Do you ever get tired of the boring soaps that you have at home – the usual bar-shaped ones that you use when you shower or wash your hands? Then soap making is a hobby that you should try considering. Soap need not be an instrument that you use for cleaning only. It can also serve as a decoration to beautify your bathroom. Some carefully crafted soaps are so nice that you won’t even want to use them in the shower.
The most important ingredients of soap making are fats and lye. Fats determine the type of soap that will be produced. Some types of fats may make soft or hard, and the amount of lather can also be affected by the type of fat used. Lye mixed with water and used to hydrolyze fat in a process called saponification. An easier way is to use store bought glycerin soap as you will not need to mix lye and fat anymore.
Two ways can be used to make soap. The first method is through the hot process which involves heating of the fats before mixing it with lye water. This is further cooked for around two hours or until the soap is ready. The second method, called the cold process, makes use of the same ingredients but heating of the fats is not done. The fats are just mixed with lye water and allowed to cool. Once cooled, they can be poured into molds that have been dipped in cold water to form the desired shape. The cold process usually produces soap that has longer lasting quality. Glycerin soap on the other hand, can simply be melted and it will be ready to use.
Once your soap mixture is ready, you can add several things to it so that you can enhance its appeal. You can choose to add colorful dyes to obtain the color that you want your soap to be. Fragrance oils will add to the smell of the soap making it more appealing to use. With constant practice and trying out different techniques and styles, you will be able to come up with different and attractive designs for your soaps.
A precaution that you should keep in mind is that lye is a dangerous substance. It is a corrosive substance which can degrade skin upon contact. This is why protective equipment such as gloves should be used, and children should always be supervised by an adult.
Soap making is a fun activity that even kids can do. It will give them something to do with their hands while stimulating their creative minds as well. Just be sure to keep an eye on them when using lye, or use the safer glycerin soap to make sure that they are safe from the harmful effects of lye.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about how to make soap, and making homemade soap. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.