It is absolutely essential that you wear protective gloves when handling lye. Household rubber gloves will suffice, but if you prefer something thinner and yet still as protective, nitrile gloves can be worn. Nitrile gloves are more resistant to chemical splashes than rubber gloves. All of the recipes on Savvyhomemade allow 5% superfatting. This ensures correct saponification (the chemical reaction that creates soap) making sure there is zero free caustic alkali remaining and a good ph balance is achieved. As long as you have measured your ingredients correctly you have nothing to worry about. To be sure always test it using a ph strip to make sure it is somewhere between 7-10. Weigh the oils, butters and waxes you want to use and transfer to a saucepan. Place on the heat until the solid oils, butters and waxes have melted. Do not include the essential or fragrance oils in this saucepan yet. In 2019 Soap Startup conducted a study of preferred soap bar sizes. Although we got consensus on a few in particular, the greatest lesson learned was that everybody has a different idea of “ideal”. Embrace it! Use a soap bar mold that you LOVE. It doesn’t have to be a plain old rectangle. Make 3D fine-detailed mermaid soap. Enjoy the process AND the product. Soap making is a lot of fun. It’s also a great way to create the perfect bar of soap that is exactly what you want. In this post we will cover how to make homemade soap bars for beginners.

Simple | Boots Simple | Boots

https://youtu.be/FTcnD1etGKs Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: How to Customize Melt & Pour Soap (https://youtu.be/FTcnD1etGKs) Beginner’s Soap; Instant Gratification! If you are making your soap at home, be sure to do it in a well-ventilated area. Put on protective eyewear, mask, apron, and long rubber gloves to protect the eyes and skin. Should you get some on your skin rinse with vinegar before washing it off using water. You can make soap on any type of hob – gas, electric, induction or aga –in a stainless steel saucepan. If you are using the cold-process method, your soap will need to be insulated during the first 24 hours. To do so effectively, cover your soap with layers of blankets or towels. Protective clothingI love this part! If you have a microwave safe bowl, a knife, and a microwave – you have all you need as far as tools go. You can even use a double boiler instead of a microwave if you are so inclined. If you have a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol that’s also a plus. You can use it to remove surface bubbles and help separate layers weld together on multi-part layered designs. Pour the soap mixture into the prepared mould and cover with old towels if the mould does not have a lid. The soap needs to be kept insulated for 24 hours. Clear up, wash up and wait! Never leave your soap mixture unattended, this is a big no-no, especially if you have children or pets in your home.

Homemade Soap Bars for Beginners How to Make Homemade Soap Bars for Beginners

Authentic, natural soap, both hard bar and liquid soap, is made from the chemical reaction of lye combined with fats. The lye is made from water (or water combined with other liquids) and an alkali. For hard bars of soap the alkali is sodium hydroxide, for liquid soaps the alkali is potassium hydroxide. Safety advice for handling lye Olivia did an amazing job! The only three things I want to call out, because they are common oversights, are: This is the magic of making soap using melt and pour base (a.k.a. MP). So Many Soap “Flavor” Choices

Choosing your soap-making ingredients

I like using a 4-cup microwave safe measuring cup. Filling it halfway gets me a pound of soap base to work with and the lip or spout makes it easy to control when poured. Microwave or double boiler Soap making uses similar equipment to cooking and whilst you may want to use your everyday saucepans and utensils, I strongly advise buying a set that you keep exclusively for soap making. Once the soap is cooled and firm, pop out of the molds, or if using a loaf pan, slice into bars. It’s important to slice your coconut oil soap once it’s firm. If you wait too long it will become very hard and thus difficult to slice into bars. It might not suspend the particles perfectly, but it will do a decent job without having to delay until you can find suspending type melt and pour base.

Simple | Superdrug

Make sure that your arms are covered when dealing with lye. As a sensible precaution, wear shoes, not sandals to prevent any splashes landing on your bare feet. Although you don’t need full overalls, at the very least you will need safety glasses, protective gloves and an apron. These will protect your skin, eyes and clothing from any unwanted caustic splashes. Kitchen paper towels, cloths and hot water In the Lye Safety Guide article, the Soap Queen gives this explanation: “Mixing water and lye creates an exothermic reaction that causes a dramatic temperature increase.” Hence the reason we never want to add water to lye. “Doing so can cause the lye to expand, or erupt, out of the container.” Clean upWhen staring any new venture, getting tangible results is important. With more traditional soap making methods, like cold process, you wait 4 to 6 weeks before you can use your creation. I’m also glad you’ve mentioned that shortening more often than not has palm oil in it. I myself am moving towards eliminating all forms of palm oil from my blog and my life in general, so I will definitely be taking another look at this recipe in the near future. For small batches I use a microwave oven. For large batches I use an electric soup warmer or double boiler. When using a microwave oven, be sure to melt the soap in small bursts so you don’t burn it. More on that in the instructions portion. Insider Tip: If you feel that the fumes may be unpleasant for you, wear a protective mask to prevent breathing them in and make sure that you always work in a well-ventilated room.