How Soap Making Can Be A Rewarding Hobby

Have you been in one of those specialty stores that sell specially made soaps

? These don't only look really good, they also smell good. Some have excellent designs such as donuts, flowers and cakes. Or you see simpler yet still great designs in hotel bathrooms when you go on a vacation. These soaps may seem hard to make, but once you get to know how soap is made, you will realize how easy it is and that you can also make soap like those right at your own home.

Soap is made from a fairly easy process called saponification. It is basically done by mixing the two basic ingredients in water and letting them undergo a reaction that will produce soap. And if you think these two ingredients are very hard to find, think again as you will only need some fats and lye and you can already start with your soap making process.

There are two ways on how to go about the saponification process. The first process is the hot method, wherein heating of the fat and lye mixture is needed. This method is generally used if the lye that you have is not pure and you don't have the exact measurements of your ingredients. The soap produced in this process is not as hard as that in the next process but it can still be used for decorative purposes.

The other method of saponification is through the cold process. This method requires precise ingredients or it will not produce the soap that you desire. When lye and fat are mixed in water, heating is no longer required as this method relies on the heat produced by mixing water with lye. This method produces harder soap with better quality if done correctly.

The first step in making those specially made soaps is by mastering how to make the basic soaps. You can try different fats and see the difference in the final product. Once you have already mastered making basic soaps, you can then move on to using more ingredients to design your soap.

In designing your soap, you will need additional ingredients such as dyes and fragrant oils to add to the appeal of your soap. You might also want to use different molds and cutting knives so that you may shape your soap in any way that you please. You can even combine several soaps so that you will be able to come up with a bigger soap with a much better design. Think of how you make designs out of clay when you were younger.

One precaution that you should take when making soap is during the handling of lye. Even though this is a fairly easy process to make, lye is a dangerous substance and should always be handled with care. Wearing protective equipment such as gloves and goggles will protect you from its harmful fumes and corrosive effects.

The next time you see beautifully crafted soaps, you won't have to be amazed or intimidated by their appearance. Instead, these can serve as inspirations to make your own designs and maybe in the future, you will be able to outdo these designs and you can also start selling your own soaps.

by: Jen Hopkins

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