Fun with the Gun

Fun with the Gun

Temperature gun that is.

I must say, it is exciting the first time you pick up that high-tech piece of plastic.

We discovered the temperature of pretty much everything around us (not to mention everything on us) - skin, clothes, tongues, dogs, fire, ears, sunburns... you get the picture.

 

And one more thing - although Brad's my homeboy, my soap is not supported by Fight Club (Joel!!!)

My dad, aiming to get the perfect temperature reading. With his Ph.D. in Oceanography and undergraduate work in electrical engineering, it's times like these when he feels most at home.

 

 

 

Besides entertaining ourselves with the gun, we were quite productive and...

We made LAVENDER and TEA TREE OIL SOAP!!!

 

 

I taught my parents and a few lovely family friends how simple soap making is. Especially when you have a temperature gun ;-)

Ingredients: Olive oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, lye, lavender and tea tree essential oils

& love.

 



 

 How did we make this fabulous soap you ask?!

For details, check out "My first batch of cold-process soap" post below (posted July 2012)





 

 

 



Here I am suiting up and making sure I have all my PPE (personal protective equipment) on. Safety first.

I'm about to measure out the water and NaOH (lye) which was later added to the melted oils.
















Lavender petals that were added to the soap.

Lavender originates from France and Southern Europe and is a smooth, calming antidepressent. It is used to treat acne and as an insect repellant!

Tea tree oil comes from Australia and is an antiseptic. It also helps headaches.





 

My neighbor Andrea.

She was appointed as Chief of Gun Operations due to her extensive background in pottery and the melt & pour soap method.  



 

Not sure what Jeff is saying, but I am 100% sure that he is educating Debbie and Andrea about something. Being an MD, he finds every moment he can to practice "docere" (doctor as teacher) and we all love it!

Jeff - have you thought about teaching?!!

 

Andrea, Chief of Gun Operations and my mom, Sandy. They are melting the olive, coconut and grapeseed oils together, and making sure the temperature reaches around 115 degrees fahrenheit. The lye solution and oils should be within 10 degrees of each other when added together.

The three witches!

 

 

Debbie, me and Andrea waiting for the oils to cool down so that we could add the lye.

Yuuuuum!!! Who asked me if you could eat soap? Looks like vanilla pudding to me at this stage.

Beautiful!!! Our creation :D

We put plastic wrap over the top to keep air out and keep heat in. See that wooden mold? My dad helped me build it. I think we might go into the soap mold business soon, right dad?! One word: Pros
 

My dedicated pupils.
 Haha, Debbie - I am famous for never having my eyes open in group shots! I guess we'll just have to make soap again so that we can redo this photo ;-)

Two days later.... it's time to take the soap out of the mold and worship it.

 

 

Mark every inch on both sides.

 

 

And CUT it!

My mom, now officially a pro soap cutter. I'm so proud! Passed with flying colors. A+

 

 

Here they are, only 2 days old...

 

17 bars strong

 

 

I decided to give some of the soap to my coworkers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography on my last day as an employee there. I wanted to share my interest in soap with all of them and show them my appreciation for making Scripps a kick-ass place to work!!! I'm going to miss it SO much!

 

 

 Behold...

 

And that's it! I'm really happy that Andrea and Jeff brought over lavender so that we could put some petals in with the soap also. It was my first time adding flowers, or any plant material, to the mix. The harsh lye that was in the soap ended up turning the petals brown but I still think it's a beautiful addition.

 

I hope everyone enjoys this lavender and tea tree oil soap. Remember to start using it around the second or third week in October for best results. I want to hear all about your upcoming shower experiences. Let me know just how much this soap has changed your lives!

 

Love always,

Kelly

L*I*S*K*I*S
Life is Short, Keep it Sweet


Industrial Hemp

Why it should be legal to grow in the USA

It is ILLEGAL to grow industrial hemp in the USA according to the DEA. Some states have legalized it, but farmers are hesitant to plant the crop, fearful that the Drug Enforcement Agency will come in and plow down half a years work.

What is hemp?

Hemp is NOT marijuana. It is a variety of Cannabis sativa, like marijuana, but has low levels of the psychoactive chemical THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

Why should we grow it in the USA?

HEMP: SUSTAINABLE, BIODEGRADABLE, ECO-FRIENDLY PLANT.

Hemp is used in:
Paper (decreases pressure to cut down more trees)
Clothing (decreases pressure on growing cotton)
Construction materials (in fiberboard and concrete blocks)
Biodegradable plastics
Potential biofuel plant
Food products - it has many essential fatty acids EFAs and a good omega 6 to omega 3 ratio.
SOAP! (and lotions, shampoos, etc) Hemp oil in soap brings moisture to the skin. It is also known for it's healing properties. Apparently it can help with cell regeneration, acne and eczema.

It is also a great rotational crop. When the land is exhausted and depleted of minerals after being used as farm land for a long period of time (example after growing corn), it needs to rest and become healthy again. Many farmers will plant grasses on the exhausted farmland, so that the minerals that were taken out of the soil and up by the corn plant can be replenished. If farmers could legally plant hemp, then they could promote the health of their soils and make a profit selling the hemp to construction companies, clothing companies, etc.

One extra plus: hemp grows well without pesticides and herbicides!

HEMP: SUSTAINABLE, BIODEGRADABLE, ECO-FRIENDLY PLANT.

Let's not import hemp. USA - be self-sufficient. Create jobs. Re-categorize hemp as NOT a drug!

Some interesting websites:
North American Industrial Hemp Council: http://www.naihc.org/
Dr. Bronner's fight for legalization of farming industrial hemp: http://www.drbronner.com/hemp.html

Cutting my first batch of soap

48 hours later and I couldn't wait any longer!!! I was like a little kid on Christmas.

















When I got home from work, the soap mold came out from under the towel and I was ready to start cutting.










I marked the soap every inch and ended up cutting 16 one inch thick soap bars.

I cut the soap on a wooden cutting board, with freezer paper.

Also, I wore my gloves because the soap is still caustic and can irritate skin!

VOILA! I present to you....my soap!!!!!!!!! ALL NATURAL!!!

Here are videos of my first soap cutting experience :D (to be uploaded soon!)

My first batch of cold process soap

I made my first batch of cold process soap last Sunday, and boy was I proud of myself and all my time spent preparing! One thing I learned: making soap isn't difficult nor scary.

Getting Started

To start up my new hobby I bought:

1. Lab coat
2. Rubber dishwashing gloves
3. Splash goggles
4. 5lb wood mold (I made this myself) I can give out all the dimensions if anyone is interested.
5. Freezer paper to line the mold
6. Tape (to tape freezer paper together)
7. Scale - one that will measure in tenths of an ounce. I bought a heavy duty baker's scale, but even a $15 one should do the trick.
8. Stainless steel cutter - 6" wide
9. Temperature gun
10. Spatula - preferably one that is one whole piece - not one that is comprised of two pieces (the top piece could potentially fall off while you are making the soap and it will be a hassle trying to find it!!)
11. 2 cup pyrex container
12. 8 cup pyrex container
13. Wooden / plastic spoon
14. Plastic hand blender (I bought a $15 Betty Crocker one)
15. Large stainless steel pot (not shown)

How is soap made?

In cold process soap making, lye (NaOH; sodium hydroxide) is dissolved in water, then mixed with oils such as olive oil. The lye and oils react creating oil salts, aka SOAP! How simple, right?! Complexity comes into the picture when you start using different oils- olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, canola oil, etc. - and different essential oils - peppermint oil, tea tree oil, jajoba oil, eukalyptus oil, lavendar oil, lemon oil, etc - and different herbs - chamomile, rosemary, lavendar, etc. -and different colorants and exfoliators and frangrances (the list goes on).

Lye is Dangerous!

One caution about lye. Be VERY VERY VERY careful when you work with sodium hydroxide. It is caustic and can burn your skin. When mixed with water, it can reach temperatures over 200 degrees fahrenheit. Also, when mixed with water, it releases TOXIC fumes. DO NOT breathe these fumes. I have before and trust me, it is not a fun experience. It feels like there are a ton of small insects biting your throat. It gets all itchy and you start to cough and gag. No fun. No fun at all! Sooooo, be smart wear your PPE (personal protective equipment such as lab coat, splash goggles and plastic rubber gloves).

I bought my lye from www.certified-lye.com. They will ship it to your door or you can pick it up yourself in Lemon Grove, San Diego. Try to find a local supplier in your area.

Now that I warned everyone about the lye - here is the recipe I used.

36 oz Olive Oil
14 oz Coconut Oil (makes the bar lather more)
7.2 oz NaOH (Lye; sodium hydroxide)
16.5 oz Water
0.5 oz Peppermint essential oil
0.25 oz Tea Tree Oil

Now, I have read that a preferable oil combination is 16 oz  canola or oive oil, 16 oz coconut oil and 16 ounce palm oil, but until I find a sustainable source of palm oil - I'm leaving it out of the recipe.

I wrote down EVERY step in my notebook BEFORE I started. I also lined my wood mold with freezer paper before I started (I covered every inch of the inside of the mold with the freezer paper and taped the freezer paper together so that no soap would leak down into the wood mold).

Here are my notes:

 

Now, I will explain what I did quickly.

I lined my mold with freezer paper and put to the side next to cling-wrap and a large towel.
















I put on my lab coat, splash goggles and rubber gloves.

I put the large 8 cup pyrex container on my scale. Tare (zero out). Weighed 16.5 oz. water. Put to side.

I put the small 2 cup pyrex container on my scale. Tare. Weighed out 7.2 oz. Put to side.

Outside (with lots of fresh, circulating air) I added the Lye to the water, held my breath, and stirred until dissolved.

ALWAYS ADD LYE TO WATER, not the other way around!!!!

I then left the lye solution outside (making sure no one like children or pets could get to it) went inside, put my big stainless steel pot (NEVER use aluminum or cast iron) on the scale. Tare.

Weighed out 14 oz olive oil. Tare.

Weighed 36 oz. olive oil.

Put pot on stove. Slowly melted it together, making sure that the temperature did not go over 115 degrees.

I brought the pot with melted oils outside and when the melted oils and lye solution were within 5-10 degrees of each other, added the lye to the oils in the pot. I used my hand blender to mix the oils and lye, making sure to keep the blender in contact with the bottom of the pot (you don't want it splashing up on you!).










When the mixture began to "trace" -get thicker- I added in my essential oils and continued to stir.

Once the mixture got even thicker and I was convinced everything was well mixed, I poured the soap into my mold, and tapped it to make sure it settled in the mold well (get rid of any bubbles also).

I put cling-wrap (plastic wrap) over the top (making sure the plastic wrap comes in contact with the soap to reduce the soaps contact with air) and then wrapped the mold in a big towel to insulate it for the next 48 hours. And... 48 hours later I removed my soap and cut it!!

Yipeee!!!

(By the way - for those of you who may be wondering. My headband is not a fashion statement. I got hit by my surfboard and now have 5 staples in my head! :/ Eeeek!)

Why make my own soap?

There are many reasons why I choose to make my own soap. It allows me to...

1. express my creative chemist nature.
2. control exactly what I put on my skin.
3. control exaclty what I put into the environment.

Besides just having fun and playing around with ingredients, I strongly believe that it is important to know what you are putting on your skin. Some naturalists say they wouldn't put anything on their skin that they wouldn't put in their body. But recently I read an article that convinced me I should be almost MORE careful about what I put on my skin than what I put in my body! Sounds crazy, but the article made the point that at least when you eat something bad, there are enzymes that can come to the rescue and breakdown some toxic chemicals before they are absorbed into the body. I bet some toxins aren't even absorbed through the lining of the gut - just make their way through the entire digestive system, only to be flushed out with other wastes. When chemicals in skin products are applied to the skin however, they can be absorbed through the skin and enter the blood stream directly, free to make their way to vital organs.

Besides health reasons, there are environmental reasons that motivate me to make my own soap. I want to know exactly what is going down the drain. At least I can be aware of what ingredients are in my soap and research how each of those ingredients affect the surrounding ecosystem.

Making my own soap just feels right! It feels so good, so liberating when you start to live in accordance with your own values and beliefs. I'm ready to decrease contradiction and hipocracy in my life and start living my values.

Stoked on Soap

The title says it all! I am, simply put, stoked on soap. For years I have used soap everyday (almost) in the shower completely oblivious to where it came from, what it is made of and how it is made. It was always somewhat mysterious to me. I remember back in my elementary school days when I learned that soap was made from animal fat during the colonial period. I almost refused to believe it. How on earth could something that smells so lovely and gets you so clean come from animal fat??! It didn't make sense. Surely the soap we use today must be made some other way...right??

I must admit that I never looked it up until this past February, 3 months after I turned 26. Maybe it was because when I turned 26 I reached that magic number where one's brain is finally fully developed (though just the other day someone told me it's at age 30 now. Thank God, because honestly, at 26, I'm still as confused as ever. You would think fully developed brains would reach enlightenment - I can only hope). I must say, entering my late twenties was met with some resistance but the rapid rate of personal growth during this stage of life is very encouraging.

When I turned 26 I started to question EVERYTHING, but mostly started to have questions on the topics that interested me the most: health, nutrition, sustainability and environment. Why do we use dryers during summer when it's hot out? What is in that Crest toothpaste? How is lotion made? What is sodium lauryl sulfate? Is it good for my skin? What is wax? What makes my candle blue? What in my shampoo is softening my hair? Is my conditioner going into the ocean after it goes down the drain? Among these many questions was the simple question: what is soap? Soap. So basic. Everyone is familiar with soap. Some use bar soaps. Others swear by only using liquid soap while in the shower. Personally I was a Dove soap bar kinda gal. The bars lasted a long time and got the job done. My friends would tell me "I only use liquid soap. Those bar soaps are so harsh on skin!" I always wondered how they knew that. What evidence did they have - what facts did they know? Or...who told them?

So I set out on a personal journey to educate myself and explore the basics of my life, the most common items and habits that we all take for granted and never really stop to think about. Like all people before us, our generation has grown up learning about life from previous generations. We were taught to brush our teeth everyday and to go to the store and buy more "toothpaste" when we ran out. Most of us under 30 probably think that people have always brushed their teeth throughout history. I bet a lot of people don't know that toothpaste wasn't widely manufactured and distributed until the early 1900's. We go to the grocery store and buy Pantene ProV or Head and Shoulders because that is what our parents taught us to do. We don't think about what is even in the shampoo, such as sodium lauryl sulfate. SLS is a foaming agent in shampoo and many people don't know that it is suspected to be toxic to the body and carcinogenic.

The more and more I questioned, the more I learned and consequently the more I rebelled against many common household products on the market. I decided to attempt at least once to make everything myself, not only so that I knew how it was made, but also so that I knew what ingredients should go into the product. After toothpaste and shampoo and deoderant, I moved onto soap and was astonished to learn that there are numerous ways to make soap and unlimited combinations of oils, herbs, plants, and just STUFF (organic and inorganic) that can be mixed together to create a beautiful and prized bar of soap. I saw the creativity in soap-making and was energized to start experimenting!

I officially made my first 5lb batch of cold process soap last weekend and ooooohhh, does my living room smell GREAT! Like peppermint. Everytime I enter my apartment, I am filled with that sweet satisfaction of self-sufficiency and independence! I can't wait to make my next batch of soap, and even more - to use a bar from my first batch in the shower next month!! Aaaaaaa dare to question. Dare to be, simply put, STOKED ON SOAP :-D