Making Your own Soap to Save Money$$$

[norxcontacts]

Nice hockey puck. The soap doesn't look fully melded.

I use a double boiler and pour into paper lined muffin tins.

[donkathylea]

@norxcontacts

Great suggestion! We'll try that next time. Thanks!

Kathy

[TheBrradsullivan]

looks like an xmas fruit cake lol, nice video

[donkathylea]

@TheBrradsullivan

Thanks for the nice comment. Too bad you can't eat the stuff. I personally like fruit cake a lot and am now very hungry.

Kathy

[TheBrradsullivan]

@donkathylea question: would it be possible to melt and dye the soap to a uniform colour as if it were wax ?

[donkathylea]

@TheBrradsullivan

Great idea, No reason why not...my husband and I both think its a great thought. The most recent time my husband just used larger pieces without shredding and kept it longer in the microwave. The colour "pudding" effect was still a problem.

[TheBrradsullivan]

@donkathylea thanks, it was just an idea cause thats what i do with candles all the time, i save old candle bits then i boil them all down in one pot, add my new colour with an actual colour brick or just with crayons, then i add mint extract for scent, then pour into mason jars/ soup cans etc for enclosed candles or paper milk cartons/ towel rolls for square/ round candles! if i could find a way to make everything at home i would never go to the store, i hate capitalism

[SuperLarry4]

Great information! I'm definetly going to use this. Thank you for posting.

[Grroocx]

Well, I really just wanted to do better than my usual basic melding technique. Google revealed that melding soap must be the National Sport, and here we have thousands of viewers coming clean. Thanks muchly for this very good, fun video. No one goes away empty-handed, as we all learn that metal can be dealt with in a microwave. As for dirty soap, yes, indeed soap can be home to some bad guys you wouldn't want to touch; "safe soap" ain't necessarily so. Thanks lots—3 years after, still good fun.

[donkathylea]

@Grroocx

Thanks for the comment. We are old and never considered the baddies in soap, thinking if soap kills washes them off then how many could be lurking and would they remain if you washed under running water but food for thought.

Kathy

[yachtboy07]

This is really funny!

[snowman358]

oooor go buy base soap melt it add color and let it set there yahh go soap -.-

[dillpickle213]

isnt that a whole lot of work to save 50 cents on a weird looking peice of soap?

[jameshatty1]

There is another really good on the subject of saving money on soap. It takes slivers of soap you don’t want to throw away and uses the soap saver (called JoeSoap) to act as a backbone to form a new re-usable bar of soap. There is on on eBay for £2.99

[jameshatty1]

There is another really good on the subject of saving money on soap. It takes slivers of soap you don’t want to throw away and uses the soap saver (called JoeSoap) to act as a backbone to form a new re-usable bar of soap.

[donkathylea]

The green criticism is a valid one. Thanks for pointing it out. We should try harder

Kathy

[donkathylea]

The green criticism  is a valid one. Thanks for pointing it out. We should try harder.

[215810]

I dont think this is green. I would finish my soap in the first place. Seriously man. I did not know americans through away half used soaps. Theoratically, you are spending more money on these soaps by recycling them.

[Boudica999]

Would it not be easier just to melt down the old soaps in a old pan and then re-set in a mould?

[donkathylea]

@Boudica999

You could be right but it would be messier and more time consuming than the way we are advocating in our humble opinions. Thanks for the suggestion though. We might just try it.

Kathy

[BoricuaChiTown]

isn't it dangerous to put metal in the microwave?

[donkathylea]

@BoricuaChiTown

Thanks for the question...as long as it one piece of metal its fine. Two pieces of metal allow sparks between them but one is fine. I thought like you but have tried leaving my metal spoon in cereal I am heating in the microwave and voila no sparks!

Kathy

[Elliehatesschool]

What an absolutely fantastic idea. Maybe you could do it with chunks of your favourite Lush Cosmetics soap!!

[donkathylea]

@Elliehatesschool

Thanks for the suggestion about Lush Cosmetics soap. We aren't sophisticated people so your idea is an enhancement to what we have portrayed. Thanks for that.

Kathy

[katina217]

Would it be possible that instead of using the microwave I could just melt all the pieces in a pot then poor into a mold? I know it would not look colorful but will the soap solidify just the same and be usable?

[donkathylea]

@katina217

You should use a double boiler if you want to try this method but it should work and could possibly still be colourful. Try it and see what happens. Let us know. Thanks for the enthusiasm.

Kathy

[halflife82]

Mr. Lea, excellent work on the video tutorial! A great idea and job well done. Next you need to make a video of the touch explosives w/ Iodine. People will love it!!! Thanks for the memories, we miss your teaching. Travis F. & Eric K.

[stfucopter]

HE ACTUALLY LOST MONEY LOL

[petrus4]

Does the soap keep holding together well? The videos I've seen on making lye soap, mention letting it cure for several weeks. Adding a little extra lye might help with that, as well.

I like the idea of making lye soap, but you'd probably still get scraps from that, and this would be a good way to reuse those, as well.

[donkathylea]

@petrus4

Yes the soap holds together and you get great big bars that my husband likes in the shower because they don't slip away when your hands are wel. I like the idea of the lye alot but we haven't tried it yet. Thanks!

Kathy

[jewelsthomas]

Ummmm I don't have leftover soap. 

[donkathylea]

@jewelsthomas

You're smarter than us. We just had left over soap this morning when the bar split into quarters.

Kathy

[MenacingAngel]

I love the fact that no matter how horrible the comments are you still say thank you and continue to be polite!! lmfao Classic.. !! I love it

[donkathylea]

@MenacingAngel

Thanks for noticing I ALWAYS try to be polite. Even if people say mean things what is the point in striking back. They are entitled to their opinion. Anyway your nice comment made my day.

Kathy

[ihunt19]

this would be good to know in a survival situation !

[donkathylea]

@ihunt19

Thanks for the positive comment on the soap.

Kathy

[CAIIIASPB]

shit 

[KSaechin]

OMG! This guy is so cheap and discusting! LOL! In less than 10 mins., I can go to the store, buy a bar of soap for cheaper than I can make it. Unbelievable.

[petrus4]

@KSaechin I hope the stores stay open. Also that you've always got the money on hand to buy soap. ;)

[coolchick919]

You should melt it for longer

[prizner100]

why not use a grater ? the thinner the chips, the faster the melting prosses, come on dude wire cutters?

[petrus4]

@prizner100 This is a good idea.

[prizner100]

@petrus4 I think it would look nice with all the different colors...just thought I'd help: ) I meant no animocity.

[petrus4]

@prizner100 I agree. It would look nice. I was not meaning to attack you, and I apologise if I gave you that impression. :)

[bunnybaby811]

ewww...

[donkathylea]

@bunnybaby811 Thanks for the comments

[trulydawna]

wow this is funny. I think if you invest about 40 bucks you can make your own home made soap from scratch. all you need is lye, lard, olive oil some fragrance of your choice a mold and a old crock pot some rubber gloves, gargles and a few other house hold items. you maybe able to find one at your local goodwill store for around 7 bucks. once you have all of the above and your ready. you can find lots of how to make soap vids here on youtube. good luck.

[StrawCp]

ur genieous!

[0609614]

This is a shit video. Why not make a batch of soap from scratch then add in the chips to get a more homogeneous bar?

[donkathylea]

@0609614

Good points. How do you make it from scratch? Thanks for posting a comment.

[jazyskowski]

Check out my "mad man" video shot in the aisles of Walmart!

[donkathylea]

Do you have a link? We'd love to see what you've done. Thanks for the hint!

[hectorflt17]

hey everybody , this is good thing , but i have to say that you are not really making soap , you just melt , ,, dont get me wrong i liked what you did ,i am recycle addict jjaja :)) be happy!!!

[donkathylea]

You're so right..its really melting that we are demonstrating more than it is making soap. The bars are so big and awesome. My husband likes them because a guy has large hands and they don't drop out of our fingers easily. Thanks for your comment. Very much appreciated.

[1too3fore]

Good stuff, I will steal as much hotel soap as possible from now on. I've been saving it up but also will save the left over bits and give this a try, maybe experiment with garden grown mints and other herbs, too!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for that hint about adding garden grown mint and herbs. Sure worth trying. Best regards!

[sncbeautify]

i love ur idea! can any of u give me an idea where you get pretty soap? cuz i can make it and upload it!^^

[donkathylea]

Don't know where you might fancy soap in your area but that seems like a good plan. Thanks!

[donkathylea]

I took a look at Heavy Dollars. Not sure its legitimate. Thanks for the tip though.

[jeanettew808]

hmmmm :( ITS a good way to recycle soap im sure but i dont think i want to wash with left over soaps if it comes out looking that way...im gonna try the melt and pour method becuz thats the quickest and simplist way for beginners like me who wants to learn how to make soap..thanks for sharing..

[donkathylea]

Good comment. I appreciate you suggestion. Might work out better. Thanks again and all the best for the season.

[wenxin82sg]

This is great, i loveee to save. And i will sure start to do my collection of little bits of soap. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

[donkathylea]

Have fun and conserve...its all about reusing and not spending if you don't have to. Thanks again and best wishes for the holiday.

[darksunnygirl]

This is really awesome! I'm one of those people who doesn't throw things away because it is still useful for something... now I have something to do with my little bits of soap!

[donkathylea]

You are just like us. It always seemed such a waste to throw out still useful soap so we saved the bits. Now that we are retired, this is the time to use them up. We haven't bought soap in years.

[zombieseezombiedo]

he puts a tuna can in the microwave?

[petrus4]

@zombieseezombiedo that disturbed me a little too, I admit. It possibly isn't a problem on the lowest possible setting, tho.

[TriciaCrafts]

I have a ton of hotel soap...now I know what to use them for, thanks. Great video!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for the positive comments. We had some of that hotel soap too which spurred us on to use them up. Hope you're having warm weather. We have snow and cold. Cheers!

[TriciaCrafts]

: )

I live in michigan usa. it is usually cold and snowy by now, but it's quite warm. I want it to get really cold and snowy though, it gets me more into the christmas feeling!! ^^

[mslollipop9089]

i dont know what to get my parents for christmas! so i think ill do that. one question if i use all white soap can i add food coloring to it so its all one color? and also dosnt plasic go on fire?

[donkathylea]

Great questions....the food colour would not work because the soap scrappings and bits are not liquid so the food colour would not disperse among them properly. If you wanted one colour you could use all the same colour and kind of soap bits. Also the plastic housing in the microwave does not get hot enough to melt. It would in an oven for sure but we use the microwave to have more control. Hope this helps. We think your parents will like the soap and that you are thrifty.

[wohelo]

If you like liquid soap you can take a cup of the chips and add 3 cups of boiling water .Then let it sit over night uncovered and you have liquid soap.(add more water if its to thick for your liking)

[donkathylea]

Great suggestion! We're going to try it.

Kathy

[liziya86]

good idea!!!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Kathy

[etherealone]

really good idea for those who don't want to make their own lye based soap. but if you really want to save, i would try to make it. i have made it for years and it costs about 12 cents per bar! and you can also do this same trick with the ends of cold process soap.

[donkathylea]

How do you do this lye process? Can you be specific if you have time from beginning to end so we could try it for ourselves? Thanks so much for trying to educate us and taking the time to reply. Very much appreciated.

[saloneffects]

really? I didn't even know you could put any type of metal in the microwave

[donkathylea]

I know I thought the same as you but we even heat our breakfast cereal in the microwave with a metal spoon in it as long as the metal is in an inert ceramic bowl and not touching any other metal inside the microwave it seems not to spark.

[xcelcheerchick]

i love going green and I'm glad that people are going green in ways that lots of people dont think of. good job and thx!!!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for the positive words. You are a ray of sunshine. Thanks for making our day with the praise.

Kathy

[xcelcheerchick]

no problem!! ill collect my soap and try this some day. thx for the idea never would have thought of that!!!

[paolopan83]

stingy

[AndrewRiot]

thank you very much for the video!!!!!11

[donkathylea]

Thanks for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed the amateur video we produced.

[HellFire992]

hey it's like fight club. rofl

[donkathylea]

My husband and I are glad we gave a little joy. We're so amateurish we couldn't be funny if we tried but that's probably what you're getting at. Its the end of April in Alberta and its snowing today. No wonder we have time to make UTube videos. Thanks for replying.

[Ambersparkle]

First of all, you don't put a tuna can or metal of any kind in the damn microwave!!

DUMB-ASS!!

[HowToBeHappyGal]

Great video. I don't have a microwave. Could I do this in the oven? If so, what temperature and for how long?

[donkathylea]

You sure could make the soap in the oven. Keep the temp below 180 degrees Fahrenheit. You can't use plastic housings or elastics though...only metal. You have to be careful with the heat-- don't burn yourself. Let us know how it works out. You could also try it in a solar cooker or on top of a wood stove but with the same cautions as the oven.

[HowToBeHappyGal]

Thanks. I'll definitely try this. I don't actually have any left over bits at the moment so you might have a long wait to find out how it goes!!!

[mrslovesit]

Am I being picky? I know we all use up the odd bits at home, but would you really like to receive a gift of a bar of soap that has been round everyone elses goolies? Just a thought .......

[donkathylea]

Excellent comment...never thought about it and you're right too! We laughed out loud that you are so honest! We love honesty. Thanks so much for the comment!

[moebigsley1976]

Goolies, Lol!!

[gracewriter]

this is a lot of work. My mom taught me to take the old slivers of soap and put them in an empty plastic dish liquid bottle. Put some water in it and stick it in your shower. when you want soap, just squeeze it onto your wash cloth.

She also taught me to lengthen the life of a bar of soap to take it out of the package and let the air get to it. It'll harden and last longer. I've been doing this for the last 30 years.

[donkathylea]

Thanks for taking the time to explain about an alternative to our more time consuming method. Also thanks for pointing out that dry bars of soap last longer. So appreciated.

[WhereIsMyDeathCab]

a combination of rubber, plastic and metal in the microwave??? do u not c how stupid that is????

[chritsaliz77]

@WhereIsMyDeathCab: I know right! it's dangerous. Besides he doesn't even show when he actually puts all that mix (old left over soap, metal, rubber, plastic, etc.) in the microwave. I prefer making a new natural soap.

[donkathylea]

Thanks for encouraging us to try to cold process soap. Our goal was to use up existing soap. Do you know if we could use the old soap in the cold process method? Anyway it was really great of you to take the time to e-mail us and try to help us. Thanks!

[bevel1]

Thats a great video but there has got to be an easier way...I agree the cold process soaps sounds a bit more convincing to me as well...I too would like to stand "in line" to see how that is done. If anyone finds out how please notify me. Again thanks for your interesting video.

[hamou87]

Good job man!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for taking the time to give us the praise. We enjoyed glowing in the good words. Thanks so much!

[Modestfrugalmama]

I would love to see more videos. Gave it five stars...great job!!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for the confidence boosting comment. We've got more ideas to save money but not lots of time to put together another video. Thanks again.

[Demiwolfonangelwings]

the movie would be better with a clip of hand-washing at the end.

[donkathylea]

Thanks so much for replying. I just showed my husband your comment and we both agree with you. We just ran out of time. We thought no one would be interested in our video but we were wrong. The soap works really well and it uses up all the old soap scraps and saves you from having to buy any. Thanks again.

[pokemonfan221]

Nice video! 5/5 + faves ( so i can learn to make soap!)

[donkathylea]

My husband is the expert on making the soap but I know the soap he makes really works as a nice substantial bar that doesn't fall apart and looks funky. Hope you get some useable soap from your efforts. Thanks for replying.

[justpassingthetime]

It would be so much easier if you learned how to make cold processed soaps. You can make 12 bars that are 4-5 oz each for less than $10. Plus its natural soap and not detergent based supermarket soap that is really not good for your skin.

[donkathylea]

Gee, how do you make cold processed soaps? Do you have a how-to-video on UTube? We love the thought of improving our method and you're right about needing gentle soaps. Thanks so much. I know you can't tell us every detail but any help would be appreciated. Thanks again.

[KARStarla]

kool video, i like that!

[donkathylea]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. It was so appreciated.

[chookter1]

Time to get a better job if your doing this to save money.

[KARStarla]

lol!

Yeah, I cant see how this hobby saves any money on soap cause soap is cheap, not laundry detergent but body soap is. You can get 20 bars cheap at Sams club, that works for me cause I cant afford expensive hobbys lol

[donkathylea]

Thanks for replying. It was a contest to show how you can save money sponsored by ING. We're retired so we try to save money any way we can. Thanks again for taking the time to let us know your thoughts.

[chookter1]

No problem.

[groomdoggi]

Are you in Maine? I used to say "elastics" when I lived there. Everyone else says "rubber bands."