Basic methods of making homemade soap
Are you tempted to make homemade cosmetics, especially soap, and don't know how to start? I am a creative soul who likes to try different techniques. I came across soap making a long time ago. Back then, I bought soap mass, dye and essence, mixed everything and it was done.
When I came back to the idea of making my own soap years later, I started researching different options on the internet. Soap making fascinated me, I wanted to try everything. Making soap reminded me of baking a cake, except that soap doesn't make you fat :)
There are three ways to make soap, I would like to briefly introduce them to you.
Making soap from soap mass
Basically, it involves melting a pre-prepared soap mass. Soap masses are available in different compositions, clear, containing goat's milk, glycerine,... You can add essences, colourings, herbs to the melted mass as you wish. You pour the prepared mass into the mould and leave it to harden. The soap is immediately ready for use.
Soap production by cold process
This process is already rather more difficult. It is a reaction between fatty acids (oils) and a base (hydroxide solution). The advantage of such production is certainly the possibility of choosing the oils, i.e. the possibility of influencing the final properties of the soap. The mixture is easy to colour, which is why this production method is preferred for the production of soaps with different patterns. The oils and the hydroxide solution react together at room temperature and the process is slower. The soap has to mature for several weeks to reach the desired pH and hardness.
Soap production by hot process
The hot process is very similar to the cold process except that it takes place at an elevated temperature. After the saponification process, the soap immediately has the desired pH. Therefore, a shorter time is required for maturation before use. A minor disadvantage is colouring, as the resulting mass is quite dense and hardens quickly, we cannot create such nice patterns as in the cold process.
In the next few days we will introduce all the production methods.
Your Lucia.
