MAKING A BATCH OF OATMEAL SOAP  

First a recipe is calculated according to the saponification values of the ingredients.

Ingredients are gathered and 
carefully weighed...

     Solid oils and nut butters, such as coconut and palm kernel, are melted...

...and then removed from the heat. Liquid oils and other ingredients in the recipe are added at this time.

Meanwhile, the lye and water have been mixed and set aside. 

When the two mixtures have reached the perfect temperature-- 90 degrees f. for this batch--they are combined...
carefully and slowly.

This particular soap is a goats milk soap, so what you see here is the goats milk and lye combination being poured into the oils.

It is hard to tell in the picture, but the oil pan is sitting in a sink of ice water....an important step for this particular recipe...

And then the stir begins....

this mixture is stirred by hand for a while and then by stick blender until the glorious "trace" is achieved.

Looks like vanilla pudding, wouldn't you say?

Now the soap is ready to pour into molds.....

....to be continued....