Once you've mastered the basics of soap making, it's fun to create your own recipes.
First, you have to decide what method of soap making you're going to make. Are you going to use the cold process method (with lye), the rebatched/handmilled method or the melt and pour method?
Next, what kind of soap do you want to make? For example, prettily molded hand soap or moisturizing soap to use in the bath or shower?
Are you going to superfat your soap? Superfatting is when you add additional fatty oils after saponification to make a richer, creamier soap. There are all kinds of different oils you can use in superfatting, including shea butter and cocoa butter.
What color do you want your soap? What do you want your soap to smell like? What shape and size mold do you want to use? These are important questions to consider.
Do you want to include additives such as oatmeal, flower petals or glitter?
Once you've carefully crafted your own recipe and written instructions, have all the ingredients and equipment necessary, it's time to start making your soap.
Now don't forget you have to allow time for the soap to set and cure. If you're making cold process soap, this take two weeks. On the other hand, making soap using the melt and pour method only takes a few hours to set, even less if you put it in the refrigerator!
If you plan on giving your soap to friends and family, they're sure to be impressed by the fact that you made the soap yourself, using your own recipe! If you know they like a specific scent, shapes or colors, you can tailor make the soap to their liking, eg, making lavender seashells for someone who likes seashells and lavender fragrance.
It's really satisfying to make soap using your own recipe. Once you've mastered the art of soap making, or even enjoying the process of mastering it, you may find it hard to stop!
There are things that we take for granted but are an essential part of our lives. Have you ever stopped to think about the different offerings that bath soaps provide? Let me quickly provide some 10 key points about the uses of bath soap - something for you to keep in mind when buying. Do not buy another soap bar a liquid one before reading this article.
It is in my nature to keep thing short and sweet so I will do just that in this article. Towards the end I present some interesting twist to this article, which I am sure will help you as you take the next step.
So on to it, I will start with the obvious and get more in depth towards the end.
1. It has a great scent that stays with you all day long. Everyone loves to smell great so this is what you get when you buy the right one.
2. It also nourishes and softens your skin all day long.
3. Bath soap has beautifying qualities for the skin, scalp and hair. You can use it to restore your skin's beauty and enjoy being you.
4. It has toning and soothing properties
5. It purifies and protects skin from environmental damage
6. It is good for blemished and oily skin
7. It keeps grime and dirt away while at the toning up the skin
8. You can use it to cure skin problems like itches, black heads, pimples, prickly, heat away.
9. Can be used to dispel mosquitoes.
10. It can be used to relief muscular aches and pains and other health ailments.
Not all bath soap offers these great benefits. For example, there are herbal and medicated ones that have different qualities when compared to ordinary ones that are simply made to have a great scent or beautifying features. Also, not all bath soap has the ability to dispel mosquitoes. What about baby soap? A fact is, when buying for your baby you need to take into consideration his or her skin.
You don't have to do this only when buying for you baby but even when buying one for your self as well. After all people have different skin and it reacts differently to different soap.