Soap Making Methods

Soap making methods depend upon the end product that you intend to create. In simpler words, choose a method according to the type of soap that you want. Do you want petal soap, lye soap, glycerin soap, herbal soap or laundry soap? This is just a few among the endless types of soaps available in the market today.

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One can learn soap making at home whether for fun or profit. This article will help you in using one of the popular methods used in modern soap making. Soap making can be difficult if you don’t have enough technical information. Generally, a combination of fats and any caustic agent such as lye, caustic soda or sodium hydroxide is used in creating soap.

However, don’t take soap making to be child’s play because it is a complex process and there are many tips and tricks not mentioned in the average soap-making manual. Let’s start by discussing the ingredients used in making soap. They are water, lye crystals or sodium hydroxide, fats and oils, fragrance oils, coloring dyes and soap cast.

Begin by mixing lye in cold water; melted ice water is even better. Stir, immediately after you pour the lye into the water. After the lye crystals have dissolved into the water, bring down the temperature to 85 degrees Fahrenheit before adding the mixture to fat.

The next step is the mixing of fats and oils that ranges from fats of animals and vegetable oils including coconut oil and olive oil. After the lye water and fat reaches the ideal temperature, pour the lye water into the fat gradually. A gentle stir will help in mixing the two solutions. After the lye and fat chemically reacts to create a viscous solution known as saponification, the mixture is poured into molds or cast and kept for 24 hours to solidify. After the soaps are taken out of the casts, it takes at least two weeks for the soap to mature. The process is also known as curing.

Remember that bar soaps are made by using lye or sodium hydroxide that gives the hardness to the soap. But liquid soaps use another form of lye known as potassium hydroxide that is used in making gels and other liquid soaps.