Soap making is not just for your grandmother anymore; it has become a popular hobby for many creative and artistic people. Homemade soap is a sought-after product these days. There are many soap making businesses that have become extremely lucrative. Homemade or handmade soap offers the consumer many things you can’t get from a retail store. If your soap is handmade it tends to be fresh and contain more natural elements. All soap or the “real stuff” is still made using lye or sodium hydroxide, which is consider a fairly harsh chemical, but the other chemicals and additives are usually omitted in “homemade” soap recipes. When you make the soap yourself or buy it from a specialty soap maker, then you usually get a higher quality of product and the ingredients tend to be natural rather then completely artificial. Making your own soap can be entertaining because you can use your imagination and create your own combinations and it can also be rewarding to know you made a personalized product.

Bar soap is a common type of soap that you can make at home. There are a few different processes to follow when making bar soap. Here are some examples and basic instructions for each process:

Cold process soap is one of the most popular soap making methods. This kind of soap is known for it long lasting quality and versatility. Cold process is a common way to create unique, decorative bars of soap that you can sell or use as gifts. Most cold process recipes contain a few basic ingredients such as distilled water, sodium hydroxide (lye) and fatty acids.

You can make cold process soap by combining fatty acids and sodium hydroxide (lye). The fatty acid can be anything from animal fat to olive oil or hemp oil.

Cold process soap making consists of a certain proportion of lye (sodium hydroxide) and water to fatty acids, which creates a chemical reaction called “saponifaction.” During saponification, the lye and oils mix and become soap – the process takes approximately six weeks to fully complete.

Specific steps for creating cold process soap:

1. Heat the oils (whatever type you choose) in the microwave or in a double boiler until they reach a temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Put on your safety gear and pour the lye pre-measured into 14-ouces of distilled water.
3. Mix other ingredients (water and lye) in an unbreakable, heat-friendly bowl (like Pyrex) with a stainless steel mixing spoon. Remember do NOT breathe the lye fumes. The mixture will heat all the way up to approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Cool this mixture to about 115 degrees.
5. When both the oils and the lye water are within 10 degrees of 115 degrees, pour the lye/water mixture into the melted oils.
6. Use a stick blender if you have it and if you do not have a stick blender, hand stir with a whisk or stainless steel tool. If you're using a stick blender, you should see “trace” (which is the point where you can see faint soap trailing). This should happen within 5 minutes. If you're using a hand mixer (a spoon), this process could take up to a 3 hours.
7. Once you've hit trace you can add your fragrances or essential oils. Wait for a minute to make sure that the soap is fully traced (formed together) and is not going to separate in the bowl or in your molds.
8. Now you can pour the thick, white, creamy soap mixture into your molds. The soap will need to sit out for a full 6 weeks before using.

When making soap with lye you need to wear the proper safety gear such as goggles and gloves. Cold process soap is known for its hard and long-lasting qualities. You can create lather rich formulas by using certain types of oils in your recipe. Coconut oil is known for its lathering formula, olive oil is gentle and great for sensitive skin and shea, cocoa butter and hemp oil offer great moisturizing properties.

Hot process methods are an alternative to cold process soap. This method is similar to the cold process but is supposed to speed up the production time. With this method of soap making you combine all the ingredients and place them over a heat source. You stir frequently and wait for it to go through various stages like saponification and tracing. The excess water is evaporated off and the soap is ready use once cooled.

The melt and pour soap making method is popular because of its versatility and simplicity. You don’t have to buy lots of ingredients because you are simply melting down previously made soap product. This method is great for children because you don’t have to worry about the chemical danger (lye). You can buy soap making kits that are ready to use for this specific soap making method. To make soap using this method all you need is clear soap (typically referred to as glycerin soap), which can be purchased in large blocks. Any kind of color or fragrance you want to use and of course some type of soap molds or loaf pans that you can pour your creation into for cooling.

Another form of cold process soap making is rebatching. During this process you make your cold process soap from scratch, grate it up, place it over a heat source, in a kettle, with a little liquid (water works best), and the mixture melts down into a mushy mess that you add colorant and fragrance too. This technique is often used to preserve the scent or the healing properties of some essential oils.

There are several ingredients or additives that add character to your soap creations. Certain oils, colors and fragrances will change your recipe so make sure you are using the proper ingredients. For example, as mentioned earlier, coconut oil will help to provide a rich thick lather and essential oils like lavender will offer a soothing, calming scent for rest and relaxation. You can buy soap making instruction books or find ingredients and directions on the Internet. There are many companies cashing in on this particular industry. Learn how to make soap for fun, to use as gifts or to create your own business to bring in some extra money. There are endless possibilities when it comes to producing your own soap products.