Doug Moore

Soap

Making soap is like following a recipe with endless variations. There are so many different vegetable oils and fats, different scents, and varying proportions to experiment with. In the hundreds of soap batches I’ve made over the course of 14 years few, if any, were exactly the same. They have all been good, but each slightly unique. All the soaps have been gentle, lather well, and feel good on the skin.

Soap making requires precision and patience. The oils and fats are precisely weighed so that that correct amount of lye can be dissolved in the correct amount of distilled water. I always use slightly less lye than required so that the soaps retain some oil or fat to be gentle and feel good on the skin. Patience is required to stir the oils and fats and lye solution until it thickens (sometimes as long as an hour). The soap is poured into molds and cures in the mold for a day or two before it is hard enough to remove from the mold. The soap then air cures for a month before it can be packaged for sale.

I have not found an ‘ideal’ soap formula. But then a soap that is ideal for me may not be ideal for you. Do you like this scent or another scent? Do you desire an essential oil or is the scent more important? Do you want exfoliating oatmeal or not? Choose one or more of these unique soaps and see if they please your unique self.