You Can Start With Soap Making Right In Your Home
Some people prefer using herbal soap as they believe that it has better properties than that of normal soap. Unfortunately, most herbal soaps would also cost a lot more than normal soap due to their special properties. Most of these soaps are also milder to use on the skin which makes it ideal for those who have allergic reactions to regular soap.
These kinds of soap need not be bought in specialty stores which sell such kinds of soap. Soap bought in these stores is usually more expensive due to their special properties. In addition to these, other soaps sold in such stores have extensive and beautiful designs which help them justify the price of their products.Since most of these soaps are found only in specialty stores, they can be more expensive. In addition to this, some soaps are also made with special designs which make them even more expensive. Some people still buy these soaps as they prefer the effects of herbal soaps compared to the normal ones.
But you don't have to spend a lot of money just in buying soaps. This is because soap is very cheap and easy to do, that you can even make it right at your own home. Its materials are very cheap and easy to find, and even small children can make soap due to the ease of the soap making process. Just be sure that children are properly monitored as soap making may also have some harmful effects.
The first thing that you need to do is to procure the ingredients that you will need to make soap. The basic ingredients that you will need are caustic soda, cooking oil or any other type of oil, and some herbal leaves of your choice. Coloring dyes may also be used to add to the color of your soap.
As for the tools that you need, you have to have a pail, some mixing tools, some cups, a mortar and pestle, a cooking pot, some molds, a chopping board, a knife, cheesecloth, gloves and a face mask. These last two are needed for you own protection as caustic soda can cause skin and lung irritations when it comes into contact with these surfaces.
First thing you need to do is to prepare your herbal mixture. This is done by chopping up 1 glass of your leaves and boiling them in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes. Once this is done, you can strain them using the cheesecloth and set aside to cool.
After you have prepared the herbal mixture, you can bow mix 3 cups of this mixture with 1 cup of lye. Stir continuously until all of the lye has dissolved. Next, add 5 cups of oil and mix until it attains a condensed milk like consistency. Dyes may also be added during this point of the procedure. The mixture will then be poured onto molds and allowed to cool for at least 5 hours. Once this is done, you may take the soaps from the molds but will still need to age them for 30 days before they can be used.
Now wasn't that very easy to do? These ingredients are very cheap and easy to find so you won't have any problems in buying and getting hold of them. You can also choose what kind of herbal leaves you want to use, and you may also design your soap in any way that you like. This might even be a good gift idea to give to your friends and relatives.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about soap making, and soapmaking. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.
Published August 9th, 2010
Filed in Hobby