HOW TO MAKE A SOAP

So you want to learn how to make soap? Are you looking for a more natural alternative to commercially available soaps? Or are you just a crafty person looking for a new creative adventure?



Well, you’re in the right place. In addition to the basics of how to make soap, you'll get instructions, tips, and safety guidelines. This primer, and the Soap Making pages here on About, will teach you basic techniques of how to make your own homemade soap, 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:



Melt and Pour - melt pre-made blocks of soap and add your own fragrance

Cold Process - the most common - making soap from scratch with oils and lye

Hot Process - a variation of cold process where the soap is actually cooked

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.