Introduction

Soap making is easy, fun, and makes a great gift. By creating your own soaps, you can add any vitamins your skin needs, making it the ideal solutions for sensitive skin. Adding essential oils not only perfumes your soaps but add quality to your soaps. Join Handy as we dive into the steps needed to create your own suds.

Why make your own soap?

The basics - There are two basic ways of making soaps, we will explore each individually. The melt and pour are great for the novice, quick and easy. It requires few ingredients and will let you use your soap after a few hours. The cold process is a little bit more involved and will require your soaps time to harden completely, but you will have more control over what your ingredients you use in your soap. You will need a few basic things before you get started. A kitchen scale, Stainless steel bowl (you might want to label that one “soapmaking”), Stainless steel measuring spoons, silicone molds, a quick read thermometer, and your additives, such as essential oils, herbs, colorants, etc. For melt and pour, you will also need your base, shea butter, goat’s milk or glycerin works well. For cold process, you will need an alkaline such as lye or wood ash

• Milk and honey soap - This is a quick starter soap. You will want a goat’s milk soap base, raw honey, a microwave safe 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup, and a silicone mold. Start by chopping one pound of soap base in cubes. Place in your Pyrex and microwave in 30 seconds increments, until melted. Stir in three tablespoons of raw honey. At this point, you can also add a few drops of colorant or essential oils to your mix. Goat’s milk and honey on their own will make a smooth and nourishing soap. Pour in your silicone mold. I tend to place the molds on a baking sheet for stability. Tap gently to remove any bubbles and let your soap cool down undisturbed for about 30 minutes.  When they are firm to the touch, unmold and enjoy.
• Aloe Vera Soap - This cold process soap takes longer, but will give you a fantastic soothing soap, great for dry and inflamed skin. Start by pouring 7.5 oz of mineral water in a saucepan, and slowly add 3 oz of lye. Stir until dissolved, taking care to not splash around. Using a thermometer, raise the temperature slowly to between 120°F and 140°F. In a separate saucepan, heat 1.5 lbs of extra virgin olive oil and 0.4 oz of beeswax to 120°F to 140°F. Slowly stir the oil mixture to the lye mixture, again, carefully to not splash around. Stirring occasionally, until the mix has thickened to a mayonnaise texture, you will want to add 1.8 oz of aloe juice and 0.18 oz of essential oil. Pour into your soap molds and gently tap getting rid of any bubbles. Let sit for 2 days, then unmold and let cure for 1 month, turning them every so often to dry evenly.

Conclusion

Making soap is a relaxing, enjoyable way to have the best skin you can. We hope you have enjoyed these recipes and will join Handy into giving soapmaking a try