By: Susan Jan
Soap making has been around for ages. The process of making soaps can
either be simple or complex, depending on what you want to make. You
can make soaps as a way to make money or you can make soaps for
personal use or as gifts.
Keep in mind that soap making can be dangerous, as soaps become very
hot when melted during the melt and pour soap making process. Soap
making should be fun and entertaining, but it is also important to
practice all necessary safety precautions when making soaps.
Always wear rubber gloves and eye protection. It is also a good idea to
keep your safety equipment on at all times even after you have removed
the soap from the mold. This is because melted soap takes a long time
to cool.
To start making soaps, you have to get to know the basic ingredients in
handmade soaps. Handmade soaps are generally made from glycerin. You
can buy glycerin soap at your local hobby store. There are many types
of glycerin soaps that you can melt and pour into your own handmade
soaps. They also have different properties and benefits for your skin.
Here are some examples of glycerin soap:
* Hemp Glycerin Soap
* Olive Oil Soap
* Clear Glycerin Soap
* Goat Milk Glycerin Soap
The good thing about the melt and pour soap making method is that all
the equipments you need can be found in your own house. You can use
either your double broiler or your microwave oven for melting soaps.
It is important to remember to keep the bowl containing the soap base
covered when using the microwave. This is to prevent the melted soap
base from splattering out of the bowl in the microwave oven and to keep
the excess moisture from evaporating.
When using the microwave, melt the soap base for one minute in high
temperature, stirring in the remaining unmelted soap pieces until those
have melted too.
If you prefer to use the double broiler, you should first bring the
water to a boil then add your soap base of choice to the boiling water,
cover the pot and set the fire on low. Keep in mind that this method
will take some time. The soap base may take as long as 10 minutes to
melt. Stirring occasionally will also ensure an even melt.
You can also add some optional ingredients:
* You can add fragrance to your soaps. You can buy your choice of
fragrance oil in your local hobby store. Keep in mind that the
fragrance oil should be completely mixed in so that the soap will not
have a cloudy appearance.
* You can also add your color preference when making soaps. You can use
mica or food coloring for it. When using food coloring, you should
start by adding one drop at a time and mixing it thoroughly until you
reach your color preference.
After the soap base has melted, pour it into individual molds, tray
molds, or blocks, which can then be sliced. You can also be creative
and design your own soap mold to create soaps of various shapes and
sizes.
Creating your own handmade soap by the melt and pour soap making
process can be fun and an inexpensive process. It also makes great
gifts for family and friends.
About the Author:
For more on Soap Making visit Susan’s sites Soap Making Supply and Soap Making Recipe, and also at Shopping and Society.
Article Source: http://www.therealarticles.com
By: John Savage
There are many ways to add colorful designs to your homemade soaps. We
will discuss using the cold process soap making method to make soaps
with intriguing designs.
First, you will need to start with a plain white base. A base of 30
percent coconut oil, 5 percent castor oil and 65 percent lard makes a
nice white base that lathers and conditions well.
To make tri color soap with nice triangular designs, first make one
third of your base recipe to pour into your standard block soap mold.
Once the base has traced, add colorant of your choice, then prop your
mold at an angle so that when you pour your base into your mold it will
fill only one corner of your mold instead of the whole bottom.
To do this, place a few books under one side of your mold to raise one
side a few inches from your counter then place books against the other
side of the mold to keep it from moving. Pour your soap down the side
of your mold that still rests on the counter until it has filled the
corner, but not quite fully to
the top of the mold.
Now carefully cover your mold with a towel until your soap has gone
through the saponification process and has cooled into soap. This will
make a triangle block of soap that will sit off to the side of your
regular bar, making a nice design.
Next, mix two thirds of your plain white base recipe, and separate it
into two equal amounts. Color these with 2 separate colors, pour one
into your mold being careful not to splash it onto your triangle block,
then pour the second color on top of this.
Let this set for 24 hours covered, unmold your soap, cut, and you
should have a nice tri colored bar of soap with a triangle to the side.
I have found these soaps to be much sought after from customers as a
nice novelty for their bathroom decor.
Another way to put nice designs in your soap would be to use a mold that makes individual bars of soaps instead of blocks.
First, make a plain white base to fill your mold, and then remove a cup
or two from your batch. Add colorant to the cup of mixture, and then
pour this into a cake-decorating bag. Use this mixture to write
colorful designs onto the bottom of your mold.
Once you have completed this, then spoon your white base mixture on top
of this, being very careful not to disturb your writings.
Once you have spooned a few inches over your writings, then you can
carefully pour the rest of your soap into your mold (do this in one
corner so if your writing is disturbed only one section will be messed
up), let this set for 24 to 48 hours. Unmold and cut into bars.
When you unmold your soap, the bottoms will have your designs
permanently embedded into your bars of soap. This is yet another
intriguing method used to decorate your soaps.
Be creative and above all, have fun.
About the Author:
john savage is a Current Soap Maker. To quickly and easily make soap without wasting time or money please Click Here to visit my Blog.
Article Source: http://www.therealarticles.com
By: Ralph Ruckman
If you have ever made soap from scratch or are thinking about it, you
should probably know that it can be one of the most frustrating things
you will ever do. After learning the process though, a lot of people
find it to be one of the best hobbies or crafts they have ever done.
Soap making can be a hobby for people, but it can also turn out to be a
very profitable business. Before you go rushing into thinking that you
are going to just create this beautiful and profitable soap making
business, you had better look at some the important features regarding
this business.
The most important feature of a soap making business is going to be the
legal disclaimers. You had better know what you are doing when you
create your handmade soap. People can not just go out and buy the
necessary materials, whip out a batch of soap, and then proceed to
marketing or selling it. You have a lot of disclaimers and in some
states, laws that you have to abide be. Each state, region, and country
is different, so it is up to you to do your proper research on the
matter and to complete all the paperwork necessary for you to proceed
with your soap making business.
After you have cleared all of the legal necessities out of the way, it
is all systems go for your business. Now you will have to think about
your time planning. Time planning will be crucial to your business, as
everyone that has made soap knows that it is a tedious process. Set
yourself a schedule up and follow it. If you have soap curing, take the
time to start mixing yourself another batch. By having a continuing
process, you will be able to produce more soap and not fall behind,
which will only lead to confusion and frustration.
Now that you have gotten all the legal stuff out of the way, and you
have a good amount of soap made, it is time for you to sell your soap.
People who sell soap are only limited by their imagination. Craft fairs
are huge for soap sellers. Travel to a craft show and set up a booth to
present and sell your soap. Not only can you make good money from this,
but you can also get tons of ideas for more soap. People stopping by
your booth will critique your soap. They will tell you what they do or
do not like about it. Always accept the compliments, even if they seem
rude. This is "critique" and it can either "make" or break" you.
Bath and Body work shops are a huge fan of soaps. Some of these store
will allow a person to present their soaps inside their stores. This is
where the legal disclaimers come in. You will not even get a blink from
the manager if you do not have your legal paperwork. Also, this may
cost you a fee to present your soaps in the bath shops. Always research
and think the deal over before making your decision. If you do present
your soaps in these shops, this can be huge. Try to provide some type
of business card, or a website address about your soaps. Word of mouth
is an enormous tool, and in bath shops it can be a viral one. You may
not be able to sell your soaps in the store, but a nice presentation
can yield results overnight that you never would have thought of.
Online advertising for your soap business is not vital, but it could be
if you are not quite cutting it in the "real world". Just think of the
possible number of people you could reach with your soaps. The numbers
are endless. Have a nice little website set up showing all of your
soaps. A first impression of your site is the critical part of
advertising online. This will decide if a single person will ever
return. It is good to have a description along with your soap pictures.
You could explain what ingredients are in the soap, what fragrances are
in them, etc…
These are only a few things you could do for a soap making business.
This is assuming that either you know how to make soap or that you take
the necessary steps to successful soap making. Once you have reached
that point of success it will be time for you to think about broadening
your horizons. A soap making business can be a very lucrative field for
anyone to get into. Types of soap to make are endless, and the amount
of money to earn is only limited to your willingness to make the soap
and put it in front of the eyes of people.
About the Author:
Ralph Ruckman is the author of Soap Making a weblog dedicated for providing information on all aspects of soap making.
Article Source: http://www.therealarticles.com
By: John Savage
There are many ways to market your soaps and homemade
bath products. I have found that giving free samples
is one of the best methods for getting new customers for my soaps.
You can cut 16 samples from one basic 4 oz. bar of
soap by cutting the bar into 8 pieces, then cutting those pieces in half.
Next, place a piece of the soap in a small craft
Ziploc bag, (you can get these at Wal Mart in the Crafts section) and
label it with your business information using regular Avery mailing
labels.
To distribute your samples, place them in attractive
baskets and visit a few non competing stores to see if
they will allow you to leave your baskets on their counters.
You can also staple these to your business cards, and
pass them out as you normally would a business card.
Yet another method I have found to be very effective is to make what are called fish bowls and leave these
at area businesses. To make a fish bowl, first print
out some cards for customers information such as name, address and
phone number. Next, purchase a few containers that are clear, and that
have a secure lid and which are about the size of a regular fish bowl.
Some people actually use fish bowls, but I
have found this causes problems because the fish bowls break easily,
and cannot be closed to prevent theft of your customers information.
Now take the lid of your container, cut a slot which is big enough for your slips of paper that you
printed off earlier to slip into when they are folded in half. Secure
your lid onto your container with tape and then cover the tape with
attractive ribbon.
Next, make a sign stating that anyone that enters your
drawing for a free whatever, will receive a free soap
sample in the mail. The whatever can be a gift
certificate from the store that lets you place your fish bowls on their counters (this helps
promote the store, thus making the store owner more
agreeable to letting you use their counter space), or
it can be a few bars of soap from your inventory or indeed it can be both.
Next, locate stores that do not mind sharing some of
their counter space with you. This is where you will place your fish bowls.
Although this method costs a bit more because you are
offering a prize, and because you will need to mail
your samples, it also produces better results than by just handing out samples.
You will get potential customers addresses and phone
numbers, and when you mail your sample you can also
include information about your products, and you can also send them a follow up mailing asking for their
input on how well they liked your sample. This
information can be very valuable towards the growth of your business.
You can also package samples of your bath salts and
scrubs in the small zip lock bags as well, and use these instead if you do not make soap.
About the Author:
john savage has a Blog which shows how you can quickly and easily make soap without wasting time or money.
Click Here to visit his Blog.
Article Source: http://www.therealarticles.com
Method 1 - Dipping on a board
Equipment Needed:
* Silk Rose Petals
* Foamy Tagboard (Found at Wal Mart by the regular tagboard)
* Straight Pins
* Drawer Organizer Tray (or any rectangle dish to dip soap in, like a loaf pan)
* M&P Soap (clear)
* Fragrance Oil (soap safe of course)
Either a clothesline to hang the boards on or shelving to lay them on (Need to be able to hang over the edge so the petals don’t touch)
Directions:
Cut the tagboard in strips (about 3 inches wide) and long enough to just fit into the drawer organizer/dish. Pin roses to the tagboard on one long edge. Don’t push the pins all the way in because you don’t want the petal to touch the tagboard. I always do this ahead of time in the evenings while watching TV.
Melt 1-2 lbs of clear M&P, add fragrance and pour into drawer tray/pan. Dip the edge of the tagboard that the petals are attached to, making sure to completely submerge the petals. Quickly lift out and allow to drain a bit, and place on a ledge or shelf so that the petals hang freely over the edge and are not touching anything. Or you can the tag boards with clothespins on a make-shift clothesline. Put wax paper or old newspaper under them to catch drippings. Allow to dry thouroughly, and package.
Tip: If the soap in your pan starts to skim over, you can reheat it in the microwave (just make sure you’re using a microwave safe dish!). The pins will only leave a very tiny pin hole in your petals, so small it will not be seen.
Yield: 5-1/2 Pounds,
30 Bars
1 pound Lard
2 Pounds Palm Oil
(RBD)
10 ounces Palm Kernel
Oil
23 ounces Cold Water
8 ounces Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
1 ounce Soap Crafters
Lavender Fragrance
1 tiny scoop of violet
colorant powder
Three 2-Pound soap
making Tray Molds
One Sheet of 3 soaps soap making Molds
These instructions are intended for someone who already knows
good soap safety.
Let’s Make Soap!
Weigh Lye in plastic container. Weigh COLD
water in large plastic pitcher. (Rubbermaid pitcher is
good.)
Slowly pour lye into the water. Stir
well. Set aside to cool for about 1 hour. Room Temperature
lye solution is best.
Weight fats and then put them in a stainless
steel pot. Let
the fat temperature get to 120-130 degrees F.
When Fats are at the right temperature, slowly
pour the room temperature lye solution into the fats. Hand Stir, then
use a Braun Hand Blender to mix for a minute, then hand stir
for a minute, off and on like that for about 5 to 10 minutes. You
will see the soap coming out of the hand blender is the same
shade as the soap going into the hand blender. This means you’ve
stirred enough.
Hand stir in the soap making Lavender Fragrance,
then pour all of your soap making molds 2/3rds full.
Put the colorant into the soap that is left in the pot. Mix
with the Hand blender for about 1 minute to blend it in well.
Drizzle the violet soap over your soap in
your molds. With
your spoon, drag it through the soaps and that will swirl it
in.
Put soap molds aside in a warm room for 24 hours.
Then flip the molds over, remove the soaps and let air dry for
4-6 weeks. You can use the soap after 24 hours, but it will be
a much better bar after complete curing.
24 ounces of Olive Oil (Pomace or other inexpensive olive oil)
24 ounces of Coconut Oil
38 ounces of Lard
12 ounces of Lye
32 ounces of Water
1.6 ounces of Soap Crafters Cold Process Soap Fragrance
Tracing will happen in about 1 hour.
This is in the hard category of soap bars. Rich and creamy lather. The olive oil lends a yellowish/greenish tinge to the color. The coconut oil adds a wonderful lathering agent to this soap.
26 ounces of Olive Oil
60 ounces of Lard
11 ounces of Lye
32 ounces of Water
1.6 ounces of Soap Crafters Cold Process Soap Fragrance
Tracing happens in about an hour or so. If you stir for an hour and a half and it still hasn’t traced, just put it into your plastic lined box mold. It should be fine.
This would be in the hard category of soap. It is quite white and resembles the color of cream cheese. :) When I was making my first batches of soap I used this recipe. When ever company came over and saw my bars of soap drying in the living room, they asked if it was cheese and they kinda wanted to eat it. But I wouldn’t let them. 
Making soap base is a cumbersome task, however, it is so rewarding to change the nature of natural things. What once was fat, water and lye turns into a beautiful, rich and creamy soap! This method is going to appeal only to the alchemist, or the pseudo chemist type of person. If you can’t make brownies from a box mix turn out right, you’d better go to the Shredded Soap page and order some soap shreds instead of attempting to make it yourself.
Equipment you need:
An accurate scale , it needs to weight down to 1/10th of an ounce
A stainless steel pot or enamel painted pot
A plastic or stainless steel spoon
2 Rubber Maid Plastic Pitchers, at least one needs the lid.
(make sure you write "LYE & Dangerous" all over the pitchers)
Rubber gloves
Goggles to protect your eyes
A heavy Apron
A thermometer which reads as low as 90 degrees and higher than 200.
A stick Blender (used for making milk shakes in a glass)
A corrugated box, approximately 8"x8"x9"
A small size plastic trash can liner.
OR instead of a the box method, enough SoapCrafters.com Molds to hold Seven Pounds of soap
Supplies you will need :
(All ingredients are weighed, even the water)
11.2 ounces of lye. (I use Red Devil brand, you can get this in the drain opener section of your supermarket)
32 ounces of water
1 Pound of Olive Oil (any type will do, the cheaper the better)
3 Pounds of Lard
1 Pound of Coconut Oil (76 degree)
1.4 ounces of Soap Crafters Fragrance
Directions:
Put on your gloves and goggles. Read the warning label on the lye. It is a caustic and dangerous substance. It makes wonderful soap, but it is not your friend as it will burn a hole in you.
The first thing you need to do is put your scale in your sink, place the empty container on it, THEN turn on the scale, THEN start pouring your water in.
Weigh 32 ounces of COLD water in a plastic container. Never use hot water to mix with lye, it will volcano!
Very slowly, pour the lye into the cold water. Make sure you leave everything in the sink. It is safer that way. Lye has a lot of static cling, so spills are easy to do.
You’ll notice the lye reacts with the cold water and it gets very hot. It’ll also give off a gas, that’s why you should be outside. Don’t breathe the fumes. When it is stirred, put the cap on the lye solution and bring it back inside.
Let your lye sit in a safe place (out of the reach of everyone including pets) until it cools off to room temperature. This will take two to three hours.
You can make this lye solution the day before. Lye solution is a very dangerous substance, it can cause death if ingested. Make sure everyone in the house knows what it is and it is not to be touched.
When the lye gets back down to room temperature you’re ready to start making your soap, start weighing out your fats.
Put your weighed fats into a stainless steel container or porcelain (enamel) painted pot.
Put the pot full of fats on the stove. Heat on the stove, stirring often. Keep a close eye on it because it reaches temperature somewhat quickly. Stir well before taking its temperature. You’re looking for a temperature between 120 and 130 degree Fahrenheit.
Always wear your gloves and goggles when working with the lye!
Always clean your thermometer before using it.
When your fats reach between 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit, put your pot in your sink. If you made the lye solution the day before, it is now at room temperature. Put on your gloves and goggles. Very carefully and slowly pour the lye solution into the fats.
Use a large spoon (slotted spoon works best) to stir it in. Hold your head back while pouring to avoid any splash back getting you. In this photo we are adding the lye solution to the fats.
Once the lye solution is mixed in, (a couple of minutes), use the stick blender, use it off and on (continuous use will blow it up, I know). Blend for a minute, stir with a spoon for a minute, that kind of thing. You should come to a very thick soap with this equipment, probably in about 5 minutes
You will see changes in your creation. It will immediately start to become more opaque. It will become thicker and more opaque as time goes on. This is the mixture changing into soap.
The lye, water and fats are turning into something completely different. SOAP! If you weighed accurately and had your temperatures accurate, then the bowl the mixture is in will stay warm to the touch.
If you don’t have a stick blender, you can stir with that spoon for about 1-1/2 hours. A stick blender costs about $20 or less, I highly recommend it. Your wrist will thank you!
Stick blenders do have their disadvantages, they tend to give a soap that’s done being stirred, but it is still so raw, the soap may burn your skin. When I used to hand stir, I didn’t have this problem. But it really isn’t much of problem. You should be using gloves!
Stick blenders also tend to cause overheating of the soap from time to time. But this really isn’t much of a problem unless you really overdo the mixing.
After one hour of stirring, (If you’re using a stick blender, this point will happen about five minutes into stirring), you’ll notice that if you drop some of the mixture from your spoon onto the surface, that it kind of dents the surface. It looks very thick and this particular recipe that you’re making has a light tan color.
Now is the time to use your stick blender to stir in the SoapCrafters Colorant if you are using one.
Stir in your weighed SoapCrafters Fragrance that is cold process certified.Do this with a spoon, do not use a stick blender to stir in fragrance.
Immediately pour your soap into your molds. The molds we sell at SoapCrafters.com do not need any oil or grease on them. 
Let it sit undisturbed in a warm room for 24 hours. As the chemical reaction is taking place it generates heat. If you put your hand on the side of the box in about 1 hour, you will feel its warmth.
Twenty-four hours are up. HURRAY! It should still be a little warm to the touch. You can now remove your bars from the mold! They should just pop right out. If you have to struggle, then put the mold in the freezer for 3 hours. Take it out and use a blow dryer on the back of the mold. When condensation forms, it will slip right out.
If you used the box for a mold, just pull the plastic liner out of the box, remove it from the soap and cut into bars.
The soap should have a nice, solid consistency. It may be a little oily to the touch. But it should be the same texture throughout. It will resemble a cheese, like monterey jack, and have a similar texture.
If you are going to melt the soap, now it is ready for shredding. If you’re not going to melt it, just cut into bars and let the bars cure for 4 weeks or more for the best soap. You can use it in a day or two, but a well cured soap lasts so much longer and has better lather. So go ahead and use a bar, but let all the other bars dry in the open air for over a month.
To be sure that your soap making project went well, purchase some ph testing papers from SoapCrafters.com. A good soap will fall in the 7-9 category. A successful batch does not burn the skin in use. It is rich, bubbly, creamy soap that is extremely gentle to the skin. The reason I give this recipe is that it is the only soap that I can use on my overly sensitive skin. It keeps me from scratching all winter long. :) If you’re seeking out soap making, I’m guess you’re having problems with the detergent bars/harsh soaps in the store too! So enjoy!
Soap is made by mixing lye and
water with fats or oil. Through a complex chemical reaction lye which
is also called sodium hydroxide (a base) converts Fats or Oil (an acid)
to soap. This process is called saponification. When oil or
fats (acid) come into contact with the lye or sodium hydroxide (base) the
saponification process begins with the lye turning the oil/fat into a completely
new substance that we know as soap. The process changes the two substances
into a thicker and more uniform solution. The point at which the
solution begins to thicken is called a trace. Any oils/fats
or other ingredients added at this point will not be substantially converted
and will basically remain in the soap in their original form. At
the trace stage the soap can be poured into molds where it will continue
to harden. The chemical reaction will continue for about 3 weeks
at which time the soap is hard and ready to use.
The process that the home soapmaker
will use is referred to as "cold process soapmaking". Even though
it is called a cold process, heat is required for the chain reaction to
take place. This heat is provided by the chain reaction of the water
and the lye and their incorporation into the oil or fat. (You will
notice that when the lye is poured into the water it heats up immediately)
Stirring the oil/fat/lye mixture helps this process to continue and to
be uniform.