Soap Making 

Handmade soaps are usually pretty costly when you purchase them in a store, however, if you make your own at home you can save a bundle and have fun doing it at the same time! And in fact, soap making is easier than most people think. Since there are lots of different approaches to soap making, the process can be as easy or as difficult as you want. Imagine the different ways that you can bake a cake; Betty Crocker makes things simple, but starting from scratch gives you that something special that makes your cake unique. The same holds true for making soap. Here is an explanation of the preparation techniques used just to give you an idea of what you have in store for your first soap making adventure:

• Melt and Pour -- This is a fairly simple method of soap making that consists of buying soap batches  that you melt, add fragrance  and color to, and then pour into molds.  This is an inexpensive method of making customized soap that doesn't require any technical skills. Once it hardens, the soap is ready to use. Unfortunately, like all prepared kits (remember the Betty Crocker example), soap that is ready to melt and pour is already full of chemicals and ingredients that you have no control over. It kind of takes the creativity and the "I want to try something new" feeling away from the experience.
• Rebatching -- Basically, this is the same technique as melt and pour, but with a little more leniency in the way you prepare the batch. The method is simple: gather up all sorts of soap, grind them up, melt and combine them with milk, water, or any other ingredient, and pour. Easy and cheap, but again, you won't have much say in the creative process.

For both of the above processes, you'll need a few basic supplies. If you have a microwave, then great. You can use it to melt the melt and pour soap base  or the soap that you plan to rebatch in a microwaveable bowl covered with plastic wrap for one minute on high. Otherwise, you can do the same thing on the stove with a double boiler.  Simply fill the outer portion with water and wait for it to boil and add the soap to melt and cover it. Turn the heat down to low and leave it until the mixture has fully melted. You'll then need some essential oils  or fragrance oil and some dye or coloring. Estimate at least 4 ounces of oils to a pound of melt and pour base. Food coloring can work to dye the batch at any time, but be stingy; one or two drops goes far and any more may stain later on. Mica powder  (1/8 to 1/4 tsp) is another coloring option. You'll need to mix it in well as the batch melts and remove any bubbles that form with a bit of rubbing alcohol (using a spray bottle works well). Lastly, you'll need soap molds.  Pour the mixture into the molds and spray with the rubbing alcohol if you see any bubbles. That's it.

About Molds

There are thousands of different molds to choose from, available in plastic,  wood, stainless steel, and silicone styles. You can buy them from soap supply stores in all sorts of shapes, including flowers, geometric shapes, animals, sports equipment, seaside themed, and more. There are also many different sizes available, which you should choose carefully. Soaps that are made too small are often inconvenient, although quite pretty. You should also know that soap molds and candle molds can be used interchangeably.

It is advised that when buying wooden molds  that you find kinds that slide open so that you can easily remove the soap once it has hardened. This type of mold is ideal for making 3-D shapes. You can also use two one-sided molds joined together to make something 3-D. Silicone molds  are very easy to remove soap from and plastic is also quite convenient, just make sure that it is dishwasher- and microwave-safe. Also look for molds that have a wider opening so you can easily remove the soaps. Avoid using ceramic or glass molds as they are easy to break or crack from high heat or cold, and they also make removing soap quite difficult.

Many home goods are suitable molds, including:

• Muffin tins.
• Small microwave-safe bowls.
• Old ice cream cups (the plastic kind).
• Tin cans.
• Margarine or butter containers.

Soap from Scratch

Now on to the "real" thing: making soap from scratch. This is the way the pros do it, and it requires technique, different tools, patience, and creativity. There are two methods to making soap from scratch, called hot process and cold process. Both methods allow you to create an infinite number of soaps with varying designs, colors, fragrances, and purposes (think acne clearing, scrubbing, moisturizing, and shaving soap just to name a few). It has been said before: the possibilities are endless. However, while this sounds very appealing, there are three major points to remember. This type of soap making takes time, much longer than melt and pour soaps. You'll have to wait up to a week to handle the soap (cutting it up) and up to a month before you can use it. Plus, the actual process takes longer as well. The next big thing is that soap from scratch means using lye, a caustic ingredient. It can be dangerous when not handled properly, making this a craft purely for adults. You should research safety precautions before beginning anything.

Finally, you'll need several items that you may or may not already own.

• In preparation
• Rubber gloves  and safety goggles  to keep your skin safe while handling the soap making materials.
• An accurate measuring scale  and stainless steel measuring spoons  for preparing the batch.
• A stainless steel pitcher  in which to prepare the lye as well as a stainless steel spoon.
• Glass or pyrex pitchers  to hold the other ingredients before melting them.
• Melting process
• A double boiler. 
• A thermometer. 
• A stainless steel ladle. 
• Rubber spatulas. 
• Soap molds. 

What about the rest of the ingredients? True you will need fragrance and coloring as with melt and pour soaps, but you will also need lye and possibly, additives. This is where soap making gets a bit trickier. WaltonFeed.com has come up with a basic soap making recipe for cold process lye soap that goes as follows. You can go to the Web site to see the complete instructions on how to prepare the soap. You'll also find many more useful articles regarding soap making including a lye to fat ratio table.

• 12 oz or 340 grams of 100% lye (Sodium Hydroxide) 
• 21 1/2 oz (605g) ice cold or part frozen distilled water
• 5 lbs, 7 1/3 oz (2.48kg) lard or all vegetable shortening

Related Articles

• Bar Soaps -- Learn about what type of soap is best for your skin.
• Candle Making -- Once you learn to make soap, making candles would be another craft right up your alley!

External Links

• Make Your Own Cosmetics -- A must-see Web site with tons of recipes for making natural supplies, from hair care, to skin care, to soaps.
• TeachSoap.com -- Get some inspiration from their photo gallery.
• Pioneer Thinking -- A page by page set of instructions for soap making, from safety to ingredients and more.
• Bramble Berry -- A very useful calculator to find out how much lye you will need in relation to the fat you will use as well as any additives you plan to include in your batch of soap.
• PeaceCorps.mut.edu -- This page has a basic outline of making soap and some good links, including this detailed explanation of traditional soap making.