Making Homemade Soap

Homemade soap making is not at all a difficult process. Once one knows how to make homemade soap, one only needs the correct ingredients. Of course, the technique is very important. This is because soap results from a specific interaction of chemicals. It is important to put the ingredients together in the correct amounts and in the right sequence. We can do this at home, since people had manufactured soap long before special machines for its manufacture came into being. There is evidence that the ancient Babylonians first made soap, using a combination of water cassia oil and alkali. The people of ancient Egypt used soap made from animal fats, vegetable oils and alkaline salts for bathing and for cleaning wool. Archeologists have discovered a full-fledged soap factory, complete with a fragrant inventory of ready soap, in the ruins of Pompeii. We have no record of what the ancients called these types of soaps. Pliny the Elder first mentioned it by name in his work Historia Naturalis. At the time of this historical author, natural philosopher and naval and military commander, soap containing animal fat and ashes was popular. Even the ancient Arabs used soap from various vegetable and aromatic oils.

The point is simply this - it is easy to make homemade soap, even without specialized equipment. One can make use the time-honored cold process, which does not require heating of the ingredients. Homemade soap makers using this process mix lye and sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide with measured quantities of fats or oils. They 'personalize' their homemade soap by adding essential oils, herbs, and fragrances. They then allow the mixture to cool in moulds overnight.

The hot process of homemade soap making entails boiling lye solution with fats and oils, stirring continuously. An infusion of salt then ensures that the soap component of this mixture solidifies. This produces usable high quality soap. A very popular method of homemade soap making is the 'melt and pour' system, in which one melts a ready soap mix and adds certain other ingredients according to requirement. The base mix is available in most handicraft goods outlets and is very cost-effective. It is easy to add beneficial and fragrant ingredients such as moisturizing oils, milk or spices. After melting the treated soap base in a microwave oven or a double boiler pan, one must cover the bowl to prevent the moisture from escaping. Then one can pour it into any chosen mould, which can even be ice-cube trays if noting else is available. One can buy various attractive homemade soap moulds in arts and crafts stores, too.

There are various advantages to using homemade soap. Firstly, it is extremely cost effective. Secondly, homemade soap is far more skin-friendly than industrial soap. This is because it has a higher fat content than industrially manufactured soap. This ensures that the skin does not dry out, as often happens with certain manufactured soaps. One can customize one's homemade soap by including emollients such as jojoba oil, shea butter or glycerin. Such soap is excellent for various dry skin disorders. One can add special ingredients that no commercially available soap contains. This is very useful when the treatment of a certain skin disorder calls for the application of special herbs.

Thirdly and importantly, it is an intensely interesting process, and it offers an enormous amount of satisfaction. It is therefore no wonder that an increasing number of people prefer to make their own homemade soap rather than buying it commercially.

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