Soap Making - The Basics

Soap is a very basic and important commodity today. It is used to clean your body, and sanitize objects that are considered “dirty”.

History has been inaccurate on when soap making began. Some legends have it that it started in Rome, when rain water from “Mount Sapo” would wash animal tallow and wood ash from the mountain side and deliver them on the clay soil of the banks of the Tiber. They say it was used to clean textiles during that time. But as legends have it, archeologists do not know where Mount Sapo is and they seriously doubt the accuracy of the story.

A more accurate history of where the first soap was documented was in 981 A.D. A Persian chemist name Al-Razi wrote a manuscript for the true soap. Leaving behind a recipe that included sesame oil, potash, alkali, and some lime. He boiled the ingredients together then allowed to cool, thus the finished product of hard soap.

There are basically two ways to create soap. The first process is the “Melt and Pour” while the second one is the “Cold Process”. Both techniques speak for themselves. The only problem now is how to do it exactly.

There are two ways to make soap. One of them is the “Melt and Pour” procedure. You start out with the basic ingredients like oil (olive oil is commonly used), water, lye, and sometimes fragrant oils are used as an added substance. Once your ingredients are complete, you have to carefully boil and cool the ingredients together.

The second way to make soap is the “Cold Process”. Basically you start out with the basic ingredients like oil (hemp and olive oil are good examples), water, and lye. The short version of the instructions would be to mix lye and water together. Allow to cool for a bit. Then add your chosen oil. Mix thoroughly, and then pour them unto your molds.

 

Jen Hopkins has worked in the facial exercises industry for years. She maintains websites about how to make soap, and make homemade soap. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.