Learn How to Start Making Natural Soap, Quickly and Easily - A Beginners Guide
What's great is that homemade soap is all natural; there aren't nasty chemicals in it.
Soap you buy from the shop is classed in the form of "synthetic detergent", it's not real soap it's created from chemicals and is mass produced.
When you start making natural soap it's vital that you learn the basic principles.
To get going you will definitely need: · Basic soap making equipment · Various oils · Sodium or potassium hydroxide (based on what type of soap you're making) · A recipe You may additionally like to add essential oils and/or fragrance oils into your recipe as well.
Basic Soap Making Equipment The equipment required in soap making doesn't vary much based on what types of soap you create and you will generally need the following: · Digital scales that will be used for measuring materials · mixing bowl or pot - glass or plastic or stainless steel · thermometer · stirrers and mixers - again plastic or steel · electric hand blender · goggles and gloves - essential · a mould used for the soap bars · wax lined paper (greaseproof is fine) · a container for mixing lye into water · Oils Homemade natural soap is made from oil or maybe a blend of oils which are selected and mixed together based on what qualities you'd like your soap to have.
The oils provide body, lather (bubbles) and skin conditioning influenced by what oils you select.
Generally soap is produced with cheaper base oils which form the base of the soap, following which more pricey oils are used for adding additional luxurious qualities into your soap.
Sodium and Potassium Hydroxide (Lye) This will be the dangerous bit, lye is highly caustic and erosive and that means you are required to be mindful at any time whilst you're storing it, handling it and making use of it for creating soap.
The lye provides a reaction with the fatty acids in your oil and then saponification happens it is the reaction which makes the soap.
A Soap Recipe You shouldn't make natural soap with no recipe.
The recipe is where you decided what oils to blend determined by what qualities you like the soap to have.
You will have to consider things like cleansing ability, lather, body, moisturizing after which you can combine oils which will ensure that you get these qualities.
Once you have your oils selected, you take your recipe into the soap calculator which will confirm the volume of water to use and how much lye to use.
You combine the lye water along with the oils, blend until blended (called trace) and then pour into a mould and wait 6 weeks until it's ready to use.
Now you possess the basics to do with making natural soap and you see it's easier that you think, with a bit of planning and basic equipment you are able to begin making natural soap quickly, so why not try it out!