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How to make handmade soap for beginners. How to make soap at home: the best and simplest cooking recipes

For many, a hobby is a way to calm frayed nerves and get into a positive mood. But a hobby can be not only enjoyable, but also useful, for example, soap making.

The process of mixing ingredients, selecting aromas, shades and patterns is truly creative. But to start this most enjoyable activity, you need to stock up on a small amount of knowledge on this topic.

You can start making soap right at home. But this requires certain supplies and ingredients. The minimum set of accessories is as follows:

It must be taken into account that all dishes should be made of plastic and not enamel; metals harm essential oils. And this dish cannot be used for anything else.

If everything goes well with the hobby, then over time you will buy more and more molds and other things, but having all the above and the ingredients, you can start.

Minimum set of ingredients:

Soap base. It is sold in chips, lumps and granules. You can prepare the base yourself from alkali and oils, so you can be 100% sure of the composition of the soap, but for a beginner it is difficult;
Base oils. These are jojoba, almond, olive, coconut, apricot, peach, avocado, Monoi de Tahiti and others oils. Each oil has a certain property; this question is truly mandatory for soap makers to study.

To make soap without color and a pleasant aroma, just this is enough. But soap makers also use food flavorings, dyes, and excipients.

Additional ingredients may be:

Abrasive particles. Ground coffee, ground fruit seeds, oatmeal, sea salt, poppy seeds and others;
Vitamins in capsules;
Honey and other bee products;
Spices. They can act as natural dyes and flavors, having additional effects;
Silk. It gives the soap excellent care properties, but you need to work with it carefully, as it affects the thickness of the soap varnish;
Corn starch. Makes the texture of soap softer and more pleasant when lathering;
Sugar. Soap with added sugar foams much better;
Yogurt. Gives soap a moisturizing effect. But you need to buy yogurt for soap without additives or make it yourself;
Tar. Gives soap an anti-inflammatory effect;
Alcoholic drinks. When mixed with other components, they give a chemical reaction in which alcoholates are released, they have positive effect on the skin;
Clay. There are several types of it, each of which has its own set of properties;
Vegetable and fruit juice;
Dried herbs and flowers. Besides beneficial properties, they are a decoration, especially dried flower buds. Once you get the hang of it, you can place the dried flower in the center of the transparent soap.

Any of the ingredients can affect texture, density and soapiness, all of which can be determined through experimentation. All this can be bought in a specialized store, if there is no such thing in the city, then you can use the online store; for large orders, delivery there is free.

The more knowledge there is about the original properties of the product, the greater the desire to buy more and more ingredients. If you want to put soap making on stream, you will have to buy a variety of flavorings and nutrients.

Choosing a base for home soap making

First you need to decide whether it is important for the soap to be made from natural ingredients. If yes, then you need to avoid laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl in the composition.

Soap without them will foam much worse, but will become less aggressive towards the skin.

They are the most popular and cheapest chemical surfactants. They are replaced with the following natural ingredients:

laureth sulfosuccinate;
lauryl glucoside;
cocamidopropyl betaine;
cocoglucoside.

Next, you need to decide how transparent the soap should be. The transparent parameter is responsible for this; it is abbreviated as T in the description of the base. If the letter W is indicated in the description, this means that the soap from such a base will be opaque white.

Ready-made soap bases are produced in China, England, Latvia, Germany and Russia. Chinese ones are the most popular, they have a large selection and are less likely to be counterfeited, unlike English and German ones, and it will be difficult for a beginner to distinguish a fake.

Within one manufacturer they are divided into regular and premium. For beginners, it is better to purchase a regular foundation, as it is more affordable and suitable for testing. Premium bases fill the mold better and do not bubble, which is important for those who use molds with small details.

Starter Kit

To prevent a novice soap maker from getting bogged down in the difficulties of choosing, stores sell ready-made kits for beginners. The kit usually includes the following:

the basis;
plastic bowl with spoon;
a pair of plastic molds;
universal base oils;
natural dyes;
flavorings;
universal essential oil.

Another option is a capsule set, that is, everything you need to make themed soap. For example, everything you might need to make duck soap or macaroon soap. The kit will also come with instructions and a recipe.

Do not confuse the set of dyes, bases or fragrances that are sold in the soap maker's store with a beginner's set. Such sets will most likely appeal to a professional who is already short on basic ingredients and is ready to experiment.

Homemade soap making recipes for beginners

You can start with the simplest, most proven and popular recipes. And only then start experimenting.

Soap "Rose"

bowl and spatula;
transparent soap base - 150 g;
red or pink food coloring;
jojoba oil - 15 ml;
molds in the shape of a rose;
rose essential oil - 2 drops;
rose petals.

Manufacturing process:

Melt the soap in a water bath or 30 seconds in the microwave;
Mix oils and dye;
Place rose petals on the bottom of the molds and pour soap on top;
Spread the petals evenly with a spatula and leave to harden.

Honey

What you need to make 2 bars of soap:

white soap base - 150 g;
bowl and spatula;
a pinch of saffron as a dye;
vanilla essential oil - 2 drops;
honey - 2 spoons;
Monoi de Tahiti oil;
silicone molds in a honey theme.

Manufacturing process:

Grind and heat the base to 70 degrees;
Add honey, saffron, oils and stir;
Let stand until the saffron gives color, stir again;
Pour the mixture into the molds and leave to cool.

Coconut

What you need to make 2 bars of soap:

melting bowl;
putty knife;
tropical-themed or oval mold;
white soap base - 150 g;
coconut oil - 3 tbsp. spoons;
coconut flakes - 1 tbsp. spoon;
food flavoring "coconut".

Manufacturing process:

Heat coconut oil at room temperature until liquid;
Grate the base and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds;
Pour in the oil, flavoring and mix with a spatula;
Sprinkle the molds with coconut flakes and pour the soap mixture on top;
Leave to cool.

Chocolate

What you need to make 2 bars of soap:

cocoa butter - 2 tbsp. spoons;
white soap base - 150 g;
2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
Belgian chocolate food flavoring - 5 drops;
molds for soap, there are special ones in the shape of a chocolate bar;
melting utensils;
spatula for mixing.

Manufacturing process:

Grind the base on a grater or chop finely with a knife;
Microwave in a melting dish for 30 seconds;
Pour in oils, mix flavoring;
Pour into the mold.

Ice soap

What you need to make 2 bars of soap:

transparent soap base - 150 g;
melting bowl and spatula;
2 drops blue or turquoise food coloring;
3 drops of mint essential oil;
2 tbsp. spoons of almond oil.

Manufacturing process:

Add almond and mint oil, dye, stir until the color is uniform;
Pour into molds and cool.

Coffee soap-scrub

Necessary for making 2 bars:

white soap base - 150 g;
ground coffee - 3 tbsp. spoons;
brown food coloring;
macadamia oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
melting cup;
putty knife;
soap molds.

Manufacturing process:

Grind and melt the base;
Pour in oils and dye, stir with a spatula;
Add coffee and stir;
Pour into molds

As you can see, the process of making soap is not at all complicated and therefore it is quite possible to put it on stream and earn a living from it.

Gift handmade soap for the New Year

Soap is an excellent souvenir, but provided that it is not an ordinary bar in plastic bag, but a fantasy soap with a pleasant aroma and original packaging. On New Year Soap in the shape of a Christmas tree is suitable. To make 1 large bar you will need the following:

bowl and spoon;
spruce flavoring;
100 g transparent base;
5 ml avocado oil;
3 drops dark green food coloring;
2 drops of spruce or fir essential oil;
silicone mold in the shape of a Christmas tree;
coconut flakes.

Step-by-step master class with photos on making Christmas tree soap:

Grind the base if it is lumpy;
Place in a water bath over low heat, stirring until it melts evenly;
Add oils and dye to the melted mass;
Stir and pour into mold;
Sprinkle with coconut;
Let the soap harden.

Alternatively, the shape can be in the form of a snowflake, and the dye can be blue.

You need to pour the melted soap slowly in a thin stream in a spiral so that no voids form;
The soap base must be heated to exactly 70 degrees so as not to destroy the beneficial substances of the ingredients;
All adjustments must be made after 3–5 minutes, when the soap has cooled down but is still plastic;
To make it easier to separate the soap from the mold, spray it with alcohol first;
You need to get the soap out like this: first pry it off and let air in between the mold and the soap, and then it will easily come off on its own;
If you plan to store it for a long time, then this is done in cling film in the refrigerator, but not in the freezer.

We wish you the realization of your brightest soap-making ideas! Good luck!

Another small master class on soap making is in the next video.

In our city in one mall, in a small department they sell soap self made. A long time ago I came in to smell it - it smelled very nice - and bought a piece.

What else I liked about this soap, besides the smell - it lathered well, it didn’t dry out my skin and didn’t sting my eyes. And there was a very pleasant smell in the bathroom - you go into the bathroom and get a free aromatherapy session.

I remembered about this soap a year later, when regular soap I no longer like it - it dries out the skin, stings the eyes, the range in the store is simply meager (except for Palmolive, Saveguard and the terrible Nevskaya cosmetics - there is practically nothing).

I decided to start making soap at home (I don’t want to constantly buy soap for 200 rubles), and at the same time I studied how others make money from this and how you, too, can turn soap making into your own home business.

Soap making process

The soap making process itself is not complicated. Nowadays many ready-made components are sold that you just need to mix and pour into molds - here you have ready-made soap. All this can be done at home.

For example, you take a ready-made soap base (sold in many online stores) and melt it in a water bath or in the microwave. Then fatty oil, coloring and flavoring are added to the liquid mass. And everything is poured into molds. Within a day, the soap will thicken and can be used (you will find more detailed recipes on the Internet or special books on homemade soap making; in particular, there are options for both hot and cold soap making; you can make cosmetic soap at home, or you can make medicinal soap ; there are soap-shampoos, soap-scrub, soap-scrub, anti-cellulite soap, dishwashing soap, liquid soap— you can create a huge assortment).

You can find more accurate soap making recipes on specialized websites on the Internet, on YouTube and in books:

Cost of homemade soap

Let's estimate the cost of the simplest homemade soap (to know how much you can earn from one piece).

Approximate composition of handmade soap:

1. Soap base (English, German costs 230 rubles per 1 kg) - 100 g, i.e. 23 rubles.
2. Fatty oil (for example, apricot kernel oil - 550 rubles per liter) - 1 ml, i.e. less than 1 ruble.
3. Dye (80 rubles per 100 g) - 4-7 drops, i.e. less than 1 ruble.
4. Flavoring (90 rubles per 1 kg) - 3 ml, i.e. 5 rubles.

Total, the simplest natural homemade soap can be made at a cost of about 30 rubles per 100-gram piece (in the cost of soap I do not include the cost of molds and utensils, since they can be used almost an infinite number of times).

And such soap is sold for at least 100 rubles (more often - 130-150 rubles per bar).

(showcase “Masters Fair” - livemaster.ru)

(Experienced craftswomen make the soap base themselves, so for them the cost of soap can be even lower.)

Where to get ingredients for making homemade soap

Go to tiu.ru. Type what you need to find into the search bar and get a list of suppliers.

It happens that some suppliers sell only soap base, others - fatty oils, and still others - food coloring. Look for what is most profitable for you, don’t be lazy. Because prices from different suppliers sometimes vary several times.

You can team up with several soap makers (by finding them, for example, on VKontakte) and make a joint wholesale order (with a significant discount), and then divide the goods among yourself.

Where to sell soap

You can sell your soap:

1. To her friends and acquaintances (this is how Alena Radtseva from Barnaul started, who several years ago was left without work and decided to survive by making soap. She gave the first copies of her soap to her friends. Those, surprised by the effect, told their acquaintances. Thanks to word of mouth, Alena has her first clients. Read Alena Radtseva’s detailed interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper - kp.ru/daily/24270/466160/).

2. Through organizing master classes in your city. Then you will sell raw materials for making homemade soap to your students at a small markup.

3. By participating in various festivals and fairs, as one of the soap sellers does at the Crafts Fair - Joy and Soap - livemaster.ru/joysoap. Read her blog on livemaster.ru, watch how she presents her products - it will be very useful to you.

4. Throwing house parties (see How to Sell Crafts? Throw a Party!).

5. You can donate your soap to suitable store for implementation ( flower shop, gift shop, cosmetics department, etc.).

6. If you receive certificates for your products (like Alena Radtseva), you will be able to sell your goods en masse - open your own department in the store (as the Stenders representative office opened in the shopping center of our city - and has been trading quite successfully for several years), conclude agreements with other stores, open your own online store.

7. You can open your own group on Odnoklassniki or Vkontakte and sell your products to your classmates.

8. At the Masters Fair - livemaster.ru.
If you look at sales in the Handmade Cosmetics section, you will see that homemade soaps sell quite well. It is sold not only as a cosmetic or medicinal soap, but also as a gift.

9. If you live in a Western country, you can quite successfully sell your soap on the most popular resource for crafters etsy.com. I found one seller etsy.com/shop/dennisanderson) on etsy.com - Dennis Anderson, who made over 33,400 sales of his homemade soap in 3.5 years!

Dennis Anderson in his office

Moreover, he started as an amateur, and began selling from the first day of registration on etsy.com (you can see the history of his sales on etsy.com yourself). Today he is the owner of Anderson Soap Company - andersonsoapcompany.com:

Advice from experienced people

I read an interview with soap businessman Dennis Anderson on the website handmadenews.org (handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=3744), and found out that he almost doesn’t work offline (except for participating in various events and exhibitions where always gives out his Business Cards and discount coupons for your goods sold on etsy.com), since there are a lot of orders online.

He sells primarily online through etsy.com, as well as fulfilling wholesale orders from existing customers.

As he reports, for business development it is very important:

1. Have your own website to which you can always send a potential client (from the Internet or from reality).

2. News permanent job with your visitors by conducting mailing lists and participating in social networks.

3. Visit thematic forums - you can find a lot of valuable information there.

4. Take high-quality photographs of your product.

6. Always look for new ideas for your product and ideas for promoting it.

By the way, I noticed that on etsy.com he always sells only one unit of his product. This allows the potential buyer to feel that the product they like is the last one (and needs to be bought urgently before someone else buys it). It also allows his product to often appear at the top of new product listings.

You can also watch successful sellers(on etsy.com, or on livemaster.ru) and see: what they sell, what price they set, how they present their product, what they write on their blog, what reviews customers give them.

And do the same and even better.

Pros of a home soap making business

1. If in the West soap making at home has already conquered the market, then in Russia this market just getting used to it. You will be one of the first.

2. This is a business with almost zero investment.

3. The market has already been tested, the product is in demand. You can start with confidence.

4. Soap is a constantly consumed product. If your customer likes your product, he will become your regular customer.

5. You don’t have to be afraid of stale copies of the product. It can either be consumed for personal purposes or melted down and reused in other combinations.

6. Freedom of creativity - you can constantly experiment, find new types of goods that are in highest demand at the moment.

Update dated 11/11/13. I have long wanted to write my additional impression about homemade soap products.

I bought her soap from Alena Radtseva (the heroine of this article) home production. It looks nice, no doubt about it. And it smells natural. But it dries the skin very much and eats the eyes! I also bought hair soap from her - it’s something killer for hair. You cannot wash your hair and body with this soap. In my opinion, there is a lot of alkali there.

I also ordered soap (solid and liquid) from Dennis Anderson (via Etsy; the package arrived, by the way, exactly a month after ordering). Solid soap is so-so, nothing special. Cute, smells nice. But the liquid soap, which he positioned as an organic product for everything, including washing dishes, horrified me. I tried to wash my pan with it - this liquid ingrained itself into the walls of the pan so much that I only washed it after two years. It feels like it’s not soap, but oil (yellow). This viscous mass cannot be washed off with anything until it comes off on its own over time.

Yes, I found another needlewoman in my city via the Internet (she had her own online store, although they were more tears than an online store). She sold soap only to order. I ordered her two pieces. Two days later, her husband went to her house, gave her money and received the goods. Brought it home. I turned it around and was upset. This needlewoman has filled her homemade soap with artificial fragrances (I dreamed of smelling natural soap). Such disgusting! (she probably thought that people wouldn’t distinguish an artificial smell from a natural one). Of course, I will never order anything from her again.

Therefore, please be extremely careful with homemade soap.

It's not that safe.

Making soap at home is not only very exciting, but also useful, you get a 100% natural, environmentally friendly and high-quality product. Homemade handmade soap is a great gift for any holiday for family and friends.

An interesting fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century it was common to make this product at home, using, as a rule, animal fats. Medicinal plants, herbs and dried flowers were used as additives. IN modern world They use alkalis, oils and all kinds of decor as additions. Despite the popularity of this type of handmade, many are interested in the question - “How to make soap at home and what is needed for this?”.

Devices for soap making

To make soap at home you will need the following tools:

pots or bowls of different sizes;
food scales;
beaker;
mixing spoons;
soap molds;
whipping mixer;
paper towels or napkins;
apron.

Making soap at home is very interesting because you control all the processes yourself. One of the most popular cooking methods is the cold mixing technique.

Which ingredients are suitable for different skin types?

It's no secret that it is important to choose this hygiene product individually. You can come up with a recipe for making soap at home with your own hands, depending on personal preferences, the main thing is that the components are combined.

Useful tips for selecting components:

For normal skin types, it is recommended to add milk instead of water. Base oils can include lavender, geranium, jasmine and chamomile. You can also add oatmeal, poppy seed crumbs, strawberries, orange and eucalyptus oils as an additive;
Include clay supplements, celandine, and horsetail if you have problem skin. From essential oils, choose juniper, fir, sandalwood or tea tree oil;
For oily skin, it is recommended to add camphor alcohol. With its help you will narrow your pores. Calendula, chamomile and propolis tincture will add antibacterial properties to your soap. Crushed herbs and fruit seeds in homemade soap will give a scrubbing effect. Homemade handmade soap will definitely not cause any harm to the skin;
If you have dry skin, it is not recommended to rinse your face with soap more than ten times a month, as the product can dry out the skin. Choose castor oil as a base oil; it will soften your face. Lavender and jasmine are also ideal for dry skin.

Soap Making Recipes

Based on “baby” soap

For this recipe, you can even use a soap base (colorless and always of plant origin).

Ingredients:

“baby” soap – 230 g;
liquid (water) – 170 g;
cosmetic oil – 50 g;
essential oil – 7-12 drops.

Cooking method:

Grate the main ingredient. Place 2 containers on the stove, creating a steam bath.

Pour a glass of water over the soap shavings and begin to melt until completely homogeneous.

Adding honey will help reduce the melting time of soap on fire. Cool the semi-finished product slightly and pour in the oil base. Beat thoroughly with a mixer. Add aromatic oils and your chosen decor into a homogeneous mass. Distribute the product among containers. Cool in the cold until firm.

Soap based

If you don’t know how to make soap quickly at home, then use this recipe. For those who don't like to wait long, this is an ideal way to make soap. As a result, the product is natural, the color is original, and the individual scent will be exactly the way you want. A soap-based hygiene product can be used immediately after completing the cooking stage, which has a great advantage compared to other manufacturing methods.

To prepare you need to take:

piece of soap base - 375 g;
essential oil – 12 drops;
soap decor.

Cooking method:

Melt white soap shavings over steam. Cool and, stirring, pour in the essential ingredients and selected additives. Distribute the mixture among the molds and leave to cool in the cold. Your homemade hygiene product according to an exclusive recipe is ready, it will be gentle beige colour. You can even out the transparency using titanium dioxide, or you can buy a specialized white base. Various impurities will give the product the desired shade, texture and aroma.

Volume soap

This homemade hygiene product can be various shapes and textures. Volume is obtained by using special plastic molds or by connecting containers to each other.

Ingredients:

colorless soap base – 250 g;
"blue (liquid)"– 3-4 drops;
apricot oil – 0.5 tbsp. spoons;
ginger or grapefruit oil - 5 drops each.

Cooking method:

In order to make soap, you need to prepare molds that, when connected, form a volume. Pour the semi-finished soap product into the prepared molds and let it cool. The soap will harden more slowly because it is placed in closed molds.

Pepper balls

For those who like to soak in the bath after a hard day at work, you should prepare these balls. They make the water less hard and your skin becomes soft and silky.

Ingredients:

baking soda – 460 g;
lemon – 315 g;
corn starch – 275 g;
essential oil – 3.8 ml;
liquid of your choice – 10 g;
red pepper – 8g.

Cooking method:

Pass soda, starch and lemon through a sieve. While stirring, pour in the essential ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture with water until the mixture sticks together. Divide the resulting volume into equal parts, into one of which add hot pepper. Place the mixture tightly into the molds. There is no need to cook anything. Leave the preparations in the cold for a day. Once completely cooled, leave the pepper balls to dry for 3.5 hours. You can add flower buds and petals as decoration.

Liquid soap

For production, you need to take leftovers from past experiments, soap remnants from any store, or potassium hydroxide.

Your product will have more emollient properties if you add 10 ml of alcohol and glycerin to the main composition.

Melt the remainder, previously crushed in a food processor, in a steam bath and add liquid. Starting to beat the resulting mass, add essential oil little by little.

In the past, making handmade soap at home was common. Using ash and animal fats, families produced their own detergents for your needs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the discoveries of German scientists, it became possible to produce inexpensive soap at the industrial level, which gradually replaced homemade soap.

But lately, interest in everything natural and homemade has been increasing. Therefore, soap making at home is becoming popular. Handmade soap has significant advantages:

Security measures

When making handmade soap at home, you will be working with a caustic substance called sodium hydroxide, or lye. In any form - grains, flakes, granules - it can damage different materials, peel the paint, and, most seriously, burn the skin and eyes.

Use extreme caution by wearing high-cuff gloves and eye protection when adding lye to water. Avoid inhaling its vapors. They are flammable, so ventilate the room when working.

If alkali gets on your skin, it must be neutralized with a vinegar solution; if it gets on other objects, immediately remove it and wipe the area with detergent.

Before starting work, make sure that children or pets will not disturb you. Do not use foil, tin, wood or aluminum containers when making soap. Take only glass containers, strong plastic, enamel or dishes made of of stainless steel. Store your soap making materials out of reach of children.

How to make handmade soap at home?

Now that you are familiar with the safety precautions, we can get down to business.

First, make sure that you have all the necessary ingredients on hand; searching for them during the process will be very inconvenient. You will need:

Lye, namely caustic soda (in other words, caustic soda).
Water (or other liquid, according to the recipe).
Fat, oil.
Rubber gloves and eye protection.
Two mixing bowls. It is better if one has a spout (for convenient pouring of liquid).
Kitchen scales.
Different spoons for mixing and measuring. At least one heat-resistant plastic or stainless steel for stirring the lye, one wooden, whisk or rubber spatula. You will need a measuring spoon when using essential oils.
Two accurate kitchen thermometers
An electric blender (preferably) will save you a lot of effort when making handmade soap at home.
Measuring cup for liquids.
Soap molds. Glass, plastic, silicone or stainless steel are best. Wooden or cardboard can also be used, but only if you line them on the inside with waxed or greased paper.
Rags or disposable towels to wipe up spills.

This is an approximate list, it will change depending on what kind of soap you are making and whether you add essential oils, fragrances, natural decorative elements, etc. to it.

Measure seven times

When making homemade handmade soap at home, measure each ingredient accurately.

Whether you make it from scratch or use scraps to make new pieces, you need to follow the recipe exactly.

One inaccurate measurement can result in soap that is foul-smelling, unappealing, or unusable.

To ensure a good result you need: scales, 2 thermometers and a so-called lye calculator or soap calculator. As a rule, this is an online service for calculation required quantity ingredients.

Different oils require different amounts of lye, so make sure you know their saponification number.

How to turn individual ingredients into a finished product?

There are three main ways to make handmade soap at home:

The most complex handmade soap. We make it from scratch

This method has two subtypes - cold and hot. The sequence of work in the first case:

Hot way

The initial steps for making soap this way are the same as for cold soap, namely up to the “trace” stage. Then we simply continue to cook the saucepan with the mixture in a water bath or in the oven (if it can clearly maintain the required temperature). The liquid needs to be stirred periodically until it becomes gel-like. It will then begin to harden and become wax-like. This means the soap is almost ready, it’s time to add essential oils and other ingredients and pour into molds. With this manufacturing method, you don't have to wait a month for the product to be ready. The soap can be used after a day, but if you let it sit for two days, it will only get better.

Which method should I choose?

Each method has its pros and cons, as well as a lot of variations.

If you are a beginner, then you will like the second method - the simplest and cheapest. But since baby soap is opaque, it will not be very decorative. Therefore, if you want to make beautiful pieces, but are afraid to work with alkali, then choose method 1. But do not forget that the further you move away from soap made from lye and fats, the more expensive the final product becomes and the less natural its composition becomes.

And if you have carefully read the safety precautions and are determined to do serious and careful work, you can try making homemade handmade soap from scratch. Of course, this is the most difficult, but also the most interesting way, however, you control every ingredient that goes into the soap.

Space for creativity

Perhaps one of the main reasons why homemade handmade soaps are so popular is the opportunity to use different ingredients and experiment with shape, color, scent and caring properties. If you decide to get into this business, then make the most of your freedom of choice.

When you make soap from scratch, you can use both animal fats and vegetable fats (based on sunflower or rapeseed oil). And instead of water, you can add decoction, tea, milk.

Also added to soap:

essential oils: rose, mint, rosemary, bergamot, vanilla, lavender, etc.;
vegetable oils such as palm, coconut, olive;
natural dyes: clay, spices, herbs;
decorative elements, such as flower petals;
scrubbing particles: grape seed powder, poppy seeds, loofah pieces, etc.

It's best to find a basic homemade soap recipe that you like and then experiment with additions to it.

However, take the time to learn more about the additional ingredients - some of them may not be effective in soap, others may ruin it. Essential oils should be mixed with base oil, for example, olive - it neutralizes their irritating properties.

While making soap, your home will be filled with many aromas. And you will inhale the vapors of essential oils into high concentration, which may cause allergic reactions. Therefore, choose them carefully and make sure that, just in case, you have the appropriate medicine in your medicine cabinet that suits you.

When you make homemade handmade soap at home, you will end up with small pieces or failed pieces. Instead of throwing them away, put them to use. Rub and rework or sprinkle shavings into water when taking a bath, or add small pieces of leftover soap to new soap to create pops of color.

If you are planning to learn something new in needlework, pay attention to soap making and prepare a natural product at home that, with the right ingredients, can be used in cosmetology. In addition, this is an excellent gift if it is additionally decorated with natural ingredients: flower petals, fruit seeds, glitter and pigments. In stores, such soap is very expensive, but it is much cheaper and easier to make it yourself. You can involve your loved ones in the work - it will be joint and exciting creativity. Today, the editors of the site are reviewing exciting master classes for beginners, during which you will become familiar with basic soap-making techniques.

Beginners need to start making soap at home with a soap base. You can buy a ready-made composition, use soap or regular soap. It is better to cook the first copies without any additives, and over time you can start experimenting.

What you need to prepare for soap making at home

Before making soap at home, you will need the following components and tools:

vessel for base;
beautiful molds;
cups, spatulas or spoons;
alcohol.

Advice! Plastic or enamel dishes are suitable for soap making; metal surfaces are harmful to essential additives.

We will also need the following ingredients:

ready-made soap base, which can be purchased in granules, pieces or shavings. For hand made sometimes they use alkaline soap, which contains only oils;
oils that affect the aroma and properties of the finished sample.

The following ingredients are often used as a supplement:

abrasives;
oil vitamins;
bee products, such as honey;
culinary spices;
corn starch and sugar - they are necessary for better soaping and foaming;
fruit and vegetable juices and yogurt are essential to provide a hydrating effect.

How to make soap at home: a master class for beginners

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the principle of making soap yourself using a simple recipe.

Illustration	Description of action
	Cut the base, put everything in a plastic jug and put it in the microwave.
	Pour warm base into a measuring cup, add coloring and mix.
	Add 12 drops of fragrance and mix.
	Add some glitter and mix thoroughly.
	Pour into silicone mold. To prevent the appearance of bubbles, you must immediately spray the surface with alcohol.

Place the finished soap in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator, for 2-3 hours, after which it can be removed from the mold.

A more detailed master class on soap making at home for beginners can be seen in the video:

Step-by-step recipes for making soap-based soap at home for beginners

Beginners can try their hand at very simple recipes, and only after that experiment with more complex compositions.

Recipe 1 – surprise with rose petals

Before making 2 bars of soap at home, we will need:

150 g base;
red dye;
jojoba and rose oils;
flower petals.

The work process is as follows.

Cut and melt the base in the microwave.
Pour in 3-4 drops of dye, 15 drops of jojoba and 2-3 drops of rose oil.
To the bottom silicone mold Place the petals and fill with the prepared base. If necessary, you can use a spatula to distribute them evenly over the shape.

Recipe 2 – honey soap

To make fragrant soap with honey we will need:

150 g base;
Saffron - it will act as a dye;
oils: Monoi de Tahiti vanilla;
2 tbsp. l. honey;
honeycomb-shaped molds.

Manufacturing procedure.

Melt the base in any convenient way.
Add a pinch of saffron and honey, stir everything.
After the saffron colors the composition, add 2 drops of vanilla oil, then a little Monoi de Tahiti, mix, increase the dosage if necessary.
Pour into molds and cool.

Recipe 3 – Strawberries and Cream Soap

This is a more complex recipe; for it we will need:

the basis;
0.5 teaspoons of oils: olive and strawberry seeds;
red dye;
40 g cream;
aromas of strawberry and cream.

The operating procedure is complicated by the inclusion natural product at the end of mixing, otherwise the procedure is similar.

Recipe 4 – “Chocolate aroma” soap

For aromatic chocolate soap you will need:

40 g cocoa butter;
150 g base;
40 g sugar;
chocolate aroma;
molds resembling tiles.

Prepare the base, add all the oils and flavoring, mix and pour into the molds.

How to make soap at home from scratch using the cold and hot methods

Handmade soap is an environmentally friendly product that contains only natural ingredients. It can be adapted to any skin type and needs, in addition, it is much cheaper and healthier than store-bought. For many, this hobby turns into a means of earning money; it is important to understand the principle of soap making and study the effects of the components on the body.

Safety precautions when making soap at home from scratch

Before you start making soap at home with your own hands, you need to clearly know and follow safety precautions:

since all work takes place with a hot base, children are better supervised;
for work it is necessary to allocate separate dishes;
when working with alkali, flavors and dyes, use a respirator, gloves, safety glasses, clothing must completely cover the body;
before work, cover the tabletop with film or newspapers;
If the alkaline composition gets on your skin, you must rinse it thoroughly under running water with a 9% vinegar solution.

What you need to make soap at home from scratch: prepare the basic tools

For soap making, it is necessary to prepare various rubber, silicone or plastic molds that will give an unusual appearance to the aromatic pieces. It can be:

culinary molds;
children's sandbox molds;
special molds for making soap at home;
immersion thermometers blender.

Ready-made pieces in the form of fruits, animals or various geometric shapes. Dried inflorescences, ground coffee, and salt are often used as additional components, which give a scrubbing effect.

How to make soap at home from scratch using the cold method

There are two ways to make soap at home: cold and hot; a novice craftswoman should try both and decide which one is better.

The peculiarity of cold soap making is that the base is not heated; alkali and water are used as a reagent.

The work order consists of the following steps.

Pour lye into a container with ice water. There may even be pieces of ice in the liquid. In the cold method of making soap, deviations from the recipe are not allowed.
After mixing the parts, you must wait until the reaction is completed, then pigments and oils can be added to the viscous mass. Their temperature should not differ from the base by more than 10°; for this, use a baking thermometer. If necessary, the components are heated in a water bath or in. At the very end you can add flavorings.
Mix with a blender until the consistency of sour cream is achieved and pour into the mold.
It will take at least 24 hours for complete hardening, after which the workpieces must be wrapped in cling film.

How to make soap from scratch at home using the hot method

The hot method of making soap “from scratch” at home involves mixing lye and water; the procedure is similar to the cold method. The process then proceeds as follows.

Close the container with a lid and place in a water bath over very low heat, stirring every 30 minutes.
After 3-4 hours, the gel-like mass is ready for further actions; it should not stick to your hands.
Add pigments and flavors, mix and pour into molds.
After 24 hours, the soap is removed from the molds and left for 1-2 weeks until completely hardened.

Master classes with recipes for beginners for making soap from scratch

Cold and hot methods differ in the period of “ripening”, so if you plan to make New Year's gift, you need to prepare in advance. We suggest using our recipes to cook several simple, but at the same time original bars of soap at home “from scratch”.

Recipe 1 – invigorating mint soap

To make 200 g of cold process soap you will need:

electronic balance;
17.5 g alkali;
14.01 g coconut oil;
56.05 g olive oil;
70.06 g palm oil;
42.03 g water.

Let's look at the whole process in more detail.

Illustration	Description of action
	Measure the lye into a separate container.
	Pour the lye into ice water and mix thoroughly.
	Measure all the oils into a container and heat them in the microwave.
	Pour the alkaline solution into the oil mixture; their temperature should not exceed 42°.
	Mix the composition with a blender, it homogenizes the mixture faster. For a liquid trace, 30 seconds are enough, to obtain a creamy mass it will take 10 minutes.
	Divide the composition into 2 parts, add titanium dioxide to one of them to decolorize.
	Add mint oil to both parts and mix thoroughly.
	To one part that has a yellow tint, add blue dye to give it a green color and mix.
	Add blue dye to the bleached part and mix.
	Place both parts of the composition into the mold in random order and compact.
	Using a spatula, apply sea waves to the surface and leave the soap for 24 hours to harden.
	Remove the soap from the mold, cut in half and leave to harden for 1 month.

Recipe 2 – unscented baby soap with glycerin

You can prepare baby soap using the cold method, a recipe that young mothers will be happy to use. For this we need:

300 g olive oil;
120 g each of lanolin and glycerin;
175 g each of chamomile infusion and shea butter;
the excess fat for this recipe is no more than 10%;
60 g sodium hydroxide.

The operating procedure is as follows.

Mix the oils, prepare a solution with lye and pour it into the oil mixture. The temperature of each composition should be 37-42°.
Use a blender to bring the mixture to a thick consistency.
Place in molds and leave for a day until hardened. After 24 hours, transfer the pieces to polyethylene until the reaction ends for another 1 month.

Recipe 3 – jasmine soap

We will prepare the next soap using the hot method. Before making soap from scratch, you need to special program create a recipe for soap making.

Let's look at the step-by-step master class in more detail.

Illustration	Description of action
	Measure 150 g of palm oil, 128 g of palm kernel oil, 113 g of coconut, 23 g of stearic acid into a plastic container and place in a water bath or microwave.
	In a second container, mix liquid oils: 75 g each of rapeseed, grape seed, almond and olive, 20 g castor.
	Take 263 g of purified water, measure separately and pour into water: 15 g of salt and citric acid, 5.4 g lactic acid.
	Measure out 122 g of alkali, pour in a thin stream into water with acids, stirring constantly. The window must be open.
	Pour all the oils into the pan, pour in the acid-base mixture through a strainer. The temperature of each composition should be within 38°-42°.
	Using a blender, beat the mixture for 10-15 minutes until a thick consistency is obtained and place in a water bath on the stove. If you use a milk boiler, the process will speed up 2 times.
	Stir the gel mass every 30 minutes.
	Prepare fragrance from 19 g of jasmine oil, melt 53 g of superfat from shea butter. Remove the pan from the stove, add additional ingredients, 23 g of sorbitol to soften and stir. Then place in the mold.
	After 1-3 days, the soap can be removed from the mold and cut.

For a more detailed master class on making soap from scratch, watch the video:

Recipe 4 – Castile soap

To make classic Castile soap from scratch we will need:

200 g olive oil;
95.2 g of cold, almost ice-cold water;
23.7 g of alkali.

The cooking process is as follows.

Pour the lye into the ice water, stirring constantly.
After the reaction is completed and cooled to 42°, pour the mixture into the olive oil and stir.
Mix with a blender for 10-15 minutes.

After this, heat over low heat in the oven or in a water bath with constant stirring until a gel-like consistency is obtained, but for at least 4 hours.

Conclusion

Now you know how to make soap at home and how to calculate the recipe, and you can cook it from scratch. Thanks to our master classes with detailed descriptions, you will be able to make the most complex compositions. We hope that you will have exciting creativity that can become additional income. Experiment, include new components, making the creative process not only enjoyable, but also useful

If you have any questions, ask us in the comments, our craftswomen will be happy to answer them.

In conclusion, we suggest you watch and implement another interesting recipe for soap in the shape of a peacock: