Have Fun in your Free Time with Soap Making
There are times that using the usual boring bar of soaps we have at home can get a little tiring. We always have the same thing when washing our hands or when taking a bath. So if you want something more exciting, you might want to try soap making as a hobby. Many people are now getting into the fun of decorating and making soap for home and business use. These carefully crafted and molded soaps are not only made for washing and cleaning purposes, they can also prettify your bathrooms and make it the envy of your guest.
Before you start off, you have to know that the two main ingredients in soap making are fats and lye. Other additional ingredients are dyes for coloring and fragrance oils for the scent. Fats are the ones responsible for the essential qualities of soaps so it is considered as a major ingredient. Fat is responsible for the lather produced which is mild for the skin whether it is a soft or hard soap. Lye, one the other hand is the ingredient which hydrolizes the fat to turn it into soap. The other ingredients such as fragrance oils and dye are only to add art and scent to the product.
Fats are converted into soap through two simple methods - hot and cold. Cold method is done by adding the fat into a previously made lye water mixture. Everything is mixed and poured into melts which have been dipped in cold water. Hot method is much like the cold method except that the fat is heated before it is mixed with lye water mixture and is further heated for 2 hours before it can be used. Of these two, the cold method is known to produce a longer lasting soap.
After the soap mixture is set, you can add other ingredients to make more aesthetically pleasing. When using dyes and molds, you have to do it properly so that you can create perfect miniatures of food, animals and other items. You may need to practice more before you can actually perfect the art of using different soap ingredients with the molds. Fragrance oils are added into the soap mixture for your product to have that scent you want, whether it is sweet, clean or flowery smells.
However, before you start with soap making projects, you have to understand that lye is hazardous and should be handled with care. It can cause injuries because of its corrosive properties so you have to protect your hands and yourself when using it. When mixed with water, lye gives off fumes which can also be dangerous when inhaled. Despite the fun and ease of soap making, you should never overlook the possible dangers brought by the harmful properties of lye and make sure to use precaution when using it.
Making soaps is a fun and productive hobby to spend your free time. It might be quite hard to perfect your projects at first, but you only need to practice through trial and error and soon you will be producing beautifully crafted home made soaps.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about making homemade soap, and liquid soap making. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.