If you’re interested in making your own soap at home, it is easier than you may think. There are a few ingredients that you’ll need to get started, but making soap can be a satisfying skill to learn.
Making homemade soap is a fun activity to do with your family and is perfect for any crafty person. We’ll get into exactly how to make your own soap with some basic ingredients. Ready to start creating?
Why Make Your Own Soap?
There are a few reasons that people may want to make their own soap at home. If any of this sounds like you, keep reading to learn how to get started!
- You like crafting and making things by hand, so want to try something new!
- Having allergies and needing to control the ingredients in your soap.
- Not wanting to use additional additives and chemicals on your skin.
- To save money and spend less by making it yourself.
- To be self sufficient and not have to rely on brand-name soap.
- Create soap that you can sell to make money as a side hustle or full time business.
Different Methods for Making Soap
There are a few different ways to make homemade soap, so the first step is to figure out which one you want to use. You may want to experiment with a few of these to see what works best for you.
If you’re just getting started making soap as a beginner, the Melt and Pour or Cold Process methods are a good starting point.
Melt and Pour: This is an easy way to get started since it melts down existing bars of soap. Just get some basic blocks of soap, melt them down, and add your own fragrances to customize them.
Cold Process: This is one of more common ways to make homemade soap. It requires using oil and lye and makes the soap from scratch without heat.
Hot Process: Similar to the Cold Process, this makes soap from scratch but uses heat to slow cook the ingredients.
Rebatching: If you have leftover soap or an initial batch that didn’t come out well, grind it up and start over. Rebatching is a good way to make sure you don’t waste your materials.
Melt and Pour Soap Making Method
The melt and pour method is the easiest ways to get started making soap at home because you really don’t have to make the soap.
With this method, you start by purchasing basic soap base that comes in bar form. Soap base is unscented and uncolored, so it is a great starting point to create your own product. It can be found at soap suppliers or online and you’ll be able to buy blocks of pure soap base.
Once you have your base, use a double boiler or microwave to melt it down. At that point, you’ll be able to add your custom fragrance combination and any color that you would like. Mix thoroughly and then pour into molds to let them set up.
After they have hardened, you’ll have your own custom bar of soap!
From there, you can experiment with different types of base soaps to start with. Clear or white glycerin are some of the more popular soap bases but there are other options, like goat’s milk and shea butter. Depending on the type of soap you want to make, pick the base that makes the most sense to you.
Check out some of these soap bases to get started:
Cold Process Soap Making Method
If you’re looking to make your own homemade soap, we have good news for you! The process for making cold-process soap is relatively simple, and with a few essential supplies, you’ll be soaping in no time.
To get started, you’ll need a mixture of oil and lye, which is the basis of all soap. To make the mixture, you’ll need to combine oil and lye in a 1:1 ratio. Saponification is the process of creating soap by mixing fats with lye, and the exact ratio can change with the type of fat used.
Once the mixture is combined, you’ll need to let it cool until it reaches a safe temperature for handling. At this point, you’ll need to stir the mixture regularly to ensure that it doesn’t solidify.
Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, you’ll need to blend it with a stick blender to create a uniform texture. We recommend blending the soap in short bursts of a few seconds at a time so that you don’t heat up the mixture too much.
Finally, you’ll need to let the soap set for a few days before using it. We hope this information helps you get started with making your own homemade soap!
DIY Soap Ingredients
When you are getting started making your own soap, there are a few ingredients that you will need to get. Fortunately, they are easy to find at many stores or online, so you can get started making your soap quickly.
You will need:
- Water
- Sodium hydroxide (lye)
- Oils (coconut, olive, or any other)
- Fragrance (optional)
- Colorant (optional)
You will also need some sort of soap mold to pour your final product into. It is possible to make soap bars in any shape that you wish, so get creative!
Check out these soap molds that make it easy to get started.
What is Lye?
Lye, or sodium hydroxide, is a strong base that can be used to make soap. It is commonly available at hardware stores and online for a reasonable price.
Be sure to wear protective clothing and safety goggles when handling lye. Lye can be dangerous, so be sure to keep it away from children and any other chemicals or materials that might be sensitive to its presence.
For this reason, some people do not want to work with lye directly when making soaps at home. If you do not feel comfortable with using lye, using the melt and pour method is a good way to start.
Not sure where to get lye? Check out some of these sellers.
How to Make Soap at Home in 8 Simple Steps
To make your own soap at home, you can follow these simple steps:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add in the lye and mix with a wooden spoon until the lye is dissolved.
- Wait a few minutes and then add in the fats of your choice.
- Stir the mixture until it starts to look like soap.
- Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.
- Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a container to set up.
- Wait at least a day before using the finished soap.
- Use the soap for washing dishes, clothes, and people, and enjoy!
How to Make Soap Without Lye
Lye is used in the base of all real soaps and helps to give soap it’s cleansing properties. When mixed with fats and oils, the caustic nature of lye is neutralized and turned into gentle soap. In general, you will want to have lye in soap so that it works like real soap!
Since lye is a base (opposite of an acid) and can be dangerous to work with, you may decide to not work with it directly. The easiest way to do this is to use a soap base that already has the lye in it. Simply buy a plain soap base, melt it down, and add your own fragrance and colors to make it your own.
Easy Homemade Soap Recipe Without Lye
This is a simple soap to make! This homemade soap recipe is perfect for anyone looking to make their own soap quickly and easily.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of hot water
- 2 cups of vegetable oil
- 2 cups of liquid dishwashing soap
- 1 teaspoon of moisturizer of choice
- 1 teaspoon of essential oil of choice
- Combine the hot water and vegetable oil in a large bowl or container.
- Add in the liquid dishwashing soap and essential oil.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a mold and let cool.
- Once the soap is cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to set.
- Once the soap is set, remove from the mold and peel off the plastic wrap.
- Apply moisturizer to help keep your soap fresh and use it as desired!
Check out this creative idea for making beer and cocktail looking soaps.
How to Make Money Selling Homemade Soap
Now that you have made some soap, you may be interested in trying to sell it to make some extra money. First, you will need to make sure that you have a solid product that customers will love. This is important to build your brand and keep your customers happy.
Once you have figured out the soaps you will sell, think about how it will be packaged. Having attractive packaging for bars of soaps will help to increase perceived value and remind customers to buy more from you in the future.
Then, it is time to start selling your soaps and there are many ways to do this. For example, going to local craft fairs and markets is a great way to get started in your area. By doing so, it can also give you feedback to see if other people like the scents and color combinations.
Selling online through a website or social media is another great way to make money. To receive payments, create a simple WordPress or Shopify website and you can accept payment through payment portals like Paypal or Stripe.
We have plenty of more tips and strategies for selling spa products in our Hobby to Business Pro ebook, if you’re serious about making money from your soaps.
Have fun making your own soaps!
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