subject: Soap-making: Why Make It Your Hobby [print this page] It is simple and entertaining to make soaps right in your own house, and it has other advantages too! You can give it as gifts instead of buying presents from stores that might not be used. You can make sure that your homemade soap gift is more appreciated by adding a little bit of your personality to the soap itself or to the packaging. People will certainly remember you for this!
Sure it's so easy to just go to a store and buy your soaps! But often you don't know what it's made of. Some may contain harsh ingredients and perfumes that can cause skin irritations. That could be a disaster! With soap making you can be self assured that the ingredients in it are pure and unadulterated. Plus you can always make your own soaps with the scent and colors that you want!
Soap is one of the products that are essential in everyday life. Ask anyone how much they use soap and you'll get the same answer every time: always. We use soap to wash our hands, the dishes, clothing, and more. You'll never find a grocery bag that is without soap and if you add up the expenses of buying soap, you'll realize how economical it would be to make it or receive it as a gift.
Another reason why making soap should be a pastime for you is that it can be a profitable home business. You can sell the soap you make and earn a good income with it. The raw material for soap is cheap and you can find them anywhere. Plus, you do not need to buy any equipment since the tools you need are already available at home. For safety instructions on flammable ingredients and for the complete procedure in soap making, search for websites that can help you.
The two primary ingredients of soap are oil and lye. At the start, you do not have to worry about bungling up the process since you might discover your own way of making soap. Different scents and extra ingredients are always welcome in the soap making process. Basically though, you need to melt hardened oils in a pan. Lye is then added when the temperature is quite intense already.
After mixing the oils and lye, you can try adding other ingredients for that more personal touch. Moisturizers, colorants and scents that come in oils are often mixed into the soap mixture. Let your creativity run wild and you can even invent your own soap!
To make it look more interesting you can add flower petals or leaves or even oatmeal for different textures. Flower petals don't just make it look pretty but add some exotic scent to your soap. Oatmeal adds a little abrasive action for your soap which helps sloughing off dry and dead skin.
The last thing you need to do is find suitable molds for your soap mixture. The liquefied mixture will take a few days to set. Attractive mold shapes such as stars or hearts will certainly lend more appeal to your soap. After the mixture has completely set, take it out of the mold and it's time to wrap it. You can find different materials for packing soap so do not just put it in ordinary wrapping. Finding the right and unique materials to package your soap in will make this gift more charming.
