Soapin' from Scratch

I made my first two batches of homemade soap today, one unscented, uncolored, just plain for customers with skin sensitivities.  The second is five pounds of lavender with added lavender botanicals.

I used this recipe that Kathleen sent me over a year ago.  I have felt a little nervous about working with lye so I just read her tutorial over and over again while I got my feet wet with melt and pour.

Not literally, of course.

That would hurt.

I only encountered two small problems today:

1. It was windy outside, so when I took the lye and water out to make that solution, leaves kept blowing into it.  Seeing how you have to be very careful about not breathing in that stuff or letting it splash onto your skin, it was a challenge to get the teeny little pieces of leaf residue out.  I was tempted to leave them in and call them natural botanicals, but rest assured I want my customers to have only the best!  I carefully spooned out all things leafy.
2. There was a learning curve with the mica colorant, and this was my first time to use it.  I think I may have added a little more than is necessary because it took me a while to realize I needed to use the stick blender to stir it in thoroughly.  My soap was brown even though I had added the correct amount and stirred and stirred and stirred...so I added, ahem, a little more.  It is very purple.

Even with those glitches, I think everything went well and in a few weeks I will have new bars of soap in the shop!  Exciting!