Sycamore Shoals hosts soap making workshop

One of the advantages of having so many living history sites in our region is the opportunities for hands-on learning. Case in point is the many workshops hosted by Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton, including the newly added soap making. Historically, soap — more specifically lye soap — was produced by slowly running water through wood ashes in an ash hopper, creating a strong alkaline solution. Rendered animal fat, commonly tallow or lard, was then boiled together with the lye in large kettles until saponification occurred. The mixture was stirred and heated for up to an hour before being poured into wooden molds to cool and harden. Saponification is the process of making soap through the reaction of fats or oils with a strong base, such as sodium hydroxide. Saponification comes from the Latin word "sapo," meaning soap. While making soap in the 18th century was simple, it was also very labor-intensive and time consuming. So, the new Sycamore Shoals workshop came up with an alternative. "We're making shea butter," said Park Ranger Jason Davis, who was running the new workshop. "There wasn't a way to do it historically accurate without processing the lye from ashes and rendering the lard and doing all that kind of thing." Davis noted the workshop was taking place the day before Mother's Day. "The curing time is different," he said. "With this, after it sets it should be good to give as a gift tomorrow. Other methods can take up to two weeks to cure." Davis later said that it might be interesting to do a lye soap workshop, which could take a full day, but he would have to see what kind of interest there would be in such a program. He also noted the trouble of working with lye. "One thing I like about doing the melt-and-pour soap is that we're not doing the lye," Davis said. "Some people are super sensitive to the lye, and that way we don't have to worry about any of that stuff with the melt and pour." Davis hoped that this would be something the folks could do again later at home, maybe as a project with the kids or as a hobby. "The idea was to do it in such a way that it was super simple. I've got a handout to give them with instructions when they leave," he said. Attendees to the workshop also got to keep the soap molds they used. Davis had already mixed the soap base and had it melting in the crock pots when folks began showing up for the workshop. Among them was Pamela Crumley from Roan Mountain, who showed up ready to go to work. "You came equipped with an apron and everything," said Davis to the new arrival. "It said have an apron. I didn't know how messy this was going to get. I've never made soap before," said Crumley. "I'm sure my mom has though." The melt-and-pour method of making soap requires proper temperature, timing and measurements. As he measured the temperature in one of the crock pots, Davis noted, "They recommend that you have a special crock pot for soap making if this is going to be a hobby." He added that the little crock pots were the best. The one big crock pot used in the workshop didn't work as well when it came to heating the soap base to the sweet spot of 130 degrees. "You don't want your soap scorching on you," he said. "So that's why you want to use a candy thermometer. I just use the standard one; I don't trust digital." Davis urged everyone attending the workshop not to skimp on their soap base if they did this at home. "Don't sacrifice on your quality for your soap base," he said. "You want to go with either Bulk Apothecary or Berry Bramble. Those two places are really good places to get your soap base." When it came to adding the mica powder for color, he said that too much color could cause the soap to flake. Mix well, but not too long because the soap will set before adding the essential oil. The soap does need to cool just a little bit before adding the essential oil. When everyone began adding the essential oil, the room took on a wonderful smell. It was then time to pour the soap into the molds. Although Davis had said that everyone should allow two hours for the soap to cure, Denise Wagner, from Norton, Virginia, and Nikki Fleming, from Clintwood, Virginia, couldn't wait, and after half an hour each popped one of their bars of soap out of its mold to see how it turned out. Both were very happy with the patterns that the molds had embossed into the soap. If you would like to make this soap at home, the ingredients are 1 pound melt-and-pour soap base, 1 tablespoon mica powder (optional for color), and 20 to 30 drops of essential oil (to give the soap scent) along with silicone molds to form the soap into bars. Cut soap base into small cubes and melt in a crock pot heated to 135 degrees. Stir in the mica and essential oil and then pour the mixture into the mold and allow it to set for a couple of hours. If you are in a hurry and don't want to wait on the crock pot, you can melt the soap base in a microwave heating at 30-second intervals. I guess you could say that this would be good clean fun. Ned Jilton II is a photographer, history lover and columnist. You can contact him at ndjphoto@aol.com.