Posted on

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”

Posted on

The history of soap making: taking a closer look

photo courtesy of flickr user aussiegall

In today’s germ conscious society, it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without soap.

In prehistoric times, before the invention of soap, people bathed themselves with only water, and used flowing water, such as rivers and streams, to clean their clothes.

However, the practice of soap making was discovered almost three thousand years ago, and has become an indispensable part of modern civilized society.

The earliest evidence of soap making is a soap-like material found in the bottoms of Babylonian clay jars dating from about 2800 B.C.E. The recipe for this soap – water, alkali and cassia oil – was engraved on the outside of the jars. The Babylonians used this cassia soap to clean themselves, as well as to treat skin diseases, and to cleanse and nourish hair.

The Ebers papyrus, dating from about 1550 B.C.E., indicates that the ancient Egyptians also combined animal and vegetable fats with alkali, or lye, to create soap, and that they bathed regularly. Continue reading “The history of soap making: taking a closer look”

Posted on

How To Make Soap At Home: Learning The Soap Making Methods

There are various methods which can be used to make soap at home. Photo courtesy of flickr user trenttsd

There are various methods which can be used to make soap at home. Photo courtesy of flickr user trenttsd.

In our last post, we explained some of the basic foundations for soap making, including ingredients, equipment and method. We have previously gone into detail on soap making ingredients and soap making equipment, so now it is time to expand on the soap making process.

There are various methods which can be used to make soap at home. The basic process for making bars of solid soap is similar for each technique, but there are variations depending on the method used by the soap-maker. Continue reading “How To Make Soap At Home: Learning The Soap Making Methods”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

Troubleshooting Your Soap Making Process

Making homemade soap is a challenging yet rewarding hobby. Flickr Slam Szapucki

Making homemade soap is a challenging yet rewarding hobby. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Slam Szapucki.

Producing your own homemade soaps is a fantastic hobby with a great range of healthy benefits.

As with anything however, the process is vulnerable to a number of difficulties, which can affect the outcome of the final product. Recently, a reader contacted us on Facebook with an issue on how to stop white bubbles appearing in her soap. Following on from this, we thought it would be a good idea to cover off on some other issues that you might be facing.

Below is a list with some of the most common difficulties that you might encounter while producing your soap, as well as a cause and solution for each. Continue reading “Troubleshooting Your Soap Making Process”

Posted on

How to get rid of white bubbles in soap

Soap bubbles, Flickr Keith Williamson

We are always willing to help with any questions you have regarding making soap at home, or any particular issues you are having with your soap making process.

Recently we were contacted on our Facebook page by JJ May with an issue she has been having:

…to get rid of the white bubbles that appear on the top of the soap once poured, [I’ve been told] you should spritz with surgical spirit. This is all well and good for getting rid of the bubbles but it’s also making my soaps stink like Deep Heat rather than the beautiful fragrance they were intended to be. Can you suggest any other methods?

To help out JJ May, here are a few suggested remedies, which we also cover in our comprehensive Ebook “Soap Making Made Easy”. Continue reading “How to get rid of white bubbles in soap”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

Soap Making With Lye, And A Free Soap Recipe

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

If you enjoy this article and want to learn more about making soap at home, get instant access to our free soap making guide which covers all the basic elements of soap making, or get 10 years of soap making experience in our comprehensive Soap Making Bible with exclusive web bonuses for less than the cost of your first batch of soap.

Lye is one of the three key ingredients in the soap making process.

Lye is a caustic alkaline chemical that dissolves substances like fat, and has a high degree of reactivity with other materials.

It is also known as Sodium Hydroxide.
If you know about soap or have been learning about making soap, you might know that almost all handmade soaps are made of Sodium hydroxide except for a few liquid soaps that are made of Potassium hydroxide.  Potassium hydroxide, unknown to many, is also a type of lye used to make liquid soap.

It is important to note though that potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are not interchangeable in soap recipes. So to put it simply, basically all soaps are made from lye.

Lye is a very important ingredient in making soap as the hydroxide in lye binds with the fats to form soap. Lye is extremely caustic and can burn the skin.

When lye is mixed with water and oils, in a chemical process called saponification, the lye turns the fats and oils into soap.

Lye used to be made by soaking wood ashes in water, but now it is readily available at most hardware and grocery stores.

There are certain precautions which must be taken when working with lye for soap making; it is a corrosive chemical, which can cause severe damage to skin, eyes, and the respiratory system. Continue reading “Soap Making With Lye, And A Free Soap Recipe”

Posted on

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”