In mid March, I witnessed how people made soap. The soap they made is different from most homemade soap you find online. The soap they made is for washing dishes and dining utensils. On the Internet, you'll see most homemade soap are for shower. I think that the process should be quite similar, except for the oil we use and also the fact that we don't put any fragrance in the materials.

3月中的時候，有幸目睹人家如何製作手工肥皂。不過我觀摩的手工肥皂其實是家事皂，用來洗餐具的，而不是洗澡用的。洗澡用的肥皂用的油就是棕梠油或是比較硬的油，而且也會加香精。我們用的是廢油。所以要是您在家中炸雞塊給小朋友吃，用過的油不要倒掉，只需花40分鐘至1小時，就可以廢物利用，作幾個手工家事皂!

 

 

Getting started. Let's take a look at what tools and materials we need: 首先來看製作手工家事專用肥皂的材料跟工具:

Materials for homemade soap 手工家事皂材料

- used oil 1000 c.c.    一千c.c.的廢油

- cold water 390 c.c.  三百九十c.c.的冷水

- sodium hydroxide 145g (to use sodium hydroxide when making soaps, you have to tell your kids to stay away from it)

  氫氧化鈉 145克 (因為是強鹼，使用時要很小心，也要請小孩子遠離，不然濺到眼睛的話可能會造成失明)

- salt 1 (big) spoon to make soap more hard 1大匙的鹽巴 (可增強手工家事專用肥皂硬度，也可延長使用時間)

- sugar 1 (big) spoon to create soap bubbles 1大匙的溶解糖 (可產生手工家事專用肥皂的泡沫)

- flour 2 big spoons to make soap whiter 2大匙的麵粉 (可使手工家事專用肥皂變白)

 

Tools for homemade soap 手工家事皂工具

- stainless steel pots 不鏽鋼鍋

- small whisks 攪拌器 (有人建議用木勺，攪拌的時候面積比較大，用來混合油脂跟氫氧化鈉水溶液(lye)

- containers or pitchers 耐熱容器，可用瓷杯、耐熱量杯或化學玻璃杯

- soap molds 肥皂模型，如果不在意家事肥皂造型，其實容器可從回收牛奶盒、空鋁箔包、豆腐盒等軟質容器

- gloves, masks, aprons, etc 手套、口罩、圍巾等等

- a quick reading thermometer 溫度計

- paper towels or dishcloths to wipe up the inevitable spills 餐巾紙

當然您還需要秤(以克為單位)、量杯(以ml為單位)、量匙。

 

 

Steps to make homemade soap 製作手工家事肥皂步驟

1. Pour 390 c.c. water into a stainless steel pot 首先將390cc的冷水倒入不銹鋼鍋

2. Pour the flour, sugar and salt in the stainless steel pot 接著將麵粉、糖、鹽巴倒入

3. Stir all of the materials together 用力攪拌到均勻 (感覺可以消除蝴蝶袖)

4. Put on your mask, apron and gloves 戴上口罩、手套並穿上圍巾

5. Add 145g sodium hydroxide in the same pot and stir it 再將145克的氫氧化納加進去，也是用力攪拌。這時候鍋子會熱起來喔!

6. Finally, pour the used oil in the pot and stir it  as quickly as you can until it's like condensed milk.

   最後，將1000cc的廢油倒入，用力攪拌到濃稠的地步，這真的會讓你的手超痠的。

   It takes at least 30 minutes to do so. 依我的觀察，現場人員起碼攪拌40分鐘以上。

 

 

Make sure that the liquid is about 50 degrees so that it can become a soap faster than you expect.

量一起溫度，這樣的混合液體至少要50度，肥皂才比較容易皂化成功。

 

 

Pour the liquid in different containers.

將溶液倒入肥皂模型。然後放在通風處，約一個月就可以脫模使用囉!

 

In some cases I heard that some people would put the pot in a water bath to cool the liquid.

現場有人說，他們將溶液倒入模型前還會隔水加熱，但是網路上我看到的則是隔水冷卻。不過我觀摩的現場則是省掉隔水加熱這道程序。

 

 

This pictures shows you before and after a soap is finally done.

這是皂化前後的樣子。

 

The round one is a homemade soap, and it's been dry in the air for one month. However, the tofu-shaped soap was newly made. It will take one month for it to become a real soap.

圓形的就是已經可以使用的手工家事肥皂，而豆腐狀則是才皂化第二天的樣子，還得等一個月才能成為真正的手工家事肥皂喔!

 

 

Liquid in containers of different shapes. I really wanted to wipe away the water, but lots of people were around me. I had to take pictures as quickly as I could.

 將溶液倒入不同形狀的模型裡。其實拍這些照片時我很想將溢出來的部份抹掉，但是旁邊那麼多人觀看，我只好趕緊拍拍閃人。

 

 

I particularly love this soap as the shape is a heart one. So cute!

超愛這個心型的肥皂啦! 超可愛! 現場有人說這要藏好，不然小朋友看了還會以為是白巧克力，想拿來吃...

 

PS. 根據主婦聯盟環境保護基金會 The Homemaker's Union and Foundation的教學講義，其實製作手工家事肥皂具有危險性，不建議於家中自行製作。

 

Reference 參考資料:

1. 主婦聯盟環境保護基金會 The Homemaker's Union and Foundation

2. http://candleandsoap.about.com/