Soap making is a precise hobby so it’s important to focus and work at improving your skills. Photo courtesy of Flickr user vastateparksstaff.
Ingredients
It is fun making your own soap, but you must pay attention to your ingredients. When you read the label on the soap that you have purchased, you will surely get the impression that a lot goes into making a bar of soap. This simply isn’t true.
There are only two things that are required to make a bar of soap: fat and lye. Of course, the more sop making additives you add to your soap, the more luxurious it would be. But again, the basic bar is just made of fat and lye. You have to make sure the ingredients you use in your soap is of the highest quality as this will make or break your soap.
Are you going to put herbs? Have you thought of the type of colorant you will use? What fragrance oil is right for you?
Temperature
Saponification is what happens when there is a reaction between a lye and fat. In order for a lye and fat to saponify, it must be in the right temperature. You will run the risk of creating a failed batch of soap when the temperature is not right (see our post on troubleshooting common soap making issues here).
Soap Making Process
There are many ways of making soap. Cold Process, Hot Process, Melt and Pour, Rebtching. Which one should be used? If you have never made your own soap before, the best soap making method for you would be the melt and pour method. It requires no handling of the dangerous chemical lye, as the actual soap compound is already made.
Putting it all together
You will need a few things from your kitchen once you have decided on your ingredients and methods. Usually, you will need a microwave safe bowl, measuring spoons, mixing spoons, and soap making molds of your desired shapes.
What you need to do first is measure out the amount of soap base needed for your recipe. Once the salt vase is melted, add about ½ an ounce of your chosen soap making oil and a minimal amount of your favorite coloring. Your soap is now ready to be poured into the molds for setting. Some people like to add some extra ingredients before they pour their soap in to the molds.
Some of the things people add are, a tablespoon of honey, a tablespoon of oatmeal, a teaspoon of beeswax or a tablespoon of shea butter. Of course as with the essential oils there are many things people add to their soap for a multitude of reasons. Try and keep it basic at first by only adding fragrance and maybe one other extra ingredient. Your soap should harden or reform after several hours. Once your soap has hardened, you can package it in whichever way you want.
Packaging
You must have an attractive package if you want to sell your soap. It doesn’t have to be expensive and still be professional looking. You can use beautiful paper boxes of many shapes and sizes. You use wax paper, saran wrapper, parchment paper or whatever kind of paper that suits your taste.
Take the next step
Make sure you download our FREE comprehensive beginners guide, ‘How To Make Soap At Home’, by clicking here.
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