I love the art (and science) of handcrafted soap making. There is lots to consider – I don’t follow too many recipes, instead I handcraft my soapy creations based on what I want from them! It’s fun! Well, mostly; I’ve had a couple of failures. But you live and learn and get on with it. I think I’m not doing too badly for a relative newbie.
Anyway, I thought I might share a little peek at some of the process.
The tough decisions when making handcrafted soap:
Before I start the actual fun process of mixing and making soap, I need to decide what sort of soap I want to make; what properties do I want from it? Will it be largely moisturising, conditioning, super cleansing or produce lots of lather?
What essential oils or fragrances will I add – do I want it to be soothing, invigorating or fun? Will I add any colourants? If so, what will I use?
So based on those things, I need to decide what base oils I’m going to use, if I will use any butters (e.g. cocoa or shea) and whether I will have any other additives like French clay or botanicals like mint, lavender or chamomile.
After weighing out the respective oils, water and lye, and waiting for them to cool down, we are ready to begin the magic making!
Temperature is really important when soap making. Once the lye solution and the oils have cooled, then the real fun starts.
I didn’t quite get it together enough to take a photo during the combination process – not that organised yet!
Once the soap is poured, there is the option to decorate the top – I just used a skewer to make a swirly pattern in the top of this one – nothing too fancy. Then it gets “put to bed” under a blanket and the process of saponification begins.
After a few days it’s ready to unmould and cut.
After 6 weeks of curing time, it will be ready to use! This one is Cranberry and Fig – just for fun. And it smells lovely!
So much better than buying a bar of soap from the supermarket shelf, don’t you think?
Why not try it now? Buy Cranberry & Fig soap. Or why not look around at our other soaps – I’m sure you will find something you will love!
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Note: I use N-essentials and Aussie Soap Supplies for most of my soap making supplies.