Toen ik vrijwilligerswerk deed in Thailand, wilden ze ook zelf zeep maken, een vriend stuurde mij het volgende (sorry dat ik even te lui ben om het te vertalen):
How to make soap?
Let's prepare first:
The things we need are-
Fat
NaOH (sodiumhydroxide) or KOH (potassiumhydroxide)
water (H2O)
Pot(s)
Balance, scale or cup to measure
Stirring spoon
Thermometer
Mal
Then we need to know how much we need of everything. This is the recipe. The recipe also says how warm everything has to be and how it takes before you can go on to the next step.
The recipe
We can start now. A simple method is written down here, but actually all recepies are processed in the same way.
The Process
First we will make the sodiumhydroxide. Measure the accurate amount of the pallets and put them carefully into the cold water. Now first stir, because the pallets are inclined towards clotting (become lumpy). You will notice that the water will become very hot! Stir very well untill the pallets have been solved. Let the solution cool down for a while after.
Measure the fats and oil and put it in a pot. Slowly heat it up. We want the sodiumhydroxide and and the fats to have the same temperature, at about 50°C. So act slowly, because you will see that the fats will be faster at temperature then the sodiumhydoxide has been cooled down!
Well. Both solutions are now at the same temperature and clear. Take your magic spoon , get the pot from the fire and pour, while stirring, the sodiumhydroxide slowly into the pot with fats. You will see immediatly that the solution will get turbid. These are the first traces of soap!
Now keep stirring for about one hour. Yes, it has to be that long. In practise this will be translated in strong stirring during the first 15 minutes and then some firm stirring every ten minutes.
After about one hour the solution will get thick. The mixture is ready to be poured into the mal. You can check if the soap has the right thickness by drawing a line in it with a spoon. If the line will be visible for a while, then it is good. This is called "tracing". It is also the right time to add odours, colors, herbs or seaweed.
Pour the soapmixture into the mal and wait untill it gets hard / tough. This can take a day, but also three days. have patience, it will happen!
When the soap has been hard, it can be taken out of the mal. Let it ripen for about three to six weeks. This is done to let the soap dry and to give the chemical parts time to finish the reaction. Also the soap will get harder, because the water will slowly evaporise.
Now the soap is ready! get clean
Recepten kun je verder wel vinden via eerder genoemde links.
Het werk valt wel mee, vooral als je het met z'n tweeen doet. moeilijker is soms het geduld op te brengen tot die zeep nu eindelijk eens klaar is.
Als het je puur om het wassen gaat en niet zozeer dat je ook wil dat je zeep er mooi uitziet, dan kun je ook as van hout of houtskool of verbrand zeewier als 'lye' gebruiken.
Tenslotte nog dit: Ik was in Japan laatst in gesprek met een paar milieu-bewuste mensen, die helemaal geen zeep gebruiken. Ze gebruiken zout om hun lichaam mee te wassen en azijn om hun haar te wassen. Eventueel kun je je haar na het wassen insmeren met kokosolie. Ze zweerden erbij dat het veel gezonder is voor je lichaam en je haar.