The Passion of Handmade Soap

Soap making is a passion. I have been making handmade soaps for over ten years. To me, as well as most soap makers, it is an addiction. It is also a science, an art and a form of expression. You can get so much out of soap making, besides soap that is. It can be a totally educating experience. Who knew that college chemistry would have such wonderful results?

First let me start off by explaining what handmade soap is. Hand made soap is saponified oils. Put in general words that simply mean that oils have been mixed with sodium hydroxide. It is the chemical process that makes soap. Sodium Hydroxide is what your grandma use to refer to as lye. Many people are put off of handmade soap as soon as they hear that word lye. They shouldn't be. Soap making has come a long way. The types of oils used are no longer lard. Instead quality vegetable oils are used. We now know exactly how much sodium hydroxide to use with different oils. No longer will you get harsh soap made with lard and lye.

You may notice when you go to buy soap at your local mega mart that the word soap does not appear on many of the packages. That is because most products out there are not soap, but are detergents. What is the difference? Both clean. Both are surfactants. The difference is that soap is oil and sodium hydroxide. Detergents are synthetic. Both clean basically by being more attract to dirt and taking it away from your skin and down the drain. Read the labels. More than likely, if you are reading the label of a handmade soap, you can identify all the ingredients. A cleansing bar will have chemicals that the normal person does not readily identify.

So what is the attraction of making handmade soap? It is almost like magic. In a stainless steel pot you warm and melt together the different oils. From olive oil, to coconut oil, to the more exotic shea butter and kokum butter they all get measured, by weight, and mix together. In a separate container you measure out water and add to it the sodium hydroxide. You must use all the safety precautions. Gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves are a must when working with sodium hydroxide. The two are left to cool down. When they reach a certain temperature the sodium hydroxide mixture is put into the oils. It is then that you actually start to make the soap. You stir, either by hand, or with a stick blender and it will start to thicken to the consistence of pudding. This is now considered saponfication. You now have soap! With just quality vegetable oils and sodium hydroxide you have handmade soap.

At this point you need to put it into a mold. You can go for something as simple as a PVC tube, or make a wooden box lined with plastic wrap. You do need to stay away from certain materials. Nothing with aluminum should be used. Glass, plastic or stainless steel are the best things to use. There are decorative molds you can use on the market as well.

Here is where patience comes in. You have to set it aside. For at least a day let your soap just sits. After at least twenty-four hours you can unmold it. You still can't use it though. You can admire it from a distance. Handmade soap has to cure for four to six weeks. The water you added the sodium hydroxide in has to evaporate out of your soap. In the curing processes your soap will become harder. I know how hard that waiting can be. In time you will have wonderful bars of handmade soap that you can use.

So many things can be added to handmade soap. That is besides all the wonderful vegetable oils. You can add essential oils. This will bring great fragrances to your soap. You can add oatmeal for all of its wonderful skin qualities. You can add honey for its moisturizing properties. There are even natural colorants you can add to change the color of your soap. There are also fragrance oils you can add to your handmade soap. These are synthetic but the amount added is minimal and many people enjoy these scents.

This is just a basic as to why making soap is so much of a passion. If you desire to make soap yourself you need to find a set of detailed instructions and measurements. A scale is helpful as most handmade soap recipes are in weights. There are more and more places offering soap making classes. These are fun to attend. They can also help answer many of the questions you may have.

I hope that I have shared with you my passion for making handmade soap. It is as much fun to make as it is to enjoy. It is a saying in the soap making community that once you use handmade soap you never go back.