Soap making is a pastime that you should try considering. Do you get bored of the soaps that you have at home since they are the typical bar-shaped ones that you always use whenever you shower and wash your hands? Soaps are not only used to clean your body but they can also become a good decoration for your boring looking bathroom.
In beginning your soap making activity, you would need lye and fats. These are the main ingredients for making soap. Fat is the one responsible for the soap's uniqueness, which can differentiate it from being soft or hard or from it making a good lather or being mild to the skin. Conversely, the lye is the one responsible for hydrolyzing the fat which in turn transforms the fat along with the other materials to produce soap. And to top it all, you must also add auxiliary components such as dyes and fragrance oils.
As soap making is concerned, the alteration of fats to soap can be done through a cold or hot process. The hot process is almost a like but the fat will be heated before incorporating it with the lye water. The combination is then further heated for two hours prior to ready for use. The cold process is known to create longer lasting soap. The cold process involves adding of the fat into a formerly prepared lye water mixture. This is mixed and poured into melts that have been soaked into cold water.
Soap making may seem simple but due to the harmful properties of lye, some precautions must be observed before beginning a project. In preparing the soap mixture, keep in mind that lye is a dangerous material. You should be cautious not to touch it with your bare hands as it can cause severe injuries due to its caustic property. When mixed with water, lye also gives off fumes that may also be perilous when inhaled.
Soap making is a fun hobby to do, and if you are having a hard time in getting the hang of it at first, you will definitely be making beautifully crafted soaps in no time. When your soap mixture is prepared, you can now add the other ingredients to make it more aesthetically satisfying. When dyes, together with molds, are used properly, they will be able to produce designs such as food, animals or even electronic equipment. Fragrance oils will further add to your soap's appearance as it will not only look good, but will smell good too.