Natural Soap Making

Soap making with the cold process method will enable you to make your own natural soap from the comfort of your home. The cold process soap making method preserves the beneficial properties of the soap making oils and ingredients you use, so you can enjoy natural soap that is truly beneficial to your skin.

A soap making hobby allows much room for creativity. You can use virtually any ingredients in your natural soap bars, from oatmeal, to green tea, to aloe vera. This tutorial will teach you how to make natural soap using the cold process method and how to add your own creative touch to your soap.

All soap is made by combining fat with lye (pure sodium hydroxide), a process known as saponification. After soap has cured for 4-6 weeks, there is chemically no remaining lye in soap.

When purchasing lye, soap makers must be sure that it is 100 percent sodium hydroxide. Some drain cleaners contain lye, along with other ingredients (like aluminum) that are harmful to skin, so beware.

For traditional soap making, people used tallow or animal fat. Now that different types of plant oils are available, there are more options for natural soap making.

To make a pound of a basic natural soap, you need the following materials:

• A kitchen scale for weighing your ingredients
  
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• 4 ounces olive oil
  
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• 4 ounces palm oil
  
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• 2 ounces coconut oil
  
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• 1.4 ounces lye (Note: Lye is extremely caustic, so use gloves and long sleeves when handling)
  
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• 3.5 ounces distilled water
  
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• .5 ounce essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice (optional). Lavender essential oil is a good choice for novice soap makers.
  
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• A large bowl and a spoon for mixing ingredients
  
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• A stick blender
  
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• A rectangular mold (lined with wax paper) large enough to hold 1 pound of soap
  
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Once you've gathered your materials, weigh your oils and mix them in a bowl. Heat the oils in a microwave or on a stove until they are fully dissolved.

In a separate container, pour your lye into your water. When soap making, never add water to lye. This could cause a dangerous chemical reaction. Only add lye to water. Do this in a well-ventilated area to avoid breathing in fumes.

Once your lye water is dissolved, pour it into your oil mixture and begin blending with your stick blender. After about 5 minutes, the mixture should become thicker, a stage known as trace. Once your natural soap has reached a pudding-like consistency, it has traced.

After trace, add in your essential or fragrance oil and stir until mixed. This is also the time to add any additional ingredients like ground oatmeal for exfoliative properties, or honey for natural antibacterial properties.

Once you've added your ingredients and mixed them in, pour your natural soap mixture into your mold. After about 24 hours, your soap should be solid enough to take out of the mold. This is the time to cut your soap log into bars.

Finally, put aside your natural soap bars for 4 to 6 weeks to cure. The curing stage solidifies your soap and gets rid of any remaining lye.

After your natural soap has cured, it is ready to be used.

Soap making is a valued hobby for many because of its practicality. Your soap making materials will soon pay for themselves. Not only will natural soap making eliminate your need for buying those chemical-laden commercial bars you find at grocery stores, but it will give you a sense of satisfaction because you're taking your health into your own hands.

After you've made a few batches of basic natural soap, look into other soap making ingredients and their benefits. You will find that some natural soap making oils alleviate certain skin conditions.

Additionally, you will find that different oils have varying soap making properties. For example, coconut oil adds lather to soap; palm oil makes a harder bar; and castor oil adds bubbles to soap.

Now go gather your materials and get going on your soap making!