While at “the fair” last weekend, I was lucky enough to watch a hands-on soap making demonstration conducted by Mary Jane Toth, author of Goats Produce Too.  Ms. Toth was a wonder to watch, for she made soapmaking so approachable.  For the first time, I felt that I could make real soap, and venture beyond my melt-and-pour roots.  (Some of my favorite melt-and-pour soap recipes are: eczema-friendly soap, shave soap,  anti-bacterial soap, and lavender rosemary soap.)

So, late one evening last week, I poured myself a glass of red wine (one must always be prepared for this type of new adventure I dare say), set out my lard, coconut oil and lye, and started this new journey towards homemade soap.  This was the real deal, and once those lye crystals hit the water, there was no turning back.

Now I’m just praying the soap saponifies properly and cures as it should.  The waiting process on this type of soap is much different than that of melt-and-pour, so we shall see.  Fingers crossed 🙂