Making Homemade Soap is so easy
It is true that it is easy but it can come at a cost. Here I will explain what I mean by making homemade soap is so easy but it comes with a cost.
Look at how pretty these turned out!
Do you want to start making soap for yourself and family or for a business? Huge difference. Here I will talk about making it for yourself because I found a wonderful company that can teach you the business side of it for Canadian Soap Makers.
For Canadian Soap Makers wanting to start a soap or beauty business!
Lets start with just for yourself for now. Making soap to me was very satisfing.
Making soap for me was very satisfying. You take oils/fats, distilled water & lye mix them together and that is it, you have soap. BUT WAIT, You need to first learn about the safety of doing this hobby. It is extremely dangerous if you do not.
This can be the cost of your sight, your skin & your lungs if you do not take this seriously. Be strict at wearing safety protection always!
Lye is a very caustic material however when mixed with the two other ingredients and turns into soap, it is no longer lye because of chemistry.
Watch these video!!
Supplies needed from Amazon (I am an affiliate) so thank you for using my links. Prices are the same for you but I get a small commission for recommending what I’ve loved and used for my 20 + soap making business and experience.
Some of these you already have at home, but if you use your own, they are only to be used for soap making. Do not buy cheap products at the dollar store!
Everything must be a hard
plastic or stainless steel. Never use aluminum products.
Even glass is tricky because it could wear and bust or crack.
List:
Spatulas – Excellent
Bowls – Good
Spout pitchers – Excellent
Spoons – Good
Racks – Never tried
Oils – Never tried
Lye – Never tried
Gloves – Excellent
Safety Glasses – Excellent
Litmus paper – Excellent
Hair Net – Good
Soap holders – Excellent
Reliable Scale – Excellent must have
Stick Blender – Amazing
Wear long sleeve tops, pants, socks & shoes. Tie up your hair.
There are tons of books that I recommend to read as well.
You don’t need them all but please invest in at least one.
Books:
No pets, phones,children or any other item/person that can be a distraction to you. You must give 100% of your undivided attention to this project. Do not leave the process until the soap is in your soap mold and put away for curing.
Soap can take about 6 to 8 weeks to cure.
You need to know what type of soap you want to make.
Creamy, lathery, sensitive, colorful, with or without milk, for
oily skin, dry skin, troubled skin. You decide.
How do you know how,much ingredients you will need of each?
Go to this amazing calculator website.
Melt the hard oils in a pot on medium low heat until about
95 F degrees. Your lye must be poured into the water and
never the other way around. I repeat,
NEVER put the water into your lye!! It will cause a volcano affect
and the fumes are very toxic. I always put my water in a heat
resistant bowl then into my sink. I will then slowly stir in the lye
into the water bowl. I stir until the lye has completely dissipated,
and there are no traces of lye crystals in the water. Let that sit
until it comes down to 95 F degrees as well. When they are
both at 95F either putting in a cold water bath or microwave, add the lye water to your oils. Start stirring by hand first then you can start using the hand mixer.
It will take practice to know when to stop because depending on
the oils you chose, it might be like 3 minutes to 15 minutes.
Each recipe will differ.
TAKE NOTES.
You will know when the soap is ready to go into the soap mold
when you take the stick blender out of the mixture and it
leaves like a trail on top of the mixture. Close to pudding
consistency. This will that practice.
You don’t want to pour it too soon or the mixture will never
cure. You don’t want to stir too long or use the stick blender too long because it might be too thick to pour into the mold.
I started my soap making my stirring by hand and it took like an hour. Then I learned about the stick blender, what a huge difference.
When you get comfortable enough making just 1 pound batches, start experimenting with colors and fragrances.
Again, it is a chemistry so yes, adding these items must be calculated! Most soap books or video will help you.
Be careful who you follow on youtube MANY do not take the safety precautions they should and it is a very dangerous way to show role modeling.
Never let your soap sit in water. The natural glycerin that is produced as a by product of soap making will absorb all the water and turn to mush.
I hope this has helped a little bit with tweaking your creativity to start a small batch of soap at home. It is very rewarding and they are amazing.
They will leave your skin so clean without harshness and your skinwill feel so soft.
Thank you for reading my post. Please comment below or ask a question and I will do my best to find the answer for you.
