Making handmade soap is a fun creative process. The easiest way to make soap is from a soap base that is specially created for this purpose. It is very easy to work with a soap base, and homemade soap from it turns out to be of high quality, beautiful and beneficial to the skin. Thanks to various additives and components, it is possible to create soap with a wide variety of properties.
It is necessary
- Soap base (clear or matte)
- Base oils
- Fragrances (essential oils or perfumery fragrances)
- Dyes (cosmetic or natural)
- Additives and fillers (dried herbs and flowers, natural scrubs, cosmetic clay)
- Silicone bakeware
- Base melting tank
- Alcohol or vodka in a spray bottle
- Thermometer for liquids
Instructions
Step 1
To help the soap base melt faster, cut it into small cubes. It is very convenient to melt the soap base in a microwave oven in a special plastic dish. But you can also place the sliced soap base in a regular enamel pot and melt it in a water bath. To do this, pour water into a wider and deeper saucepan and put it on fire. When the water boils, you need to place a saucepan with a chopped soap base in it.
Step 2
Wait for the base to completely melt. But don't overheat it. This will cause bubbles to form and degrade the quality of your handmade soap. It is best to measure the temperature of the soap base with a special liquid thermometer. Do not allow the base to heat up over 60 degrees.
Step 3
When the base has melted, add the fillers to the base. The choice of this or that filler depends on what type of homemade soap you want to get. If you want to brew a soap that has scrubbing properties, you can add, for example, natural ground coffee, ground oatmeal, cosmetic clay, or chopped herbs to the soap base. For 100 grams of soap base, you can add 1-3 teaspoons of filler. It is not worth adding more fillers, as too much filler can make handmade soap too harsh.
Step 4
Many fillers are natural colorants at the same time. For example, coffee gives homemade soaps a beautiful dark brown color, while crushed calendula gives them a golden orange color. A variety of colors (yellow, green, blue, pink) can be obtained by adding cosmetic clay to the soap base. You can also use artificial cosmetic colors. They are usually sold in the same stores that sell soap base. Liquid cosmetic dyes are added directly to the molten soap base (1-6 drops per 100 grams of base). Powder dyes (1 / 5-1 / 4 teaspoon per 100 grams of base) are best dissolved in a teaspoon of alcohol or vodka.
Step 5
In addition to dyes and fillers, if you wish, you can add base oil (peach, almond, grape seed, etc.) to your homemade soap at the rate of 1/3 teaspoon of oil per 100 grams of soap base. The base oil will give your homemade soap its moisturizing properties. Just do not add more than the specified amount of base oil, as due to its excess, the soap may harden poorly.
Step 6
Lastly, add fragrance to the soap. Usually, for 100 grams of soap base, it is enough to add 3-4 drops of perfume fragrance or 7-8 drops of natural essential oil. After adding the fragrance, gently stir the soap and pour it into the silicone baking tins. You can also use plastic containers, but it is advisable to lubricate them from the inside with a thin layer of corn oil. This will make it easier to remove the soap later. If bubbles form on the surface of the soap after spilling it into the molds, sprinkle it with alcohol or vodka from a spray bottle.
Step 7
Wait for the soap to completely harden. Depending on the type of soap base used, it may take from 30 minutes to 2 hours to cure. There are often suggestions that soap should be placed in the freezer to harden faster. However, such advice is not worth following. Of course, in the freezer, the soap will harden faster, but later it may become too brittle. Therefore, it is better to let the soap harden at normal temperature.
Step 8
When the soap is completely cured, remove it from the molds. To do this, lightly press on the top and sides of the mold. Usually, homemade soap is easily removed from silicone molds. Then let the soap sit for 1 to 2 days to dry completely. After this period, wrap the soap in plastic wrap for further storage.
