How to Make Soap Right at your Own Home
Some people prefer using herbal soap as they believe that it has better properties than that of normal soap. Unfortunately, most herbal soaps would also cost a lot more than normal soap due to their special properties. Most of these soaps are also milder to use on the skin which makes it ideal for those who have allergic reactions to regular soap.
You don’t have to go stores that specifically sell these herbal soaps just so that you could use one. Specialty stores usually have overpriced soaps because of the special properties of their soap. Some of their soaps may have herbal properties which cannot be found in normal soap so they can add to the price of their soaps. Other may also have beautiful designs which also bring up the price of the soap.
In reality, these soaps are very easy and cheap to make so you don’t have to buy in these stores just to get the special soaps that you want. You can easily make herbal soaps or soaps that have beautiful designs in them right at your own home. Soap making is an excellent way to spend your free time and even small children can take this up as a hobby.
The first thing that you need to do is to procure the ingredients that you will need to make soap. The basic ingredients that you will need are caustic soda, cooking oil or any other type of oil, and some herbal leaves of your choice. Coloring dyes may also be used to add to the color of your soap.
The utensils that you will need are mixing tools, a pail, some cups, a mortar and pestle, a strainer, knife, chopping board, cooking pot, some molds, gloves and a face mask. The mold will be used to shape and design your soap in any way that you like, while the gloves and mask are to protect you from the caustic effects of lye.
The first step in making your own herbal soap is by preparing your leaves. This is done by chopping up your leaves into small pieces and filling up 1 glass with these leaves. After this, you can start boiling your leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes then strain it with the cheesecloth afterwards. Set aside to cool.
Next, measure 1 cup of lye and 3 cups of your herbal mixture. Pour this into a bucket and stir continuously until the lye has been dissolved. Pour in the 5 cups of oil and continue stirring the mixture until it reaches a slightly thick consistency. The dye may also be added during this time. Pour the mixture into the molds and let them cool. Remove the soap from the molds after 5 hours. These will still need to be aged for 30 days before they will be ready to use.
The steps needed to make soap are really very easy and it will not take a very long time to make. The ingredients are also very cheap and easy to find. In making your own soap, you have the liberty of choosing what herbal leaves you prefer so that you may take full advantage of its healing effects. You can also try to mix and match different leaves and oils and come up with your own personalized soap.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about soap making, and handmade soap recipesp. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.
