Interested in soap making? You need to know that this is just a simple process to do. The cold process of soap making is very easy. Especially for beginners, they find this as an easy way to make handmade soaps. It is very important to have all the ingredients ready before starting. Materials that you may need include the lye, fats, oils, colorants, fragrances, herbs, cutters, molds and even your protective clothing. Having these ready will ensure that this activity will go on smoothly.
The first thing that you need to do is wear protective equipment as lye is a very dangerous substance. It can corrode the skin when it comes in contact with it, and it fumes can also cause damage to the lungs when inhaled. Wearing gloves, goggles and face masks are a must when handling lye.
The first step in the cold process of soap making is adding the lye into the water.mix this solution very well to dissolve the lye. The recommended ratio of the lye to water is 1:3. It is very important to note that lye and water produces an exothermic reaction, releasing heat. Do not touch the container since you can expect it to heat up.
The next step will require you to add the oils in a liquid state. Be sure to have the right amount of oils as too little will cause your soap to be caustic due to unreacted lye, while too much would result in having soap that is too soft and it would take any shape even after cooling. The mixture should be continually mixed until saponification has taken place. This should take about 1 hour of mixing for most recipes.
After saponification, it is time for you to be creative. You should start adding the colorants, fragrances and other additives you wish to add to your soap. It depends solely on the type of soap that you want to make. Consult the internet on what to add for a specific kind of soap.
The mixture can now be poured into wooden molds or other shapes of molds that you can think of. Be creative in thinking of ways to design your soap. Afterwards, you can still use your soap cutters to carve and create additional designs on your soap.
You should strictly follow the curing time in the cold process of soap making. The molds must be covered for at least 18 hours using a towel. Once the soaps are hard enough to be handled you can now start cutting them. After this, you should leave the soaps to air-dry for 3 to 8 weeks before you can actually use them.
The cold process of soap making is very easy to do. You can try and try different soap designs and ingredients to get the product which you actually like. Once you have perfect this, you can now start with more ideas for making soaps.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about handmade soap recipes, and soap making instructions. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.
- Jen Hopkins
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