I am pretty sure that all of you remember the first time you mixed up a batch of soap, and how that soap turned out.  For some of us, it was a batch that will live in infamy, the best soap we ever made, a revelation, and epiphany!!  For others, well, it was….not.  

Here are some stories of first batches from our members.  I want to thank each of you who whose to participate in this article, you are a bunch of sweethearts!!  Enjoy!!

Steph:
My first batch turned out nicely with Camille's help, it was my second batch that was a mess! I made a recipe from The Soapmaker's Companion that had lots of goodies in it. I didn't have hazelnut oil, so I was just going to use more olive. I even did the lye calculator change... but I forgot to increase the olive amount and ended up with some yummy smelling lye heavy soap! I was so upset that I wasted all that wonderful soap! I tried rebatching, added too much water and got warped soap... but it smelled soo good. Can't remember the blend though :) I bet it's in the first swap booklet :)

Denise in PA:
My first batch was a basic soap recipe I received at a soapmaking class I took at a "school of natural living".  I bought the coconut and pko oils from them and used a cardboard box as a mold.  I scented it with peppermint eo and added some oatmeal.  A friend came over and we had snacks and stirred the soap by hand...for three and a half hours before it reached a discernible trace!  The batch turned out lovely and I was off with excitement for more oils.  The second batch, however was the problem child!  :)  It never traced, not even after five hours of stirring...so I poured it into the mold anyway...it developed an oil slick on top of it...and rebatching was a disaster!  But, that didn't discourage me...and that's the batch that led me to Soapnuts!

Jessica in FL:
My very first batch was extremely ambitious - a cream and honey recipe that I found on the internet.    Not that I was truly ambitious; I was just naive and I thought it sounded *so* good.        It had oodles of cream and oodles of honey, and I went with the recipe as it was written.    As you can imagine, I had a mess....   boy did the batch ever get hot.  :)    I sent out one of my at-the-time-rare posts, and it was for help.   I described the liquidy-ness, the oozing, the extremely foul stink.   Camille was able to diagnose the culprits -- too much cream, too much honey, not enough lye.     I loved how she finally put it (I found the original post) :   "...normally, I would try to do all to save a batch that has wandered off the path, but sometimes we must lay them to rest... ".  LOL, which I did, but her other advice encouraged me to move ahead and boy did I ever.

I have one other "first" to share, and it's one that is semi-infamous... the first time I used a vanilla FO.  :)    I made my batch, and it looked so lovely.  It was a nice light, creamy pale color.    I was so proud of it!   The next day, it seemed darker brown when DH came to cut the batch up for me.  It was oddly dark on the outside but gorgeous inside.  Hmmmm..... so DH trimmed off the brown, even though it made my bars smaller.  They looked great again.  Next morning, they were brown again, so DH cuts them down again... I think you can see the pattern here, LOL.    Finally I emailed the list and Camille explained to me about the discoloring magic vanilla FOs do.   How silly we were, trimming and trimming, ending up with little tiny bars of still-brown soap.  :)

BJ:
The first time I tried soap was after I had read, read, and read some more. I had everything in place, measured out, problems anticipated and prepared for, etc. I made a basic 1/3 coconut oil, 1/3 olive oil, and 1/3 palm oil.

I used no fragrance or color..and when I poured it, I thought it was the most beautiful stuff I had ever seen!! It was so creamy and smooth and behaved just exactly like it should. I was hooked!!    

On my second batch, I though I knew everything and kind of did it on the spur of the moment. I tried to add too much "new" stuff, color, extra oils, good smelling stuff and all that jazz. It was awful!! It turned a bright orange and never really firmed up. I ended scooping it out of the mold and forming balls with it. I learned my lesson. Take baby steps and move slowly in adding things. The only times I have really had any trouble is when I wasn't properly prepared.

Love you Soapnuts!!

Paula:
My first batch of soap was in the crockpot on 6/7/03.  I was on a group that you had to design your own recipe (I've since been booted off for disagreeing with the tyrannical moderator!).  Anyway, I used PKO, Olive, Avocado, Shea and Canola for a 2 lb batch.  Of course, I did not know the first thing about it except for the pictures I'd seen online and talking to others in the group.  I cooked that soap for almost 4 hours (switching from hi to low in an older crockpot), split it in half and scented it with MacIntosh Apple and Plumeria (yech!).  I only had one wooden mold, so I put a piece of cardboard in the middle and then glopped and banged, glopped and banged.  I was just thrilled that I actually made it.  Not the best looking, but not bad....for a first timer!  I still have a "bar" of the MacIntosh Apple, although I can't distinguish the scent now.  It was not a strong scent to begin with, so I'm not surprised.  But, the soap was a good one, made nice lather and cleaned well. 

Frances:
I made my first soap years ago before I had a computer or Internet connection.  I made a simple all olive oil soap and stirred it careful for many hours.  My husband even stirred it every two hours overnight for me.  I had it all wrapped up in a blanket and was trying to get it fully gelled and traced with a wooden spoon.  Unfortunately it was thrown away because I confused the weight and volume of the olive oil. One cup of oil is NOT the same as 8 ounces. I don't think that I ever worked as hard on a batch of soap since or had such a poor result.  It did teach me to WEIGH everything.

Terri at Cedar Haven Creations:
I've got a story...use at your discretion!!! Here's my first time soapin story. It's funny now, but not at the time of course.

I had researched and prepared myself for soapin for at least 6 months. I dreamed of the procedure while I slept, I ran it through my mind day after day....am I ready? I was so nervous...you know, working with lye and I hadn't ever seen anyone do it. I think I'm ready...tonight...Ok I'll just do it, finally get up the nerve! Before I start telling this story, I'll mention that I did not know about the hand mixer. So I used a whisk and a wooden slotted spoon to stir the batch. I had everything lined up and in position and was just starting to measure out the oils and it all started...phone calls first. Yes, I'm sure I had marked everything off as I was adding and measuring. About three phone calls later, the neighbors started dropping by. Not just for a quick stop, to visit!!! I had a people coming and going and staying and "Oh my, your making soap, I'll stay a bit and watch". They of course became disinterested when it was taking so long for the soap to get to trace. I stirred and stirred....it just never seemed it would turn out. I knew I had messed up somewhere, you know with all the company and phone calls..what to do...I know I'll start over and make up a second batch. So while the first batch sat, I measured up my second batch. Kinda kept an eye on the first batch...still not doing anything...I don't think. So as I'm finishing up measuring everything and ready to combine the lye and oils....my first batch starts to trace, I think....Oh my gosh, now I'm really in a tizzy. I scrambled and got that fragranced and poured in the mold, hoping it had traced enough, not to far????. Ok back to the second batch, Oh my gosh I need another mold....scramble, try to find some containers, this shoe box should work, Oh yes, this box...ok get them lined. Ok now I'm ready to finish my second batch. More company comes...I am exhausted and mentally frazzled. I calm myself and chit chat, explaining the process as I'm all gloved and goggled up. I was never so happy to finally get the second batch poured and put away for the night. Of course the second batch took FOREVER to trace....Both batches were a semi-success. Something was not quite right with the first batch as suspected. It had oil floating in puddles on the top and never did firm up right. But I had made soap and I was hooked!

My third batch was goat milk and I didn't answer the phone and I didn't have any company.

This isn't exactly my *first* batch, as we made soap when I was a child, right down to rendering the animal fat ourselves.  I was fascinated with the process, but not the smell, so didn't make soap again until about 10 years ago.

Sue K.:
My first attempt at an all vegetable soap, was based on the three oil soap recipe that my friend gave me.  I had no clue about lye calculators, or anything else for that matter.  I took her recipe using olive, palm, and coconut, and substituted shortening for the palm, and safflower for the coconut, weight for weight.  After much stirring, I took a stick blender to it.  Then, I put it on the stovetop, and stood there with low heat and used the stick blender for a very long time.  Scented it with some diluted chamomile from the health food store, as well as some jasmine fo from the same store, and poured it into a plastic drawer, covered it with towels, and hid it in the bottom drawer of my buffet.  Two days later, I finally peeked, and had a beautiful drawer full of white soap.  I cut it into little bitty pieces, and gave some to everyone I knew...they probably all threw it away.

When I gave it to my friend (who had been soaping a couple of years at that point), she said "how did you get it that consistency? I've been trying to get that for years!"  I couldn't duplicate that soap if I wanted to!

MaryB:
Short version - I listened to bits and pieces of a class on rebatching that a well-known teacher was teaching at the community school when I worked there, tried her method (several times, in fact) and started reading on line. When I got into my "mad scientist" mood, I decided that it was time to start from scratch... this was about 5 years ago, and I haven't stopped since.

 Long version - I worked nights at a community school, and met a lady that taught many different classes, all concerning making soaps and lotions and body/spa items. She kept inviting me to listen in when I could, and if I wanted she said she would give me the printed info from whatever class I was interested in.

 Well, Christmas was coming and money was tight - and I thought that the soap class sounded like interesting presents. Her planning was exquisite, her teaching methods divine... but she was rebatching soap flakes! You know, the commercial soap flakes that you use to wash your laundry? Ivory used to make them; King still does. She did give instructions for adding "comfort oils"... but she said you could use vanilla extract for scenting, as well as potpourri oils. However, she thought that these gave an "inferior" scent to the soap, so she had some essential oils that she was willing to sell small bottles of. If I remember correctly, the oils were 1/4 to 1/2 of a ounce, and were priced at $4 to $5 each. And the scents included green apple, lilac, ocean... and more.

She did include a list of suppliers, just in case the students needed supplies in larger quantities. Top of the list was Wellington - the rest, truthfully, I don't remember. 

Well, I tried her methods out, and made some fairly decent soap. It got hard after a week or so but was spongy, it lasted what seemed like forever, it smelt good, and it was MINE! LOL! And like a big fish, I was hooked! No more rock salt bath salts

After a couple of months (yes, Christmas came and went), I started getting more interested in soap. I found a couple of sites that I liked, and eventually found my way here. I told myself that I was a chicken for not trying to make it from scratch... and so I did. I took forever getting supplies together, even splurging on a stainless steel pot. (I barely use this anymore, as I melt my oils and pour them in a plastic bucket to mix with lye and other ingredients.)

I've probably tried more things that were questionable than I would like to admit - like using liquid coloring in massive squirts, without mixing it in the base. It did look cool, veins of intense color... but it bled like a major artery, and colored everything that it touched when it got wet.

Fortunately, I didn't try to sell it - but I when I showed it to a few people as an example of what NOT to do, they went ga-ga and wanted to know how to replicate it.

Must remember - people are like sheep. New? Exciting? Colorful? Just gotta have it! regardless of the dangers, or consequences. It is up to us, as responsible crafters, to police ourselves when selling our wares.

And I have (massively) overscented some batches, prior to finding Camille's sensible guide to scenting. I'm not terribly keen on coloring, mainly because I like the natural colors of soap, and also because I'm turning into a purist of sorts... if it isn't necessary to the soap, to make it clean well, make someone feel better (scent is a powerful thing), or just smell good, why do it? I don't make molded soaps either, unless you count the ones for soap on a rope (also known as pain in the neck!) LOL!

Now you should ask for stories about the worst things that we've done while soaping... that would be interesting too!

Ruth:
I made my first batch of soap in the autumn so that the children would be in school, and I would not have to worry about them being in the way or getting hurt.  I covered the hardwood floor in the living room with newspapers and donned my protective gear.  My hands are small so the rubber gloves were cumbersome and the ski goggles I wore for eye protection gave everything an amber hue.  I got everything weighed and melted and oils and lye to the right temps and turned on the telly to the educational channel so that I would not be bored during the long stir time.  (I didn’t know about stick blenders then!)  Five minutes into the stir, All Creatures Great and Small ended and I was cruelly subjected to an hour of Tella Tubbies.  The book said not to stop stirring for any reason until you reach a full trace, and I didn’t want to take a chance on ruining my soap to change the channel.  So, I stirred like mad for what seemed like forever and finally reached trace.  It was a pretty pale green from the Pomace oil when I poured it into my mold.  I carried it as carefully as if it were nitro to a spot in the bedroom safely away from the kids and animals and covered it with towels and blankets.  The next day, it was the whitest soap, but too soft to cut.  I think I waited almost a week before cutting.   After a six week cure, it was hard on the outside and lathered alright and was mild, but it was still soft in the middle.  I think it started to go into gel, but lost too much heat?  I used them all because I figure they cost me a couple of dollars a bar.  I had to buy all my ingredients in a health food store and it cost me a bundle!  My second batch was made with buttermilk and honey.  When I unmolded that one, I was so excited because it was the most beautiful honey color and it was hard enough to cut.  My excitement turned to dismay, when honey oozed out of the bars when I cut them.  Somehow, when I copied the recipe from the book, I wrote 7 tablespoons honey rather than 7 teaspoons honey!!  It did smell wonderful though and when the honey finally finished oozing out it wasn’t bad soap.  Thank goodness I got better at making soap and found a cheaper source for oils. :O)

Constance:
My very first batch was Jackie Colt's Satin Sheets.   At least I think it was.  I have searched the archives and cannot find the message I posted after my first successful batch.  One phrase that stuck in my mind though was that she said trace should be 'like thin gravy.'  I did not have a stick blender, so I just stirred and stirred and stirred.  I eventually got tired and went and did something else for a half hour, then came back and by golly it was nicely thickened -- was that actually trace I was seeing??  I scented it with vanilla and orange eo, threw some orange peel in there.  I still have a bar and use it occasionally.  It is still one of the best soaps I've ever made.  In fact, I think I'll make some more this weekend.   I'm sure this is a dull story compared to some others, but there you have it.

Tambia in So. Cal:.   
OK....  long story about why we chose to make our first batch, but I'll give you the reader's digest condensed version.

My little daughter (7 at the time) and I were scratching ourselves to bleeding with our dry, itchy skin.  We were using up very large bottles of unscented lotion made for sensitive skin on a weekly basis.   My mother talked with me about it and told me that her dermatologist told her NEVER to use bar soap again, and why (all the reasons we all know about commercial Soap).  I took chemistry in college, and wondered how hard could it be?  My grandmother did it, surely I could too.

So, armed with what I thought was an adequate supply of knowledge off of the internet, I gathered my supplies and equipment for my first batch.  It was an 8 pound Lard/coconut/olive batch of soap.   After trace, I poured it into a cardboard box lined with plastic, covered the top and proceeded to wait it out. 

I made it a whole whopping hour before peeking.  I was fascinated to find that the gel stage was just beginning... the heat it was generating.... my daughter and I felt the top (through it's plastic wrap cover) and were so excited!!!!  We covered it back up and proceeded to be very good at leaving it mostly alone for the next 24 hours.  After all, you can feel it through the sides of the box, right?  Every time we passed the counter where it sat, we patted the sides.  We even talked to it (I know, we're just a little strange that way).  I don't think any soap batch has ever been loved along through its initial stages as that one was.

When we looked in the box the next evening, we were startled to see a deep child sized hand impression in the middle of the soap.   While we had been inspecting the soap and chattering excitedly about it,  we neglected to share our new soap with my 8 year old son.  Having all the natural curiosity of an 8 year old boy, he had simply waited for us to move on out of his way, and he had done exactly as he thought we were doing, touching the top of the soap (with a little more gusto than we had done)!

We waited only a week (I cringe at that memory now) to use the soap, and immediately began to see a difference in our skin, using less and less lotion...

What a wonderful change.  I still have one bar of that batch left.   

So that's my first batch story. 

We have never gone back to commercial soap.  We take it with us when we travel, and have converted other family members to using handmade soap.  I even taught my best friend how to make it when we vacationed in her hometown last summer.

I took some to my aunt, and my uncle was very interested in what I had brought, asking how it was made, what I used.  Then he proceeded to tell my that my grandmother and her sister made soap once a year with lye leached from wood ash, to use on their hair... that's all they wanted for their hair!

Guess I need to experiment with shampoo next.  Looks like it's in my genes!

 

And, for the grand finale…

Kae's Woods Saponified Soap!!!!
OK..here is my story of the "woods saponified" soap! hehehehehehe I had just been making soap a very short time, when I purchased a lovely peach fo. I was so excited as I followed a recipe for a basic soap, and then added my treasured peach fo... 

After putting the soap to sleep in my big plastic fish box... (heheheheh, the little German woman down the road gave me a big plastic box that had originally served as a carrier for FISH!!!!), I awaited patiently (just KIDDING!!! Is ANY soapmaker EVER patient????) for my soap to saponify. Well, I cheated and looked after a few hours...hmmmmm...the soap appeared to have a "slick" on top...not good. I waited til the next day, and looked again. The soap looked "somewhat better", but it certainly was NOT what I had made previously. After yet another day, I became very discouraged and decided to just put my "mistake" to rest. 

Living in the woods is GREAT! If you have a problem with something, you can just HIDE it in the woods and, HEY!, no one EVER knows about your humiliation. I grabbed my fish box and headed into the woods. I felt so defeated. My wonderful peach fo had been spent on a dumb soap that didn't even turn out! Harrumph! I took my trusty big spatula with me, and when I reached my "hiding spot", I carefully scraped out the remains of my soap dud! Feeling better that the failed batch would no longer haunt me, I left the woods and didn't look back!

Several days later, however, I went back to the woods. There lie my little spoiled batch. But, it looked DIFFERENT! As I bent down and looked, by golly, it looked like....SOAP! I reached down and grabbed a bit. It was HARD and beautiful! I had used a little paprika in that batch, and the color was now a pale, peachy blush color! I stood up, totally in disbelief, and ran back to the house. I grabbed the fish box, and a knife.

Back at the crime scene, I carefully scraped off the dirt and leaves.

I picked up the remains and put it in my box. Probably about half of my batch was ruined, as it was rather "embedded" with dirt and junk, but you better believe that those few remaining bars were now treasures! I cut them up and allowed them to further cure.

After several weeks, those little bars of "woods saponified" soaps turned out to be very wonderful bars! AND, I learned a very valuable lesson....patience really can pay off in the long run! 

Well, my dear, there you have it!!!! As I said, tis a bit STRANGE, but hey, life would be soooooooo boring if we never did anything nutty, eh? hehehehehehe!!!!