the oat. Is that ok or should I change the receipe someway?
Just leave the oats out. It will be great.
Awesome Elly
A great fan of your videos, lots of love from India. I have tried most of your recipes but I am getting less lather in my soaps
Is there any tip you can mention where we can increase the lather organically rather than using other chemicals?
Hi Aishwarya, thank you! This video goes into depth on the topic of choosing oils for soap making - including how to increase the lather th-cam.com/video/V-uDPifp3n0/w-d-xo.html
Thank you, Elly!
You're welcome Fernanda!
You warmed my spirit☺
I have been dying to make another honey oat soap, and I have been wanting to try it CP(my first one, which I only have one bar left of, was HP). It's amazing for my eczema prone skin, I'm just trying to decide on the scent. Just a plain, all natural very light honey scent from the organic honey I will incorporate, or an essential oil/scented oil? I can't decide, and I don't know what scent I would use. Maybe lavender essential oil? A light honey lavender scent might be nice!
Hi Liz, check out my blog post about this soap. I think eucalyptus would go great with this soap! www.ellyseveryday.com/ellys-everyday-blog/honey-and-oat-cold-process-soap-with-beeswax
Thanks a lot...
I am in my way to start my project in making soaps and creams..but still I have some questions about additions in soap..
Can we add stearic acid?and how much ?
Can we add frozen fresh juices instead of the lye???
I have bees wax but the raw brown one..can I use it in soap??
I don’t have macadamia butter , what can I replace it with , thank u for lovely recipes always
You could use almond oil in place of the macadamia nut oil.