Making Soap

Today, handmade soaps are found at craft shows, specialty stores, on the internet and in some retail outlets. Many people enjoy making novelty soaps that both look beautiful and work to keep your skin feeling fresh. Though it is readily available now, this wasn’t always the case.

Records indicate that soap making may have existed as far back as 2800 B.C. There are records that indicate both the Ancient Greeks and Romans both started experimenting with olive oil in their initial soap making. During it’s earliest years of creation soap was considered a luxury and was only available to the richest individuals and families. Soap makers were hired to create their products and were paid well by their wealthy employers. Because of its’ rare status, it took years before handmade soap became accessible to everyone. But, one thing that remained unchanged through the years is the fact that, like its’ current use, soap was used to wash skin and clothes when it was first discovered.

As the years progressed, Europe established a soap making industry as did America. While handmade soap was generally made by women during the colonel American era. Each year, usually before spring, women would gather together and make soap from the ingredients that were saved from the winter months. Generally colonial soaps were made from lard.

Since large industries took over the process of soap making, the quality has suffered immensely. Soap making has been quite profitable to large corporations. However, these large corporations do not offer handmade soap and, therefore, lose control over the special touches that only handmade soap can offer. Rather than a luxury item, as it was earlier considered, soap has become an everyday must-have household item. The availability of regular soap lead to the inventions of other things, including detergent, dishwashing liquids, stain removers, liquid soaps, etc.

Today, handmade soaps are created by talented crafters worldwide. Unique designs, scents, colorations and styles are among the many characteristics found in today’s handmade soap. From lavender soap to soap loaves, handmade soap is still very much considered a luxurious item, but not anywhere near as unattainable as in it’s earliest years. Soap loaves, much like the name implies, can be cut down to make bars of any size of shape. Many soap makers show their creations at various craft fairs throughout the year, as well as specialty stores.

Handmade soap is thought to be wonderful for your skin. Because each bar contains healthy ingredients that help to rejuvenate the skin, many users swear by its’ effects. Today, everyone from amateurs to small business owners are experimenting, selling and enjoying their own handmade soap. Vanilla, lavender, floral and practically any other scent imaginable is available. The next time that you find yourself peeking in and out of quaint stores lining the streets or browsing the aisle at a local craft fair, snoop around and see if you cannot find someone who is offering handmade soap. Otherwise, there is always the internet where a variety of handmade soap is right at your fingertips.

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Soap making is a challenging task because you decide on the qualities of the soap you will produce. You can add various additives in order to achieve results depending on your desire.

Soap is a common necessity in every household. It is essential for personal hygiene and cleaning our clothes as well as other places in our house. While there are a lot of varieties of soap available in the market, you can make your own soap or turn it into a profitable business. It is quite easy to do soap making.

Basically, soap is made up of vegetable or animal fats. The sodium tallowate comes from beef fat and is commonly used as ingredient in making soap. Softer soaps are typically made of palm oil which is a vegetable oil. Castile soap is made up of pure olive oil. Different oils and butters featuring different qualities are used for soap making. Such ingredients may come from olive oil, coconut, cocoa, palm, shea butter, and hemp oil.

Hand-made soaps are better compared to industrial soap. A hand-made soap is the result of excessive fat or super fatting which leaves a moisturizing effect and ideal for the skin. This can be achieved by putting less lye to the mixture. On the contrary, an industrial soap usually uses more detergent which is not very friendly to our skin. Sometimes soap makers make use of a ready made soap which is melted and poured in different kinds of molds. This method is called melt and pour.

In soap making, there are several processes which you can use depending on your preference. The cold and hot are two of the frequently used processes. Ideally, both cold and hot processes need constant heat for proper saponification. In cold process, above room temperature is required to achieve liquefaction of the fat. It also requires that the lye and fat is maintained warm after mixture to make sure that it is saponified completely. This method is the most popular method used in soap making, too. This process allows the reaction of fats such as olive oil with lye.

Hot processed soap can be immediately used compared to cold processed soap. A great advantage of hot process is that there is no need to know the exact concentration of the lye to achieve successful results. While in cold process, it is essential to know the exact quantity of lye to achieve a mild and skin friendly quality of the soap.

In hot process method, the lye and fat are boiled at temperatures between 80 to 100°C until saponification is achieved. Afterwards, salt must be added in order to precipitate the soap from the solution. Any excessive liquid is drained. While still hot, it is poured into molds and allowed to cool. Saponification charts are used for both methods.

In cold process method, the first thing to do is to use the saponification chart to identify the measurement of saponification value of fats to be used. It can be utilized to compute the right amount of lye to be mixed. You must be careful of the process because un-reacted lye can lead to high pH that may cause skin irritation and burn. However, if lye is insufficient it will cause the soap to be greasy and unpleasant. In order to achieve the best results, it is recommended to formulate the recipes with 4 to 10% discount of lye. This will ensure that the lye will totally react and excess fat is available that’s beneficial for skin conditioning.

In the process, lye is thoroughly dissolved in water and oils are heated at room temperature. Soon as the substances are cool enough, they are mixed together and stirred until no traces remain. After constant stirring it becomes a thin pudding. Then, you can add other recipes such as essential oils, herbs, fragrance oils or any other recipes you wish to add.

After the process, it can be poured into molds. You can use towels to keep them warm. Leave it for 17 to 46 hours to continue with saponification. When the soap is hard enough, it can now be moved out of the mold and cut into desired sizes. The soap can then be used because it has completed saponification. But with cold process soaps, it must be totally hardened and dried for 2 to 5 weeks depending on water content before it is safe to use. If you use caustic soda, it is ideal to cure the soap for 4 weeks.

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Maybe you’ve been making soaps for a while now and it has become more of an addiction than a hobby. Why keep investing more money into your “hobby” without getting anything in return? Why not turn your hobby into a full-fledged business? One that not only makes sense, but can also earn you some major cents!

The Basics

More and more, people are turning their hobbies into money-making opportunities. And it’s no wonder. There’s nothing better than getting paid for something you spend time doing anyway and already know you enjoy!

With much focus these days on taking care of our earth, soap making offers a wonderful way you can do your part in promoting products with natural ingredients - vegetable oils, herbs and clays, to name a few.

It may take some trial and error on your part to get the hang of it, but once you have it down, the marketing options are endless. Not only do homemade soaps appeal to earth-conscious consumers, but they have also become popular gift items. Aromatherapy items are in demand, as are fun and unique products you can’t find on every store shelf. Homemade soaps make perfect gifts for house-warming, bridal or baby showers, Teacher Appreciation, Mother’s Day, or even as children’s birthday party favors.

What you will need to begin

While oils, lye and distilled water are the base ingredients, there are several others you will need for your soaps, including fragrances and colors. You’ll need to research which exact ingredients are needed for the particular soaps you intend to make.

Other than ingredients, moulds are a must. You can use any form of mould made from plastic, wood, or cardboard. Some candle and candy molds work well but there are many various soap moulds available, which give you plenty of options.

Of course, a computer and Internet access is vital with any home business today so you can promote and advertise your soaps on message boards, blogs, and by creating your own website.

And don’t forget about the technical stuff, like a business licenses or permits and record keeping essentials.

Money matters

You definitely will not get rich quick making soaps. In fact, you may not even get rich slowly. But once you’ve established your business, you could earn a comfortable income, depending on how much time you invest into it. The major factor will be how well you market yourself as a soap-maker and how quickly word spreads.

Between moulds, ingredients, and wrapping materials, the cost per bar of soap you make can be anywhere from $.50 - $2.00. So, if you charge say, $3.99 per bar, you will earn a 100% (or more) profit. And then you must also factor in your time and other miscellaneous business costs. But don’t let that seemingly small number discourage you. By researching wholesale supply companies and spending wisely, as well as learning to make soaps quickly, your overall earnings greatly increase. It’s not unusual to make upwards of 500 bars of soap per month. That can add up to a nice amount of cash.

Where to sell your soaps

As mentioned above, a website is an easy way to widely spread word about your business and direct potential customers for more information. Other avenues of advertising and selling include craft fairs, local gift shops, or hosting home parties. But, of course, word-of-mouth is the best way to gain a reputable reputation and cause those orders to start rolling in. Give your soaps away as gifts and include a tag or business card with contact information.

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