Living in a country where hygiene is an important aspect of our lifestyle, using soaps and soap related products have become an everyday thing. Millions of people buy different soaps on a daily basis. Some people even create their own soaps in the privacy of their homes.
Before learning to create your own soaps, it is essential that you know what soap is. Soap, as defined by chemistry, is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps used for cleansing skin are produced by treating vegetable or animal oils and fats with strong alkaline solution. Soap is not only used for washing, however. Soap is also an important texture for lubricants and lubricating greases.
The earliest known production of soap and soap-like materials dates all the way back to 2800 BC. Put together in the Ancient Babylon, a formula for creating soap using water, alkali, and cassia oils was written upon a clay tablet and was found in later years. In ancient Rome, the first account for soap and soap making was in 300AD. As for northern Europe, soap was unheard of until the thirteenth century, when it was brought to Islam by Spain.
As time crept on, France founded and began manufacturing their own soaps I the fifteenth century. Most of the manufacturers were small scale businesses, so soap and soap products were often hard to come by. It was not until 1850's that larger scale manufacturing of soap occurred, and started the revolution of a better hygienic world which we live in today.
Industrial manufactured soaps go through a continuous process until they are completed at the end of their line. These lines are filled with constant additions of fat and removals of product. Smaller manufacturing places use basic batch processes. There are three different types of batch processes. The cold process, where the reaction takes place at room temperature. Then the semi boiled process, where the reaction takes place at a temperature that nears boiling point. Finally, the third is the fully boiled process, where the reactions are boiled at least once.
These all may seem like hard processes if you are trying to make your own soaps at home. Luckily, there is soap making kits that can be found all over the world that make this process simpler. From Washington where you can get soap making kits in Wenatchee, to Pueblo, Colorado, you have the chance to succeed in making your own hand soaps. There is hundreds of different soap making kits on the internet. Each kit will offer you different supplies for the type of soap you want to create.
In this day and age, there are so many different types of soaps to choose from in may be hard to decide which one is right for you and which one you'd like to create at home. All soap is unique in its own way, having its own personalized mix of scents and products. Soaps are made with tons of different products and milks nowadays, ranging from goat milk to coconut milk. They are also infused with different elements, such as oatmeal and avocado butter. These elements add scents and colors and also increase or decrease the softness of the bar soap.
A very popular type of soap is organic soap. Organic soap is different from regular hand soap as it is free of harsh chemicals and artificial dyes, colors, and other ingredients. Organic soap is made with a different process than regular hand soaps. This process is called saponification, which is essentially having organic oils mixed with Lye. Lye is a mixture of water ad sodium hydroxide. The lye is mixed with the soap until they reach a certain temperature. At this point, the molecules thicken and natural coloring or herbs are added. This mixture is then left to sit for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, where they can dry and become the organic soap many people will use on their bodies in the near future.
Soap making and organic soap making kits can all be found online. Each kit will come with their own personalized ingredients for the package you've chose. For instance, if you've chosen lavender hand soap, your kit will come with lavender oil. Other kits will give you extra oils to make soap softer on your skin, or to make your soap antibacterial. Each kit will come with a set of instructions, which are usually fairly basic.
The most common soap making kits will have the melt and pour process in their instructions. The melt and pour process is the easiest way of soap making, which is why it is probably used most often. This process consists of five easy steps, and less if you do not want fragrance or color. The first step is to dissolve your base in the microwave. This shouldn't take too long, and it is necessary to cover the top of your cup in which the base is melting with saran wrap, to reduce the amount of moisture leaving the base. The second step is to mix in the fragrance oil of your choice. Pour it in slowly and mix it in until it is thoroughly mixed in with the base. Thirdly, you will pour in the color of your choice. You will only need a small amount of color for this step, usually less than a teaspoons worth. The fourth and fifth steps go hand in hand. Pour the soap into a mold and wait for it to harden, then use and enjoy. This fourth process may take a couple of hours to complete.
If you are looking to create your own hand made soaps, buying a soap making kit online for all natural or anti bacterial soaps is the way to go. Making your soap personalized to your liking is also a fun and exciting event. Different websites have different fun and creative things you can do with your soaps, such as giving them a design of a butterfly or a heart, and so on. Soap making is also a fun thing for you and your children to do. It is listed as a craft on many different websites. What child doesn't love a craft that they can use for days to come? Welcome to the world of soap making and enjoy the beauty of it!
