Hello all, in this blog post, we'll be going over ways in which people make natural soap bars. People make their own soaps for many reasons. Some people make soap as a means of revenue, others make soap because it's fun and enjoy bathing with natural hand made soap, other people do it to be self sufficient and to know what they're putting on their skin. Whatever the reason might be, making natural hand made soap is a fun and hands-on process that anyone could learn.
First, I thought I would take a look at what people are saying regarding what the best ways are to make soap for beginners. To do this, I simply made a Google Search and came up with a list of results. I clicked on a Reddit thread that talks about the ways you can make soap as a beginner. In the Reddit thread, I found different recommendations about ways in which making soap should begin.
If you want to take a look at some of the Cold Press Soap bars we make here at BWM Cosmetics, give our soap collection a browse.
Soap making Youtube Channels for Beginners
The first one I found was that there are YouTube Channels such as Soaping 101, and Bramble Berry, a.k.a. The Soap Queen that are good starting points for soap making novice.
I took a look at the videos for these channels. To be exact, I watched six of these, three on each channel.
Soaping 101 YouTube Channel
For the Soaping 101 YouTube channel, I looked at these three videos;
Make Dollar Store Soap {Easiest Beginner Soap Recipe} which was uploaded to YouTube around 11 years ago. The video has 550k views. It talks about making oatmeal, milk, and honey soap. It uses only Dollar Store ingredients. The most complicated ingredient I found was sodium Hydroxide (Lye). It also goes over basic safety measures like what safety materials to buy. I found the video quite instructional and easy to follow along and quite interesting that the lady making the video only spent $13 to make the soap bars. I found it really useful to see how little you'd be spending to make each soap bar and how much one could profit from such a passion.
The second video I watched for the Soaping 101 channel, was How to Make a Gilded Rainbow Soap Cake | Soaping101 I wish there would have been a voice over on this video as it would have made it more interactive and it's easier to listen to someone give instructions rather than reading along. The video was uploaded 4 years ago and only has 4,200 views. It's 20 minutes long, and it starts off by mixing the Bastile Soap recipe. It does tell you specifically what you'll need to make the Bastile mix. It also goes over what you need to prepare the micas. The micas are what give the soap color. You'll then mix in the Bastile soap recipe mix into them. For quite an elaborate creation as a handmade rainbow centered soap bar, I found the video easy to follow along. Some parts didn't quite add up however, like why wouldn't she clean and dry the mixer when going from color to color. This would prevent the colors from being tainted. Another aspect that caught my attention was the order in which she poured the colors. They could've been poured in a different order so that the soap bar could have more contrast. Overall, I found the process entertaining and easy to follow along for a soap making novice. I highly recommend it. Quite the creation.
The third video I watched for the Soaping 101 channel, was Top Soapers Share Their Favorite Soap Making Tools | Soaping101 This is a really helpful video. It gives a lot of insight for a beginner who's trying to grow in the industry. Very cool to see the different tools that people use in order to grow they business. Fir example, in the first 1 minute of the video, you will see how Charlene Simon from Bathhouse Soaping & Caldarium makes 850 soap bars a day using a pump. Then, you will see how Amie Pearson from Mama Pearson's Soaporium uses a bucket opener to quickly open her 5 gallon buckets of coconut oil. It simplifies the process of opening those big buckets which hurt your fingers. Good video to quickly grow in the industry.
Bramble Berry a.k.a The Soap Queen
For the Soap Queen youtube channel, I looked at these three videos;
The first video I watched was a 12 minute video of how to make Blackberry Swirl Cold Process Soap. What I find quite interesting about these is how people are starting to give soap Cake and Cupcake shapes.
The second video I watched for the Soap Queen youtube channel, was about making soap with milk. It turns out that milk is specially nutritious for your skin, here is the video, How to Make Soap with Milk and the Soap Queen has even written a book about. I give this video a thumbs up for beginners because it talks about the importance of Milk as an ingredient for soap making, giving soap novices an understanding of what ingredients are used for in soap bars. Talking about the other aspects of this video, it's not that easy to follow along because of the different ingredients and methods involved in adding the milk to the soap. I don't recommend you following it along as beginner, but I do recommend you watching it all the way so that you can get a better understanding of how complex methods can get.
The third video I watched for the Soap Queen youtube channel, Common Soap Making Mistakes & How to Avoid Them | Bramble Berry is really one I recommend. This is because it will help you avoid mistakes... and uh... who wouldn't like to avoid mistakes? Some of the aspect it covers are really important, such as lye safety, this is because lye will burn your skin if not handled correctly. Not making a basic batch of soap first, is also considered a mistake, this is because the base correct first is important for later on when you start pouring in more expensive materials. If you get the basics correctly, you will have no problems later on in this process when following more complex methods. Measuring by volume and not weight is also a basic rookie mistake. A weight measurement refers to the mass or heaviness of an item. With volume, you'll be measuring the space the item takes up. For example, if you measure using a measuring beaker, you'll be measuring by volume, and if your recipe specifies to use 8oz of coco oil wafers specified in weight, you'd be adding more than the desired amount of coco wafer oils to your recipe, giving it an unwanted oily base.
Three Soap Making Processes
Then, on that same Reddit thread, I also encountered a lot of people who gave out instructions on how to get started. For example, there are different methods used to make soap; the first ones I ran into were hot process, cold process, melt & pour. These processes.
Hot Process soap making for beginners
I did some research on what each of these methods entail, and found some good explanations that I will present here to you. To begin with, I researched the hot process. By reading from this article, I was quickly able to gain an understanding about what the hot process entails. The first thing you'll note is the Hot Process uses an "external heating source to bring the soap to gel phase." You will also notice that this method leaves for less opportunity to create cool designs with your soap such as swirls. By reading on, you will also find out that Soap Makers love this method because it has a quick turnaround, meaning that you can use the soap bar the next day, although longer curing time does mean a harder soap bar. Then, you will read the ingredients that you would need to make the soap bars, along the directions you'd need to follow. Overall, I found the article informative, giving novice soap makers a why and a how, a total insight of why to use the Hot Process for making soap bars. This Hot Process for Beginners article, was written by the HSCG (Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetics Guild). The HSCG was founded in 1998, "remains a non-profit 501(c)(6) trade association, serving the handcrafted soap, cosmetics, and candle industry." With all those years and people behind the association, this guild is definitely a companion for the beginner soap maker.
Where to start Cold Process soap making
Moving on, I went straight ahead to looking into the cold process. This article, "What is cold process soap making?" by The Goodlife Centre covers the process from beginning to end. It explains how the Cold Process is the traditional method for making soap by mixing in fat or oil with lye. The fat or oil comes from animal or plants. It then explains how this causes a chemical reaction called saponification, which takes up to 48 hours to complete. The curing process can take almost 4-6 weeks, and then you can cut your soap bars! You can see here how this has a slower turnaround than the hot process method, however, the guide does ensure that you're left with a superior product. This is because the "lack of heat ensures that essential oils are not ruined but instead remain intact and release their therapeutic properties through the lovely lathery soap that you make." The article then goes on to explain how the cold process method works and how you can do it on your own. The article was written by The Goodlife Centre , "an independent learning space situated near Tate Modern, Central London. We offer practical boutique workshops in DIY, Home Maintenance, Decorating, Upholstery, Woodwork & Carpentry, Furniture Upcycling & Restoration and various traditional hand Crafts." Overall, I rate this a great article to start on your cold process soap making journey.
Melt & Pour for beginners
After researching the cold process for a bit, I moved on to reading about the melt & pour method. Although some of the first search results were from crafters we already read about before such HSCG, Bramble Berry, and Soap Queen, I decided to give Craftovator a try. The article is titled How To Make Melt and Pour Soap - The Ultimate Beginner's Guide and it starts off by telling us that we'll be learning how to make a Strawberry & Kiwi massage bar. How I long for this. To do this, the article uses a melt and pour soap base. In short, the secret to the melt and pour method is the base used. For example, you could buy the base for your soap bars here and you would be skipping over the hot and cold processing methods. In order to melt the base, you'll just need to buy the base, cut it up and put in a boiler. Once it melts, you'll add your scent, coloring, and pour it into the molds following along the instructions carefully that are given in this article. I found the article easy to follow along for a beginner and the time for completing this could not take very long. I highly recommend the Melt & Pour method for someone who is beginning over the Cold Press Process or the Hot Process methods.
More Beginner Online Soap Making Articles
After reading through that Reddit Thread for a bit, I then decided to go take a look at other websites that have detailed instructions.
Martha Stewart's Cold Process Soap Making Guide
The first website I looked at was a Martha Stewart article which talks about soap making using the cold press method. Given the fact that this was written by the Martha Stewart group who perfect recipes before posting them on their articles, I highly suggest this being one of the guides you follow along to make your cold press soap bars.
Different Soap Bar Recipes by Lauren Thomann
The second website I looked at was a blog post by Lauren Thomann, focused on different Soap Bar recipes.
In conclusion, I found all these methods very informational and a valid way to learn about making soap if you're a beginner. I also found the recipes extraordinary and might try out some myself. If you're a beginner at making soap bars, I highly recommend these to start off on your journey.
Leave a comment