The Benefits of Natural Soap and How to Make It

Benefits of Natural Soap and How to Make It

When considering the benefits of Natural Soap. It is important to understand the elements that go into making it. Unlike most store-bought varieties, most natural soaps have ingredients that leave your skin moist by the natural ingredients staying in the skin instead of drying the skin out.

In this article, we will discuss the importance of the ingredients and a short tutorial on how to make a natural soap. Of course, we can offer you a wonderful collection of eBooks on this with lots of great varieties not found here.

This article is to simply give you some information on the benefits of natural soaps and how they are much better for us than most store-bought varieties.

Soap making involves the use of two main ingredients: Oil and Lye, also known as Sodium Hydroxide. Through a controlled process, the two compounds are chemically bonded into a new compound call soup.

What Happens During the Manufacturing Process

During the soup manufacturing process, other ingredients are added. However, unlike commercially-produced soup, natural soup does not include toxic ingredients such as artificial dyes and perfumes. Moreover, natural soap contains glycerin that helps to moisten the skin.

The saponification process produces glycerin, which is a bi-product of the process. Glycerin is an as natural humectant, which means that it pulls moisture from its surrounding air to moisten the skin.

During the natural soup making process, all the glycerin is left in the soap, unlike in commercially-soup making a process where glycerin is removed and used and other more profitable products such as lubricants, lotions, and e-cigarettes.

This ensures that the natural soap has moisturizing quality.

Although all kinds of soap remove oil in the skin, the glycerin the natural soap will be left in the skin during bathing and ensure that your skin remains moisturized throughout.

Now that we have explored the benefits of natural soap lets look at some steps involved in making natural soap!

How to make natural soap:

Ingredients:

Lye and Sodium Hydroxide: You cannot make soap without these two ingredients. Saponification is a chemical process that involves the reaction of oil (acid) and lye (Base) to produce soap.
Water: water help to activate lye and ensure that the fully react with oil. However, during the four to six process of making the soap, all water will evaporate.
Oil and Fats: you can use any oil or fat to make soap, and you can use more than one type of oil during the process. Some of the most commonly used oil includes beeswax, coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil, palm oil, sweet almond oil, soybean oil, and Shea butter.
Antioxidants: the antioxidants that you can use during the soap making process include Rosemary Oleoresin Extract (ROE) and Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE).
Soap fragrance and scent fixer: you can use things lime sesame or beeswax to impart a unique natural fragrance. In case you need a scent that can last longer, you can use some natural scent fixers like benzoin, arrowroot, cornstarch, essential oils, oatmeal, essential oils and orris root powder.
Soap colors: there are several options of coloring your soap.

You can purchase coloring powder from suppliers or use flowers and plants that grow in your garden. You can also opt for oil that will impact the color of your soap.

Directions:

First Step: make the Lye Solution:

Measure the appropriate amount of water into a stainless steel or heavy duty plastic pitcher such as a pampered chef pitcher or a Tupperware. Weight some lye into a cup or a small container and sprinkle them into the water. Stir the solution with a heavy duty plastic or silicone spatula until they completely dissolve. Leave the solution for about 40 minutes to settle.

Second Step: weigh and melt oils:

Use a double boiler to melt coconut oil and mix them with olive and castor oils in a heat-resistant soap making pot. The temperature of the mixture should be around 32 and 38˚C.

Third Step: combine the compounds:

Pour the lye solution into warm oil and stir them with a stick or immersion blender for about 30 seconds. You can also add other optional ingredients during this stage. Turn the motor on and allow the mixture to blend for about one minute. Turn the motor off and stir the mixture again for about 30 seconds before turning the motor again. Alternate the two methods until trace is reached.

Fourth Step: Pour the Solution into Mold:

This fourth step is a cold process that does not involve the application of extra heat. All you need to do is to pour the solution into the mold and cover it gently with a sheet or freezer paper, then put a blanket or a towel at the top to help hold in the heat. Check the soap often and if you find it developing a crack in the middle, know that it is getting too hot and move it to a cooler place. After 24 hours, remove the cover and let it stay uncovered for 2 to 3 days to get firm.

Step 5: Slice them into bars:

Once the natural soap is firm enough, slice it into bars and allow them to cure up in open air for another 4 to 6 weeks. During the four to six weeks, the soap evaporates excess water and make sure that the finished soap is harder and can last longer when used.

This article is not intended to educate you on how to become a natural soap maker overnight but we do have eBooks that have tons of wonderful soaps and natural oils to help you become very adept at making natural soaps and other natural products for your health.

Products we would recommend before you begin your natural soap making: Most of this you may already have in your kitchen but if not you can pick them up at our affiliate links below. There is no extra cost for you to purchase them there.

Kitchen Scales