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Are you interested in learning about how to make homemade soap?
There are a wide variety of ingredients available to make homemade soap.
The list ranges from the basic ingredients of water, lye, and oil to
optional ingredients such as oatmeal and even glitter. The type of soap
you want to use determines the ingredients you will need when making
your own soap. Some people who make homemade soap stick to the basics
and simply add fragrant oils to put some scent into their soaps, while
others add abrasive materials such as oatmeal for exfoliating purposes.
Here is a list of some common supplies and ingredients used in making
soap and what characteristic they can provide your soap:
Basic Ingredients to Make Homemade Soap
Carrier Oils
The
type of soap you will make determines the base soap you need to use.
Do you want your homemade soap to be hard? Soft? Sudsy? You can start
finding out about the different base oils by reading the labels of
commercial soaps you use regularly. You can also sign on to mailing
lists and join soap making groups online; most of the people who know
how to make homemade soap are very willing to share information with
others.
Carrier oils impart the primary physical characteristics
of the soaps. Hard and long lasting soaps can be made from palm oils;
soaps that give a good lather can be made using coconut oil and castor
oil; olive oil, canola oil or soybean oil may be used to make
moisturizing and conditioning soaps; and luxury soaps can be made using
cocoa butter, hemp oil, and almond oil among other things. Oils such as
almond and avocado oil provide a skin softening characteristic to your
soaps. Different oils mean different soaps. Once you become familiar
with the properties each oil imparts, you will begin to recognize what
kind of bar a particular recipe will produce.
Lye
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Lye is the
most important ingredient in making soap if you are using the cold or
hot processes. Sodium hydroxide or lye is a very strong chemical and
handling it requires serious caution. You also need to choose your
utensils carefully when dealing with lye - use only wooden and plastic
spoons for stirring and bowls made of enamel, plastic or glass for
mixing. Only cold water should be used with lye, and always remember to
pour the lye into the water.
You cannot make homemade soap bars
from scratch without using lye. If, however, you do want to skip using
lye, you can try using the melt and pour method with pre-made glycerin
soap bases.
Water
Another main ingredient in soap making,
water is essential to the process. For the best results, use distilled
water for creating your lye solution. You can also use de-mineralized
water in soap making.
Other Ingredients
Other ingredients
you can include once you have learned how to make homemade soap are
herbs, flower petals, glitter, colorants, essential oils, and fragrant
oils.
Herbs and flower petals can add scent to your soap, but you
should remember that these can be burned when added to hot processed
soap. Some other herbs do not look at all appealing when used in soaps.
If you want to use herbs in your homemade soap, do your research and
find out what herbs can are good for use in making soap.
Colorants
come in different forms - liquids, powders and glycerin based colorants
are common. Use these to add color to your soap, however, you should
also remember that all other ingredients can affect the final outcome of
your soap color.
Glitter can be used to add a certain punch to
your homemade soaps. Use cosmetic grade glitter; these come in
ultrafine and fine sizes and in a wide variety of colors. Do not use
glitter made for use in craft projects as they are not meant to be used
on your skin.
Essential oils and fragrance oils can be added to
your soaps to give it a therapeutic effect. Some essential oils such as
chamomile can be rather expensive. It really is up to you if you want
to add essential oils to your soap. If you want to simply add a scent
without a therapeutic effect, you can opt to use fragrance oils instead.
Knowledge of ingredients as well as creativity and imagination is required once you know
how to make homemade soap
in order to create something that is truly unique. When making your
own soap, do your research and do not be afraid to try out new things.
J. Martin is the webmaster of
Soap Making Fun. For more information on the cold process, check out his video on
how to make soap.