Hand - made Recycled soap

 Sometimes, living nomadically or travelling means getting back to basics - making your own rather than wasting money buying them. Soap may not seem expensive until you are down to your last penny and cant afford it.... besides, its packaging is usually unnecessary and excessive, and bad for our planet.

 Using oil which has already been heated is bad for our health; you should ideally use cooking oil once, and then disregard it. So what do we do with all this used oil? Rather than throwing it away.... save it to make a good soap, which can be used for body, hair, dishes and clothes.  Use the main ingredients below, and do research into any additional ingredients you may like to add. Then get creative, and get testing!

I made soap in a small Mayan community in Peten, Guatemala. The ingredients were cheap and easy to source, and we used a wood fire to further reduce costs.

Points to consider:

Caustic soda is an ingredient which has replaced the ash and lime mixture used in the past (I'm yet to experiment with this, but watch this space). It is an alkaline chemical which is an irritant, and must not be inhaled. Be careful not to handle with bare hands, use a well ventilated area, and if skin comes into contact with the caustic soda or the soap before the 21 day rest period (see below), wash with vinegar. When below process has been completed, leave the soap to rest for 21 days due to the harmful nature of the caustic soda.

Make your own soap out of Recycled oil in 10 steps:

Main Ingredients:

1 gallon of used cooking oil (with no bits/lumps

2 litres of rain/purified water

1oz of bicarbonate of soda

1lb caustic soda (used for cleaning/unblocking drains etc)

1 tablespoon table salt

2 large cooking pans, 1 heat resistant mixing bowl, a large wooden mixing spoon, baking tray, sheet to cover and a knife to cut.

Additional Ingredients

Natural oils (tea tree, lavender)

Used coffee grinds

coconut grinds after making coconut oil (watch this space)

Aloe Vera

Iodine/sulphur (medicinal uses for skin rashes)

step 1. Heat the oil until hot but not boiling and put it to rest.

step 2. Do the same with the water.

step 3. Add the caustic soda to the water. It will bubble and produce a vapour. Stand back and do not inhale. If possible, use a safety mask and gloves here.

step 4. Add the water and costic soda mix to the oil, stirring in ONE direction only; ie clockwise OR anticlockwise. At this point, if your oil is too hot (as ours was), the mixture will bubble excessively (as ours did)

step 5. keep stirring in ONE direction. After a few minutes; when the mixture is no longer bubbling, add the bicarbonate of soda and the salt. At this point, you may wish to add natural oil, coconut/coffee grinds, aloe vera etc.

step 6. Stir until cold; this can take up to thirty minutes. Placing the bowl into a larger bowl of cold water should reduce this time.

step 7. When thick, cold and a lighter colour, pour the mixture into a baking tray and leave overnight to solidify (cover with the sheet).

step 8. The following day, cut soap into pieces and place somewhere to dry out (cover with the sheet again)

step 9. Leave the soap for 21 days to weaken the harmful effects of the caustic soda.

step 10. Enjoy your natural recycled hand made soap!

 Our soap maker is accustomed to this process and actually fashions the soap the following day with his hands; which is why our soap was in the shape of Guatemalan clothes washing soap, not cut into squares as recommended. His method is not recommended due to the aforementioned harmful effects of the caustic soda.

Please email me, or comment below once you have tried the soap, adding suggestions, improvisations and pictures! 

also, for more pictures of the process please search for Double Trouble Travel on facebook