Looking for a new hobby to keep you busy? There are several options that you can try but soap making is a very interesting one.
Imagine using soaps that you, yourself has customized.
Wouldn't that be a great idea? Rather than using the old, boring white soap bars that you use, you can now have different soaps everyday.
People are very much into this because it allows them to be very creative.
There are different ways to actually make soaps.
It all depends on how you want to make your soaps.
There is the melt and pour method, hot process, cold process and handmilled process of making soaps.
If you plan to start with this activity now, the first things that you have to know are the substances that are used to make these soaps.
Soaps are primarily made from mixing fats and oils.
This is called the saponification process.
You can use fats from animal or even vegetable.
Other ingredients also include color, essentials oils and dyes.
Just mix everything to get the ideal soap that you want to make.
If are trying out soap making for the first time, you can start with the melt and pour method.
This is a simple process to make since everything is ready for you.
You just have to melt the soap base to make liquid soap.
The next step is adding the additives to alter your soap.
Pour the soap into the molds and let it harden.
This is how easy this is.
Probably the cold process of soap making is a hassle-free method that you can try.
First, it is important to mix the lye into water.
Once this is done, add the fat in this mixture until it forms an emulsion.
The additives go in next so add whatever you want to in the mixture.
Cure this in the mild for 3 days until t is hard enough to cut.
Once the soaps are solid, you have to cure the soap for an additional 3 weeks before you can practically use it.
The hot process is a modified method for handmade soaps.
Compared to the cold process, this requires heating of the ingredients.
Both the lye-water and the oils must be heated prior and after adding them.
Continuous stirring will mix the ingredients all together.
The additives must be added in the soap before transferring into molds.
The advantage of this is that the soaps that have hardened can immediately be used.
Rebatching soaps is an interesting method of making soaps.
You have to grate old soaps that you want to recycle.
Add in water to dissolve the soap previously made.
Melt the soap and water mixture until it becomes liquid.
Colorants and other additives go in the melted mixture.
Once these have hardened in the molds, that's the time that you can actually use the soaps.
We all use soaps whenever we take a bath.
It will really be very exciting if we can actually use a new type of soap each time.
With soap making as a hobby, you are allowed to be very creative.
This is indeed a great hobby to engage in so you can try this out and see how helpful this is.