Soap Making First Step To Natural Skin Care
Soap making is an art that has been around for centuries and has quickly grown into a popular past time for many creative individuals, but with so many different processes and techniques on soap making it can be hard to find the right process to suit your individual desires.
However, creating a natural product can be fun and easy.
With the right equipment and safety you can soon be on your way to discovering basic soap making techniques and create a soap specifically to suit your skin type.
This will not only be beneficial for your skin but also much better for the environment.
When creating your soap be sure to select quality natural ingredients, using organic vegetable oils such as Olive and Coconut oil for your base is a great starting point, this will give you a rich and bubbly lather whilst still being gentle on the skin.
Providing you use the correct quantities of each it will not strip your skin of its natural oils.
In order for these fats and oils to turn into soap you must combine them with a lye solution such as sodium hydroxide, this is where it becomes crucial that your measurements are precise and you are wearing safety protection! Stirring your soap with a wooden spoon or a stick mixer to speed up the process you will need to mix your soap until the mixture thickens and lightens in colour, some people refer to this as "trace" being when you can trace a pattern on the top of your soap mixture, at this stage you can add your essential oils, clays and botanicals but you must move quickly to get your soap mixture into the mould.
The mixture should pour easily into the mould.
If you like you can sprinkle botanicals on top as decoration.
The next step is to cover your soap with towels and blankets for 12-24 hours until it has hardened, at this stage it will be the consistency of hard cheese, wearing your gloves you can safely take it out of the mould and cut it into single bars.
Place your soap on racks with plenty of ventilation for up to 6 weeks, in this time your soap will saponify and if your measurements where correct you will end up with a delightful soap that you is natural and great for your skin.
BASIC RECIPE 25 oz extra organic virgin olive oil 25 oz extra virgin coconut oil 19 oz rain water 7.
35oz sodium hydroxide 1oz essential oil
However, creating a natural product can be fun and easy.
With the right equipment and safety you can soon be on your way to discovering basic soap making techniques and create a soap specifically to suit your skin type.
This will not only be beneficial for your skin but also much better for the environment.
When creating your soap be sure to select quality natural ingredients, using organic vegetable oils such as Olive and Coconut oil for your base is a great starting point, this will give you a rich and bubbly lather whilst still being gentle on the skin.
Providing you use the correct quantities of each it will not strip your skin of its natural oils.
In order for these fats and oils to turn into soap you must combine them with a lye solution such as sodium hydroxide, this is where it becomes crucial that your measurements are precise and you are wearing safety protection! Stirring your soap with a wooden spoon or a stick mixer to speed up the process you will need to mix your soap until the mixture thickens and lightens in colour, some people refer to this as "trace" being when you can trace a pattern on the top of your soap mixture, at this stage you can add your essential oils, clays and botanicals but you must move quickly to get your soap mixture into the mould.
The mixture should pour easily into the mould.
If you like you can sprinkle botanicals on top as decoration.
The next step is to cover your soap with towels and blankets for 12-24 hours until it has hardened, at this stage it will be the consistency of hard cheese, wearing your gloves you can safely take it out of the mould and cut it into single bars.
Place your soap on racks with plenty of ventilation for up to 6 weeks, in this time your soap will saponify and if your measurements where correct you will end up with a delightful soap that you is natural and great for your skin.
BASIC RECIPE 25 oz extra organic virgin olive oil 25 oz extra virgin coconut oil 19 oz rain water 7.
35oz sodium hydroxide 1oz essential oil
