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Reader review and hands on with bath bombs!

Bath bombs from the Soap Making Advice ebook recipes

Recently a fellow blogger wrote a review of the Soap Making Made Easy ebook package and shared it on her blog, including a hands on review of the soap making process, producing her first batch of bath bombs!

Here’s the recipe that Alyssa used, based on one of the 50+ recipes included in the Soap Making Made Easy ebook package:

Ingredients
1 part citric acid
2 parts baking soda
Witch Hazel
Colorant
Fragrance
Dome-shaped mold (I used mini-cupcake tins)

And the final result looks great, gift boxed and ready to go as a unique and personal gift this Christmas.

You can read Alyssa’s full review on her blog My husband’s watching TV while I’m watching the baby.

Thanks Alyssa!

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The Basic Soap Making Ingredients

All soaps consist of a few key ingredients. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Foot Fingers

All soaps consist of a few key ingredients. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Foot Fingers

Soap-making is a delicate process, but the ingredients used to make soap are fairly simple: oils, lye, water, fragrances, colorants, and other, optional additives. The fats and oils used in soap can be derived from either animal or vegetable fat. Typically, soaps made from vegetable oils are softer than those made with animal fat.

The most useful oils for soap-making are fixed oils – oils that can be raised to a high temperature without evaporating. Fixed oils include a variety of base oils, such as olive, palm and coconut oils.

There are two types of fats used for soap-making: saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats make a hard soap. Continue reading “The Basic Soap Making Ingredients”

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Soap Making Method: Precautions For Working With Lye

Lye is an essential ingredient in soap making but it can be quite dangerous. Photo courtesy of Flickr user maoquai

Lye is an essential ingredient in soap making but it can be quite dangerous. Photo courtesy of Flickr user maoquai

In Lye Soap Making Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH), commonly known as lye, are essential ingredients for making soap.

However, lye in all its forms can be quite dangerous, and there are certain precautions which must be taken when working with lye.

Lye is very dangerous if spilled. It is a corrosive material, and can burn skin, or any other surface it comes into contact with. Continue reading “Soap Making Method: Precautions For Working With Lye”

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Soap Making Basics – How to Make Homemade Soap

Lye is one of the fundamental ingredients of soap making, so it's important to understand how to use it properly

Lye is one of the fundamental ingredients of soap making, so it’s important to understand how to use it properly. Photo courtesy of flickr user maoquai.

Soap making is not only a hobby, it can also be an addiction.

You will no doubt be hooked once you start making that first batch of soap (here’s our free suggested recipe).

Whether you choose to make soap for personal use or for holiday gifts, it is always better to be knowledgeable of the general process.

This post outlines the basics of the most popular soap making methods, but please click here to read our full, comprehensive post on the soap making methods available to you, or click here for our comprehensive post on soap making equipment.

The Soap Process

There are several ways to make soap. The method used depends on the products and materials available and the type of desired soap. Whatever it is, one thing is basic:

Soap is made from oil and lye no matter the method used. Once the basic soap is made, it can then be perfumed, colored, filled, shaped and packaged. Continue reading “Soap Making Basics – How to Make Homemade Soap”

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Making Your Own Herbal Soap With A Free Soap Recipe!

Anyone can make herbal soap at home, with ingredients that are readily available in any grocery store or supermarket. Photo courtesy of flickr user nico paix.

Anyone can make herbal soap at home, with ingredients that are readily available in any grocery store or supermarket. Photo courtesy of flickr user nico paix.

Herbal Soap Making has become very popular in recent times, although herbal soaps have been pushed out of the spotlight somewhat since the invention of synthetic soap making processes, which tend to yield a more consistent and cheaper product.

However, there are still many reasons to make your own herbal soap. You have control over the quality of the ingredients you use, so you know what the quality of your final product will be, and you can customize your soap any way you like. You can ensure that only natural ingredients are used, and minimize the environmental impact from waste materials for at least your own soap consumption. Handmade soaps make great inexpensive and unique gifts, and are a great alternative for people who find that commercial soap products are often too harsh for dry or sensitive skin. Perhaps most importantly, making your own soap will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Anyone can make their own herbal soap, with ingredients that are readily available in any grocery or soapmaking supply shop. With the ease and convenience of internet shopping, it’s now even easier to get the exact ingredients you want. Continue reading “Making Your Own Herbal Soap With A Free Soap Recipe!”

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Soap Making For the Holidays, And A Free Recipe!

Photo courtesy of Flickr user theogeo

Christmas is just around the corner! Have you found the perfect Christmas gifts yet? Why not make your own gift with elegant soaps your family and friends will love and cherish.

With simple soap making recipe you can easily create elegant soaps.

Here is a simple soap making recipe for those of you who haven’t tried making soap yet.

A lovely gift idea for friends and family would be to make your own homemade soap. A personalized gift that you made yourself would proclaim so much more thoughtfulness than just buying one.

Making olive oil soap is fairly simple and easy. Try out this homemade olive oil soap recipe.

Soap making ingredients:

One 18 ounce can of lye (Make sure the lye is labeled for soap making. Some lye are too harsh, while some others are not strong enough to make soap with)
Distilled water – 5 cups (plain tap water has chemicals and impurities that can cause soap making problems)
Heat proof container for mixing the lye
Large stainless steel pot for mixing soap
Spatula (rubber or silicon)
Plastic container with lid (which will serve as the soap making mold)
Blender or beater

How to make the soap:

1.Before starting, make sure to read carefully the Manufacturer Safety Data Sheet on the lye. Lye must be handled with extreme caution.

Please always note that when you are using Lye that Safety is top priority.

2.Pour the distilled water into the heat proof container. Then add lye carefully.
Always remember:

Add lye to the water and not the other way around.

Stir gently and with care. The mixture will get hot and will produce fumes for a few minutes.

Set the mixture aside to a safe place and wait for it to cool off.

3.Pour olive oil into the other large stainless steel pot and heat to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Then remove the pot from the heat.

4.Once the container of the lye-water mixture is warm enough to touch, slowly pour the lye-water mixture into the warm olive oil, stirring the oil the whole time with your spatula.

Then, you can now use your stick blender or beater for short intervals, hand stirring in between.

You will notice the mixture starts getting thicker and more opaque which means trace is occurring.

Keep stirring until you see a pudding-like consistency.

5.Pour mixture into the plastic container with lid and cover with a blanket.

When it’s ready, pop it out from the container and stack it on brown paper lined shelves in a well ventilated area.

It takes approximately 4 weeks for soap to be aged and cured.

This recipe makes more than 10 pounds of soap.

Pack it any way you want it for a more personalized touch. Let your creativity run wild and don’t be afraid to use color and creative materials.

These handmade soaps will now be perfect Holiday gifts for your friends and family!

For more information on packaging and presentation of your soaps, be sure to check out our comprehensive Ebook package Soap Making Made Easy: Second Edition that reveals the best soap making techniques as well as recipes and tips on how to make your own soap at home.

It would also make the perfect gift for any friends and family who might be interested in soap making!

Take the next step

Download our FREE ebook, ‘How To Make Soap At Home’, by clicking here.

We also have a special offer on our Soap Making Ebooks range, with exclusive web bonuses and a risk free 60 day money back guarantee! Also available on Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

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Scenting Your Soap – Fragrance Oils And Essential Oils

Fragrance oils are a great way to add a personal touch to your homemade soap. Flickr Markhillary

Fragrance oils are a great way to add a personal touch to your homemade soap. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Markhillary.

Scenting your homemade soaps is a great way to personalise your soaps, but with such a wide variety of options is a matter of personal preference.

There are two varieties of oils that can be used to scent soap: fragrance oils, and essential oils. Either can be used, according to the preferences of the soap maker. This article will give an idea of the benefits of each type of oils, but for our comprehensive post on essential oils, fragrance oils, example oils, their properties and quantities to add to your soap recipes, please click here.

Fragrance oils are made from a mixture of aroma chemicals. They are commonly used when there is no essential oil available for a particular fragrance, or when the essential oil is far too costly or environmentally irresponsible to use.

Unlike essential type oils, fragrance oils can be part natural and part synthetic, or all synthetic. Continue reading “Scenting Your Soap – Fragrance Oils And Essential Oils”

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Scent Your Homemade Soap With Soap Making Oils

There are many scents, such as beeswax, you can use to personalise your soap (photo courtesy of flickr user Cuttlefish)

There are many scents, such as beeswax, you can use to personalise your soap (photo courtesy of flickr user Cuttlefish).

After you understand the basic soap making ingredients and have mastered a basic soap recipe, you can further personalise your homemade soaps by adding soap making oils. This article will give an idea of the benefits of adding oils to your soap, but for our comprehensive post on essential oils, fragrance oils, example oils, their properties and quantities to add to your soap recipes, please click here.

There are a variety of oils that can be used in the soap making process – each oil has different properties, making the saponification process a bit different for each, and resulting in different qualities in the soap produced.

Each oil must also be used in a slightly different quantity. Below is a brief list of the many oils that can be used to make soap, the qualities of each, the quantity in which each should be used, and when each should be added to the soap mixture. Continue reading “Scent Your Homemade Soap With Soap Making Oils”

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Soap Making Basics: Soap Ingredients

Soap Making Basics: Soap Ingredients

Before you try to experiment with your homemade soap it’s important to understand the basic soap ingredients – photo courtesy of flickr user mommyknows.

There are a variety of reasons that people decide to make their own soap.

Some do it for a greater degree of customization; some because commercial soaps are too harsh for their skin; still others because it’s a fun and rewarding hobby.

To get started making your own soap, you will need to consider three things:

* Your ingredients;
* Using the right equipment; and
* Your soap making method.

The ingredients are, arguably, the most important component of the soap making process. Continue reading “Soap Making Basics: Soap Ingredients”

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Soap Making Fragrance Oils

Fragrance oils are a great way to add a personal touch to your homemade soap. Flickr Markhillary

Fragrance oils are a great way to add a personal touch to your homemade soap. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Markhillary.

Scenting your homemade soaps is a great way to personalise your soaps, and with such a wide variety of options is a matter of personal preference.

There are two varieties of oils that can be used to scent soap: fragrance oils, and essential oils. Either can be used, according to the preferences of the soap maker.

Fragrance oils are made from a mixture of aroma chemicals. They are commonly used when there is no essential oil available for a particular fragrance, or when the essential oil is far too costly or environmentally irresponsible to use.

Unlike essential type oils, fragrance oils can be part natural and part synthetic, or all synthetic. Continue reading “Soap Making Fragrance Oils”