Making Homemade Soap
Find out about soap making at home
Making homemade soap is not as difficult as people think. Soap is the result of a basic chemical reaction between oils or fats and lye. By creatively using
the basic oils, adding fragrances and colorants and coming up with distinctive soap making ideas your handmade soap takes on a special character all of its
own.
Soap Making Methods - there are three essential ways to make home made soap.
- Melt and Pour - this simply involves melting pre-made blocks of base soap (usually clear, glycerin soap) and adding your own scents and colors to create your homemade soaps.
Clear soap base can be purchased in large blocks from soap making suppliers. This is a very easy and inexpensive method of making soap
but it is not as rewarding as making homemade soap from scratch. Your soap is only as good as the base you puchase. Go to the soap making instructions for
the melt and pour method.
- Cold Process - this is the most common method and involves making homemade soap from scratch using lye (sodium hydroxide). Lye
reacts with the base oils to form soap and glycerin.The lye is neutralized during the whole soap making process. The time taken to make the soap
is a couple of hours but the homemade soap requires a curing time of 4 to 6 weeks to become neutral and mild enough to use. Don't be put off this process for making home made soap from scratch
because the ingredients include sodium hydroxide! Sodium Hydroxide is used in many bath and beauty products including toothpaste,
deodrant and skin care products.
The cold process method is relatively simple. Mix the lye with water, mix the lye water with oils, pour the soap mixture into molds or containers. After a couple of
days release the soap from the mold and cut and trim it. Then cure the soaps in a dry place for 4 to 6 weeks. Go to the detailed steps on how to make homemade soap from scratch.
Cold process soapmaking requires the use of safety goggles and gloves as you are dealing with sodium hydroxide. As long as you take the
right precautions and are safety-conscious it is safe to work with lye.
The advantages of using the cold process method is that the soap is longer-lasting and can
be customized by using different amounts of oils and fats. Find out about the different oils you can use.
- Hot Process - a similar process to cold process except the soap is actually
cooked in a pot over a heat source. The advantage of this method is that the curing process is much quicker - the handmade soap is ready almost immediately.
The most commonly used method by soap makers is the cold process method. More experienced soap makers may use the hot process method
as the soap is ready for use almost straightaway. Find out about making homemade soap, step by step using one of the methods below.
There are many soap makers who have turned their hobby making homemade soap into a successful home business. With hard work and imagination making soap at home could be the right
home business idea for you.
Start making handmade soap from home. This enjoyable home income opportunity can be both profitable and fun!
Return from Making Homemade Soap to My Home Business Ideas
