Shea Butter Soap

This adventure began with Alice and Ishmael at the Wednesday Mankessim Market.  I LOVED that place - talk about sensory overload!  It was HUGE and you can literally buy ANYTHING there.  Several thousand people come from quite a distance to shop.   

I was told there were several undercover police that mingle and maintain order, deterring theft and violence (which has been a problem in the past).  We would NEVER go to a place like this alone - I noticed that I was the only one carrying a bright red "Mary Poppins" bag.  Lynn was a nervous wreck and hated the place. 

 

After touting the many benefits of Shea Butter Soap (it can literally correct any and all problems AND it floats!) and then boasting of the ability to make it... Alice talked us into learning yet another skill from her, the master soap maker.  I think Alice is convinced that I will use these skills as my new career at home even though I told her that we didn't have a market like the one in Mankessim and I wouldn't be able to buy the ingredients there.  Many pairs of eyes seem to follow me where ever I go.

We found a row of vendors selling chemicals and could supply our shopping list of ingredients for the soap.  We waited nearly 45 minutes as Alice negotiated the price.  Yes her eyes stayed on me the WHOLE time!

This is the recipe we got from the chemical vendor.  Although I can't read Fante... and there were no pictures, I was a little worried because it appeared to be different than Alice's recipe. 

It's a good thing there's a rule that companions must stay together on mission or mine would have fled!  This was like hauling him to the mall (x 100).  Although I think he only had 2 marriage proposals while we were there, he was beside himself...poor guy!

This vendor is selling Shea Butter.  It comes in bright yellow or white.  The "good ones" are in the bowls wrapped in newspaper to keep it clean.  The brightest yellow was what Alice was after.

Grandpa wanted this picture of dried lizards for his grandchildren.  I'm not sure what they use it for... but it can't be good!

While we were there we also purchased sewing notions and food for Alice, and toffee for the postal workers.  We were only there about 2 hours but Lynn was READY to get back in the car and rejuvenate with a cold coke.

 

We hired a carpenter to make the mold for the soap. While he was working on it we began the rather lengthy process of making the soap.

First you mix 1 kilo of Pot Ash Soda with 14 Coke bottles of water (or you can use 7 beer bottles) in a plastic tub.  If you use metal it will "spoil" the pot.  You must let it dissolve for more than 3 days before you add the other ingredients or it will burn your skin. 

After about 10 days, we measured out the rest of the ingredients (below)

we added 14 Coke bottles of Palm Oil (left); 14 Coke bottles of melted Shea Butter (center); 1 T. Red Oil (right);

1 T. Salt; 1 T. Hydro A; 1 T. Hydro B; 1 T. Hydro C; 3 T. Perfume

Lynn helped melt the Shea Butter on the stove.  Notice how nice and clean he is in the beginning of this project.

I begged Alice to let us make the soap outside because it is much cooler than inside her house. She would NOT let that happen, when I asked her why, she said her neighbors would see what she was doing. She consented to leave the door and only window open, which helped...a little!  It was funny to watch all the neighbors walk by casually and peek inside the door on one side and the window on the other.   

After all the ingredients are added, you begin stirring...in one direction only...without stopping... for 90 minutes!  Just look at that happy face - I'm such a lucky girl!

It went from really runny, to slightly creamy, then it started to separate, then it got a little chunky, then it started to get hard and pasty.

At first Lynn and I took turns stirring... then he took over.  Alice and I helped but he wouldn't give up his grip on the stick.

When Lynn didn't have a dry spot left on him, Ishamel and his friend Yaw took over the last few minutes.  When I noticed that the mixture wasn't condensing I asked what we would do with the rest that wouldn't fit in the mold.  Alice assured me it would all fit in the mold.

Despite my efforts to get Alice to want unique soap, this mold makes bars of soap that are nearly identical to what you buy on the street called "Key Soap" - 3x3x15 inch bars with skeleton key stamps on every side.  They use it for cleaning everything...laundry, dishes and bathing.  When the soap is hardened, the dividers are lifted and the soap is removed from the mold.

When it wouldn't all fit in the mold :Q  we contained it with sticks on top of plastic on her floor.

It was a sticky project and we were exhausted when it was done!

Alice is getting ready to stamp the soap.  We left before it was hardened.   

We put up the "seed money" for this project so I was interested in the profitability for her. When I asked her how much she would sell the soap for, she told me it would be the same price as the Key Soap. I suggested that she add the cost of the materials, estimate her labor and calculate the price so she could replace the ingredients and earn a profit.  I was told that she will sell it for the same as the Key Soap.  It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

We returned the next week and discovered that the soap never hardened as it should because the chemical vendor sold her expired ingredients (I think it was Alice's recipe). She rolled the soap that was on the the floor into balls and was able to sell most of the soap at a discount, but it was enough to replace her ingredients.  She cut the recipe in half and has already dissolved the soda for the next smaller batch.  I hope she is able to recruit Ishmael and Yaw to do all the stirring! 

We took a ball home and I washed my hands with it.  It made them turn dry and red.  I'm sorry to say that I think the soap stinks.  It'll be interesting to see what Lynn thinks...

While I was trying to give Alice the business lesson, Elder Asay was playing keep away with a few boys in the village.  They are using a seriously broken ball ...the dogs at home wouldn't even want to play with it!  Tip:  If you have only one shoe...wear it!