The Basics of Making Your Own Natural Soap by Kiba SnowWolf

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

So you want to learn about making your own custom hand made soaps? Are
you looking for a more natural alternative to commercially available
soaps? Or just a crafty person looking for a new creative adventure?

Well, you’re in the right place. In addition to instructions, tips, and safety guidelines, this primer, and the Soap
Making pages here on About, I will teach you basic
techniques, guide you step-by-step through some interesting projects,
and give you the knowledge and resources to start developing your own
soapy creations.

But Why Make My Own Soap?
One of the pioneers of today’s natural hand made soap making community,
Ann Bramson, in her book “Soap”,
says, “Where the hard pastel-colored bars sold at the drugstore are
anonymous and indifferent, homemade soap has character. It charms…it
smells good…feels good…is comforting in ways which manufactured soap can
never be.” She is so right! If you’ve never tried a bar of
real natural hand made soap, you’re in for a real treat. If you
have tried one, and know just how wonderful it is, you’ll be surprised
that making your own fantastic soaps is not as difficult as you think.

A Basic Chemical Reaction
Soap is the result of a basic chemical reaction between fats or oils and
lye. That’s it. The difference between Grandma’s harsh, greasy, “lye
soap,” and your luxurious hand made soap, is the choice of ingredients.
Think of it this way: With just some flour and water, you can make
primitive bread. Not very exciting or tasty, but still bread. But when
your recipe is made with your favorite whole-grain flour, fresh eggs,
sea salt, yeast, and honey, simple bread becomes a remarkable home made
delight.

It’s the same with soap.

By carefully choosing a combination of quality oils, adding your favorite fragrance or essential oils, and swirling in a lively colorant, your soap suddenly takes on
that charming “character” that commercially manufactured soap can’t even
begin to compete with.

Four Methods of Making Soap
There are four basic methods for making soap at home:

1. Melt and Pour - melt pre-made blocks of soap and add your own fragrance
2. Cold Process - the most common - making soap from scratch with oils and lye
3. Hot Process - a variation of cold process where the soap is actually cooked
4. Rebatching - grinding up bars of soap, adding milk or water, and re-blending them

Each method has pros, and cons, and variations.
To start with, we’ll discuss the two most popular methods of soap making, Melt and Pour
and Cold Process Soap Making.


Jump Starting the Process
Making soap with a "melt and pour" base is sort of like making a cake with a cake mix. What you lose in
control of your ingredients and customization of your recipe, you make
up for in safety, ease and convenience.

With melt and pour soap making, you buy pre-made blocks of uncolored,
unscented soap “base” from a craft store or soap
supplier. You melt the soap base in the microwave or a double
boiler. When the soap is fully melted, you add your fragrance, color
and/or additives. Put it in a mold, and voila, you’re done. The
soap is ready to use as soon as it hardens.

To get started making melt and pour soap you only need:

• A counter top or other clean workspace with a microwave or double boiler
• A heat resistant bowl for the microwave
• A couple of spoons or whisks
• Some melt and pour soap base
• A set of measuring spoons
• Fragrance, color, or additives, as desired
• Something to mold the soap in

That’s it. From your first try, you can have wonderful results.

Pros of Melt and Pour

• An easy and inexpensive way to start making soap
• No need to deal with dangerous lye mixture
• You don’t need a lot of ingredients to start
• Your soap is ready to use as soon as it hardens

Cons of Melt and Pour

• No control over your ingredients
• Melt and Pour is not quite as “natural” as other methods. (Many manufacturers add chemicals to increase lather or to better allow the soap to melt.)
  
• Your soap is only as good as the base you purchase.

Starting From Scratch
If making melt and pour soap is akin to using a cake mix, "cold process" is making your cake from scratch. You control everything that goes into the pot, and you can make it as
"natural" as you want. However, your setup is a little more complicated,
and you’ll need to learn a few techniques of the craft first.

To make cold process soap, you heat the oils in your soap pot until
they’re approximately 100 degrees. Slowly add the lye-water mixture and
blend the soap until it thickens to “trace”.
After the mixture reaches trace,
you add your fragrance, color and additives and pour it into the mold.
The raw soap will take about 24 hours to harden, and about four weeks to
cure before it’s ready to use.

To get started making cold process soap, you’ll need:

• A flat, uncluttered workspace with a heat source and access to water
• Some animal fats or vegetable oils
• A pitcher of lye-water
• A soap pot and some other easily found tools and equipment
• Fragrance or essential oil, as desired
• Natural or synthetic colorant, as desired
• A mold to pour the raw soap into
• A cool, dry place to let the soap cure

Pros of Cold Process Soap Making

• Your soap is truly made from scratch
• You control all of the ingredients in the soap
• You can tailor your recipe into unlimited variations

Cons of Cold Process Soap Making

• You need to learn how to safely work with lye
• You’ll need more ingredients and tools to start
• It takes longer to make and there is more cleanup involved
• You need to wait several weeks before your soap is ready to use

Step-by-Step Instructions to Making Cold Process Soap

Whichever method you choose, you can make great soap. Work patiently,
and follow the instructions closely to start with. Once you’re familiar
with the basic steps, you’ll be able to let you’re creative inspirations
flow and make all sorts of wonderful soap creations.

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapmakingbasics/a/sm101_3.htm 

[WarMouse -Manager-]

Wow, I didn't know how much went into making your own soap.