Making Homemade Soaps Safely

Posted on October 6, 2011 by abhishek


Making soaps at home with inexpensive ingredients is easier and faster. The method used is easy and the equipments required are very cost effective. One can add various colours, herbs, scents, and more things to make this simple recipe a much useful and different one. By adding these agents one can make the simple homemade recipe much different. It can be used to create many different kinds of soaps and come in handy for vegans as it uses no animal products.

Making your own soap at home can be a really fun and rewarding skill. Homemade soap is delightful to use and is considered very good for the skin and hair. Handmade soaps can also be a wonderful gift during Christmas or during birthday parties. The only problem faced by some people while using handmade soaps is that they get hooked to the handmade soap. While making soaps at home people need to follow some safety precautions and if they follow a proper process then they can make a good soap in a safe manner. There some different recipes for soap making and all the steps should be followed in a proportionate manner. If a person makes changes in any proportions or any steps then it could result in product failure or burn, or dangerous chemical reactions.

Many commercial soaps do not list lye or sodium hydroxide as an ingredient. That’s because the ‘cleansing bar’ one buys does not contain lye so is not soap – it’s detergent. They may add lanolin or other softening agents including glycerin which is a by product of soap making. But without lye, it just ain’t soap.When one makes soap at home, glycerin is created as a by-product, making the soap wonderfully soothing for the skin.

Lye can be dangerous but if one follows the rules and proper handling procedures, you then he will be fine.

The soap making process creates a chemical reaction which is commonly called saponification, after which, fat no longer remains fat and lye no longer remains lye – together, they become soap.

Soaps and detergents have a slightly alkaline or base pH. To assure yourself, if still in doubt, purchase some pH test strips. Use the strips to test the pH on various bar soaps and personal cleaning products. Then, test your own soap after it has cured. You’ll see that the pH levels are similar.

Lye can be purchased at grocery stores or at a plumbing store.

Soap making is known as a fun filled hobby and they can be used for personal uses as well as gifting to loved ones. If one becomes an expert homemade soap maker then they can sell fancy and perfumed soaps. It can help in earning extra money. It has caught the attention of many people and people get interested in learning how to make soaps at home.

The two most important things which are basically essential are fat and lye. There are other things which may be added to the soap and may make the soap more luxurious and nice to use.

If one is learning to make his own soap, he must keep in mind that the best and the safest way to make soap is using the uncolored, unscented soap base. This is because he will not have to handle lye. Lye is a really dangerous chemical and if it is not handled with care, it may lead to serious burns and even death at times. Thus, it is much better to use a soap base as it already contains lye and starters won’t have to worry about handling the dangerous lye.

 

Ingredients for Homemade Soap Recipe without Lye

•          Uncolored, unscented soap base

•          Food color of your choice

•          Essential oils of your choice

Method:

•          Take one bar of soap base and melt it in a double boiler. One can even melt it in a microwave oven.

•          Once the soap melts, add ½ ounce of essential oil of your choice and minimum amount of food color.

•          You can add a tablespoon of honey, oatmeal and butter or teaspoon of beeswax.

•          Mix well and pour the melted soap in plastic molds.

•          The soap will harden after several hours. Once set, wrap it up in wax paper or any other non-sticky material.

Once a person gets the idea about how to make an ideal homemade soaps then they can go for some other homemade soaps. They can even opt for some recipes which include lye. One must prepare the soap in a well-ventilated room, and should not breathe in the toxic fumes of lye. Use a rubber glove when pouring lye to protect the skin from accidental drops of lye. They should remain careful when handling lye container as it tends to get extremely hot.

 

Ingredients for Homemade Soap Recipe with Lye

•          9 oz of lye – set this aside in a large measuring cup

•          4 ½ cups olive oil

•          2 cups coconut oil

•          2 cups essential oils of your choice

How to Make Homemade Soap with Lye?

•          Warm the oil to medium temperature. Wait till lye gets slightly cooled.

•          Once they reach the same temperature, pour lye into the large bowl containing oil.

•          Mix the oil and lye thoroughly. You can use a hand blender to mix them

•          Add two teaspoons of the essential oil and mix the mixture again.

•          Pour the mixture into plastic mould.

•          It may take 24 to 28 hours for the soap to harden.

•          Once set, wrap it up in wax paper or any other non-sticky material.

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Liquid Soap Recipes

Posted on October 6, 2011 by abhishek


Many times people ponder upon making items like daily soaps or liquid soaps but are not able to make proper soaps. Everyday they rub soap bars on their body or squirt liquid soaps in their hands without thinking much about the preparation of these soaps. For almost everyone soaps are nothing but simple commercial bars that help in cleaning them self.  And to indulge into the process of making it will be like entering the dreaded areas of organic chemistry taught back in school. However, let us refresh our knowledge and make the lesson interesting with tidbits of history punched in. Soap is actually known to be an end product of a complex chain of reactions between two of the completely opposite chemicals – a base and an acid. Sodium or potassium hydroxides are the most preferred base used, while fats or oil make are used for the acidic content of the reaction. The process even has a chemical name called saponification.

People might wonder about the final product after the saponification process. Is it in solid state or is it in liquid. The main difference between a bar and a liquid soap lies in the base or the alkali used during the saponification of the fats or oils. In case of bar soaps, the alkali used is sodium hydroxide, while potassium hydroxide is the alkali used in case of liquid ones. Even though the history of soaps can be traced back to the late eighteenth century, William Shepphard first patented liquid soap in the year 1865. Today, the market is virtually filled with racks and racks of liquid soaps, so many that consumers walking down the aisles in the supermarkets are completely confused. If you are also one amongst the many and do not know which one to pick, here is a relief. In the following lines, we have for you several recipes to make homemade liquid soaps.

Some Of The Home Made Recipes For Liquid Soaps:

Recipe 1

Ingredients

•          2 cups Soap Flakes/ Grated Bar Soap

•          ½ gallon Water

•          2 tbsp Glycerin

Preparation

•          Mix all the ingredients together in a larger pot or Dutch oven.

•          Set the pot/ oven over low heat.

•          Stir occasionally until the soap flakes have dissolved.

•          Transfer it to a jar and cover tightly.

•          In case of watery gel soap, use 1 gallon water.

Recipe 2

Ingredients

•          1 bar Soap

•          1 tbsp Honey

•          1 tsp Glycerin

•          Water

Preparation

•          Grate the bar of soap into small flakes and pour it into blender.

•          Add 1 cup boiling hot water and whip.

•          Now, add ½ cup of water at room temperature and stir in blender.

•          After adding honey and glycerin, stir the mixture again.

•          Allow the mixture to cool for 15 minutes. The entire mixture should measure 2 cups.

•          Now, add cool water until the mixture measures to around 5-6 cups.

•          Pour it into a container without lid and allow cooling.

•          Close the lid after an hour. The soap mixture will thicken up.

•          Shake well before use.

Recipe 3

Ingredients

•          33 oz Sunflower Oil

•          14 oz Coconut Oil

•          11 oz Potassium Hydroxide

•          2 oz Potassium Carbonate

•          33 ounces Distilled Water

•          80 ounces Water

Preparation

•          Add the oils in a crock pot.

•          In the lye mixing container, add potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate to distilled water.

•          Once the lye and potassium carbonate dissolves, add the solution to the oil mixture.

•          Blend the mixture well.

•          Now, cover the crock pot and set it over low flame.

•          Cook the soap for 2.5-3 hours and keep stirring in between.

•          Once the mixture reaches the slimy stage, turn off the flame.

•          Heat 80 ounces of water and add the soap mixture to it.

•          Heat the overall mixture. Stir it occasionally, keeping the lid on.

•          Once the solution blends well, turn off the heat.

•          Allow the soap to cool and pour it in a container.

•          Shake well before use.

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Making Organic Soaps At Home

Posted on September 26, 2011 by abhishek


The process of making organic soaps has several issues with it. But there are some special processes and ingredients which can help in making the job easier. It helps in saving the budget of buying a commercial soap and there is not much time involved in making a soap at home. The main ingredients include organic vegetables and fruits.

Some of the ingredients that one can try are:

Banana – rich in potassium and you can apply it at the scalp of your head to reduce thinning hair

Carrots – rich in Vitamin A and beta carotene and the juice is good for skin rejuvenation or prevent wrinkles and skin pigmentation

Lemoncito – is rich in Vitamin C and contains alpha-hydrolic acid that helps whiten our skin

Papaya – rich in Vitamin D and papaine and the mashed flesh is used as facial mask and skin softening agent

Virgin coconut oil – is rich in natural fatty acids that cures skin rashes or inflammation

Now by combining these ingredients one easily make a non-commercial soap that can be used like a normal soap.

One can also reduce the ingredients for the conventional soap-making at home. One can now remove caustic soda that is abrasive or irritating to the skin. People can remove it because they can make a bath soap that is both user-friendly and good for the environment.

While making soaps at home people should avoid using lye as it is also considered dangerous if it is not handled carefully. These are mostly used in chemistry labs and are handled very carefully and people wear gloves while using them. If it falls on the gloves the gloves start melting, just like caustic soda.

Repurposing the bath soaps one can also use it as an alternative. If people have babies at home, it’s dangerous to handle commercial lye. It is better that people use ashes of burnt rice straws as an alternative.

An alternative procedure

Saponification - Instead a group of natural oil such as coconut oil, lavender, camphor oil and other herbal extracts that one can combine plus lard as an additive for aroma and as gel agent respectively.

The essence one chooses – One can mix the featured organic vegetables and fruits like carrots, banana, papaya, kalamansi juice and coconut virgin oil for the rest of the process.

Cold process – Put it in the available mold, as in rectangular pan then it harden for about a day. Then one should divide it according to their liking. It can be a very good gift to the friends and neighbours. With a good explanation about the health benefits of the ingredients one has mixed, it can be an instant hit at the home.

 

Requirements for basic soap making -

Qualities of oil to be used vary from soft to hard soap products.

  • Coconut, palm and corn kernel oil produce soap with huge amount of lather or bubbles.
  • Palm oil, beef tallow and lard produce hard but long lasting soap.
  • Cocoa butter, shea butter, almond oil, hemp oil and jojoba are superb as moisturizer and use in making luxury soaps.
  • Olive oil, canola, sunflower and soy oil are good for moisturizer.

If one combines these oils, one can choose whether or not to use only vegetable oil or animal oil as well.

•             30% tallow, 25% coconut oil, 45 % olive oil (This will make a basic bar of soap)

•             Try combining natural or herbal oils, like: 25% palm oil, 25% coconut oil, 25% olive oil, 15 % canola oil, 10% sunflower oil. This will also make a good recipe on soap making.

•             By adjusting each percentage and adding less than 10% of castor oil, it will balance the lather and creaminess of the soap.

Commercial soap qualities

The commercial soaps are irritating to the eyes and are not considered good for the skin. The ingredients and the process used in the commercial process are harmful for the skin. The manufacturers make huge batches of soaps commercially and the quality suffers. There are very rare commercial soaps which are not harmful and that include some baby soaps. Some of the bathing soaps are fragrant but hard to the skin. Commercial soaps have a tendency to produce irritation to the skin and cause some other problems. Making organic soaps at home helps in saving the budget as well as making soaps which are useful for the skin.

 

 

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Commercial Soap Making Process

Posted on September 25, 2011 by abhishek


There are several ways of making commercial soaps. The method which can be used depends on the facilities available to the manufacturer or the type of soap one desires to make. Firstly one has to prepare the basic soap and then the soap can be colored, perfumed, shaped, packaged, perfumed, and much more.

Some of the processes which can be used are:

Full Boiled Process:

One of the most common methods used in the process of soap making is the full boiled method. This process has several processes and is easy to be followed:

Firstly one has to gather large amount of lye and combine it with alkali. Any kind of vegetable oil or animal oil can be used. Though the most common oils used by the manufacturers are olive, coconut, and palm oils, but many soap makers prefer many other oils. Heat is applied on the mixture of oils and lye and then they are thoroughly mixed until the oil is properly saponified.

Secondly some series of steps are followed to remove the impurities if any. Then the excess lye present is removed and separated outand the glycerine which is produced during the saponification process is recovered. These steps are commonly called changes and saltwater solution is added to the soap mixture in thus process. This process helps in removing the excess lye and glycerine from the mixture to make the process a proper one. Once separated, the bottom liquid is drained off and the glycerin recovered from it. There may be three or four changes before the soap is fully saponified and ready.

Semi Boiled Process

The semi boiled process is fairly simple and is not much time consuming. The desired amount of oil is mixed with the exact amount of lye and a proper saponification is carried out. The lye and oils are mixed properly and the external heat is applied until the full saponification process is completed. In this process the glycerine is not removed and instead it is left in the soap. This is the most common when the soap is going to be made into a transparent soap. Much handmade soap is made by the semi boiled process and this process is sometimes referred to as the hot process. When old people used to make soaps at home they used the semi boiled process.

Glycerin Removal Method

In many cases the oils are processed to separate the glycerine and fatty acids prior to soap making. The glycerine gets purified and then sold elsewhere. Only the fatty acids are used soapmaking procedure. Then the lye is added to the fatty acid and the resultant is soap, which does not contain any glycerin.

Continuous Process

All of the processes listed above are commercial processes and help in making soaps in batches. But there is also a process of making soap by a continuous method. This process is simply an ongoing method and the soap produced the saponification continuously occurs in it. The oil and lye are continuously added in this process and the finished soap is drawn off in a steady stream. This process was developed by one of the largest manufacturers of soaps and is now allowed to be used by everyone.

Soap Base Processing

When completes making the base soap by any of the above methods after that the soap can be processed in the final form and then packaged for sale. Sometimes this is done in a factory where the soap is manufactured and sometimes just the soap base is produced and the final steps are completed by any other party.

The fillers designed to add weight and bulk to the soap but no cleansing or cosmetic benefit can be added to the soap base. Some builders can be added to the soap base which is particularly designed for the benefit of the soap. Synthetic detergents are also added to the gar soaps and also many colorants, perfumes and other fillers can be added into the soap base.

Once the additional ingredient is added to the soaps then it can be shaped into the final form. In olden times this was just considered to be cutting the soap into bars. Nowadays, however, most soaps are milled into fine ribbons, mixed with colorants, perfumes and additives and then pressed into a unique shape, sometimes with a logo imprinted on them

Sometimes transparent soaps are also referred to as the glycerine soaps, which is made by adding alcohol to the soap as it helps in making it clear the type of oils used.

 

The soap powders which are not seen too much in the modern times were made by spraying liquid soap out of a very fine sprayer nozzle about three stories high. When the tiny particles of soap hardened on the way down, piled up at the bottom as powdered soap.

Many of the products used in the day to day life contain commercially produced soaps. Shampoo, toothpaste, pharmaceuticals, cleaning tablets, and much more are some of the day to day products which are made commercially and people use them in their daily life.

 

 

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Home Made Soaps – At Their Best

Posted on September 13, 2011 by abhishek


Natural Soap making is really different from the commercial soaps. It is really beneficial for its health benefits. Making Natural Soaps today is vastly different from soap making in the past. It is no longer necessary to leech ashes from a wood fire to make soap. Better yet, one doesn’t collect animal fat or render tallow to make soap. This time consuming process has been replaced with a vast array of wonderful natural vegetable soap oils.

Handcrafted natural soap is known for its luxury. Pure vegetable soap contains no detergent like commercial bath soaps. If one likes to make his own natural soap here is a beginner’s recipe that for them.  This Natural Soap Recipe is very inexpensive and likely one will find most of the ingredients at the super market or at the local health food store.

Oils – required

  • 24 ounces olive oil
  • 24 ounces coconut oil
  • 38 ounces vegetable shortening

Alkaline Solution

  • 12 ounces sodium hydroxide (lye)
  • 32 ounces spring or distilled water

Fragrance or Essential Oils

  • 4 ounces of your favorite fragrance
  • dried ground herbs

One needs the following equipments for this process

Safety Goggles

Rubber Gloves

Scale to weigh the ingredients

A one gallon stainless steel or enamel kettle, not aluminium

Glass or plastic wide mouth pitcher to hold water and lye

A two cup plastic or glass measuring cup

Wooden spoons

Stainless steel wire whisk

An accurate glass thermometer that registers between 80-100 degrees F.

Plastic shoe box for the soap mould, Spray with vegetable spray so soap will release easily.

2 towels to cover your soap

One jar of vinegar in case you splash lye on your skin. Vinegar will neutralize the lye.

One also requires several hours time to make a perfect soap

Lye is caustic and it can cause skin burns and even blindness if it reaches eyes

Some Of The Steps To Be Followed While Making The Soap

Put on the rubber gloves and goggles. Weigh out 12 ounces of lye (sodium hydroxide) into the two-cup measuring cup. Weigh 32 ounces (2 pounds) of cold water in glass container. Slowly add lye to water (best done outside) stirring gently. The lye will heat the water and release fumes. The fumes dissapate quickly, but turn your face away so as not to inhale the fumes. Set aside and allow the lye to cool.

Weigh out 24 ounces of coconut oil and 38 ounces of vegetable shortening into the metal kettle. Melt these oils over low heat and stir frequently. Remove from heat after the oils have melted and add the 24 ounces of olive oil.

When your lye has reached a range of 95-98 degrees and your oils are at the same temperature, add the lye in a slow steady stream to the oils. Use the metal whisk to stir the mixture. After about ten minutes you will notice a change in your mixture. This is called saponification. The mixture will appear like thin cream. This is called tracing. Tracing occurs when droplets of soap will stand up on the surface. When this happens adds your fragrance and stir well. Be ready to pour natural soap in your mould.

Cover your shoe box with the two towels and set aside undisturbed for eighteen hours. The soap will go through a gel stage and a heat process. At the end of this period uncover the soap and allow sitting for another 12 hours.

If you measured accurately and followed the directions there should be no problems. But if your soap has a deep oily film on top the natural soap cannot be used because it has separated. This is disappointing if this happens. This will occur if your measurements were not accurate.

You are now ready to unmold your natural soap. Turn the box over and allow the soap to fall on a towel or clean surface. Cut your soap into bars. Allow the natural soap to cure in a cool dry place for approximately four to six weeks before using.

The world is getting greener and more conscious of how human behavior affects other species.  With this, the population of those adopting a vegan lifestyle has increased.

Many people, vegan or not, are interested in creating their soap without any animal products in them.  One of the greatest advantages of creating your own soap is that you know exactly what is in it.  What many people don’t realize is that while soap does require “fats” those fats do not have to come from animals!  Other types of fats that can be used include a variety of plant and fruit oils.

 

 

 

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Soap Recipes

Posted on September 13, 2011 by abhishek


Liquid Soap

•             2 cups soap flakes

•             1/2 gallon water

•             2 table spoon glycerin

Mix ingredients together in a large pot. Set over low heat, stirring occasionally until the soap has dissolved. Transfer to a jar and cover tightly. For less thick gel soap, use 1 gallon of water.

Vanilla and Almond Soap

This soap is great for removing dirt and oil from the skin without drying. Vanilla gives it a delicious fragrance and the ground almonds provide a beautifully textured soap.

•             1/3 cup whole almonds

•             1 4-ounce bar Castile soap

•             1/4 cup distilled water

•             1 tablespoon almond oil

•             1/8 teaspoon vanilla fragrance oil

Grind the almonds to a fine powder in a food processor or coffee grinder and set aside. Shred the soap and set aside. In a heavy saucepan bring the water to a boil; then reduce heat to a simmer; Remove the pan from the heat and add the almond powder, almond oil, and vanilla fragrance oil, stirring until well blended. Spoon the soap into a mould and let set for five hours or until hardened.

Coconut & Olive Soap

Ingredients:

•             1 cup olive oil

•             1 cup coconut oil

•             1 cup melted tallow (animal fat)

•             2 tbsp lye (heaping) (*NOTE)

•             1/2 cup cold soft water

While wearing safety goggles and neoprene gloves, combine solid lye and liquid, stir well. Set aside and allow cooling (100° F to 125° F). This is best done outside while you are standing upwind.

Combine oils and heat gently. Once the fats and oils are melted allow the temperature to drop to 100° F to 125° F.

Combine lye solution and melted oils. Be careful not to splash while combining the mixtures. Stir until the mixture traces. If tracing takes more than 15 minutes, which it often does, stir for the first 15 minutes, then stir for 5 minutes at 15 minute intervals. Tracing looks like a slightly thickened custard, not instant pudding but a cooked custard. It will support a drop, or your stir marks for several seconds. Once tracing occur s…

Pour raw soap into your prepared moulds. After a few days the soap can be turned out of the mould. If the soap is very soft, allow it to cure for a few days to firm the outside.

Cut soap into bars and set the bars out to cure and dry. This will allow the bar to firm and finish saponification. Place the bars on something that will allow them to breathe.

 

Peaches And Cream Bath Bar

Makes One Bar 1 4-ounce bar

•             Castile soap (or pure white unscented.. like ivory)

•             1/4 cup distilled water

•             1/4 cup powdered milk

•             1 tablespoon sweet almond oil

•             1/8 teaspoon peach fragrance oil

•             1 drop orange food coloring {optional}

Shred the Castile soap and set aside. Heat the water in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir in the shredded soap until it forms a sticky mass. Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered milk, Sweet almond oil, Peach fragrance oil, food coloring; stir until well-blended. Spoon the soap into its mold and let set for four hours or until hardened.

Cinnamon Soap

•             unscented glycerin soap

•             10 drops cinnamon oil

•             1 drop red food coloring {optional}

In a heavy saucepan, melt the glycerin soap over low heat until liquefied. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cinnamon oil and coloring until well mixed. Pour the soap into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened. Makes One Bar 1 4-ounce bar.

Mechanic’s Hand Cleanser

Grind up a bar or two of your soap…

•             1 c. borax

•             1-2 t. pure turpentine

•             1 t. sweet orange essential oil

•             1 c. ground soap

With very clean hands, work the turpentine and essential oil into the borax until there are no lumps left, and then work into the soap. Keep it in a wide-mouthed jar or tin that’s easy for him to open when his hands are greasy, and which you won’t mind getting black on the outside. Don’t forget to put a nail brush and pumice stone out with the hand cleanser.

Recycle old soap

Here are several ideas for re-using bits of leftover soap:

  • Use as tailor’s chalk – mark darts and hems on washable fabric
  • Make bubble bath – shave and crumble and add to bath
  • Make new soap cakes – get them wet and stick them together to make a new bar!
  • Make shower soap – Put slivers and pieces into the toe of some old pantyhose. Tie a knot in the nylon just above the toe, and another at about the knee. Hang in the shower.

Preservatives

Most of the recipes offered here have a shelf-life of 2-3 months if stored in a cool place. Did you know grapefruit seed extract could be used as a preservative for soaps and lotions? Recommended usage is .5 – 5% of the entire volume (in ounces) of your batch. Check out this article for more information.

It’s better to use weight measurement than volume measurement when working with recipes requiring lye (a caustic alkali).

Oils and fats have different saponification values which must be taken into account when calculating how much lye to use per recipe to convert the oils into soap. This insures there is no leftover lye after the saponification process to irritate the skin, or worse, cause a bad burn.

Liquid Plumber and Drano are unacceptable sources for lye, because they contain aluminium which will be carried over into the finished bar of soap and then used on the skin. Red Devil Lye is the only 100% lye readily available in small containers and can be found at most supermarkets.

 

 

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Glycerin Soaps And Their Effects

Posted on September 5, 2011 by abhishek

The soaps which contain Glycerin are called Glycerin Soaps. They have huge Glycerin, oil and fat component. Though the soap has different recognition from other soaps, it still has the translucent properties. The soap has huge clarity which is due to the particular alignment in soap molecules. This type of soap is generally considered to be different from other soaps. It can be induced with the addition of sugar and alcohol. But this is mainly done for the homemade soaps which are generally not remeltable.
In modern industrial soap-making, the glycerin is usually separated from the soap to be resold and used in a wide variety of areas such as for personal care products, pharmaceuticals, chemical intermediates, and food processing.

Actually, it’s not organic. It’s considered 100 percent natural. While manufacturing it companies usually don’t use any chemicals that are manmade. The use of petroleum is avoided. There is nothing in the soap that one cannot pronounce. Everything is 100 percent natural, and everything one finds in the soap is present in nature.

There is a chemical named Sodium Lauryl Sulfate which is used in soaps and shampoos. This chemical is used to clean grease off heavy machinery. Manufacturers put that in the products to help strip away the oils in your body. The chemical is actually known to cause cancer in people. Unfortunately, people still use it. Companies also put that chemical in skin care products like lotions. The chemical has other side effects, as well. It also speeds up the action of male baldness. If one doesn’t use a shampoo that has the chemical, most likely he will not go bald for a very, very long time.

Another ingredient found in store bought lotions is petroleum. The problem with petroleum is it actually stops moisture from getting into the skin. Companies use olive oil and bees wax type bases for the lotions and soaps. This way, the skin can actually draw in moisture and any type of vitamins and minerals that it needs.
Glycerin soap is made by melting and heating the soaps that have been partially dissolved in high percentage of alcohol solution until the mixture reaches a clear and jelly like substance. The alcohol is added to a slow cooked hot-processed soap and then simmered with a sugar solution until the soap is clear or translucent, and then the simmered soap is chilled in a freezer. With home- and hand-made soaps that still contain glycerin left over from saponification, the grating, melting and cooking can proceed without the addition of anything into the mixture, though sugar or more glycerin is sometimes added. Glycerin soap is also made without remelting soaps and directly cooking raw home-made soaps.

Modern Glycerin soaps are produced by combining polyols and glycerols with soaps and other surfactants which are similar to the traditional glycerine soap making methods. These modern clear soaps have the benefit of being easily re-meltable and are often sold in bulk to customers for melt-and-pour soap crafting.

Some of the most common benefits of Organic soaps are these soaps are the gentle and suit sensitive skin. They are made of the natural oils like essential oils. These soaps will not have artificial colors and cleansing agents that may irritate the skin. Organic soaps nourish and protect the skin. They are mild for the tender skin of the babies and are the best hypoallergens. They are non toxic so even if the baby swallows small bit of the soap, it is still safe. They are best for babies, kids with dry skin. These natural soaps are also safe for the diaper rashes, inflamed skin. It doesn’t burn the skin and make the baby cry while giving his/her a bath. The soaps are easily available in all the grocery stores particularly the Health & Glow. You can even order for the natural soaps online. Even the best baby soaps are said to contain formaldehyde which is quite harmful for the baby’s skin.

Organic soaps are formaldehyde free; in short it is a complete safe cosmetic soap. The soaps are inexpensive, traditional and are tested on animals. All in all, the soaps are very much safe for babies.
There is much dirt present in today’s soaps and when one comes back home after a days hard work, then cleaning oneself with that soap becomes really harmful. It is very necessary to cleanse oneself with clean soaps after working for long hours and after one is stressed out.

If one does not clear himself with the pure Organic Soaps otherwise, all the dirt, and pollution can clog in one’s pores and make the skin clean and flawless. However, the soaps that are sold in the market contain a lot of chemicals and end up drying the skin. If one is thinking about what they should do and whether he should use organic soaps or not then they must always understand the fact that natural or organic soaps are the best for the skin. They save the skin from harsh chemicals that are found in the commercial soaps. The best thing about organic soaps is that natural soaps or organic soaps are very easy to make and they are not too expensive.

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Homemade Soaps: An ideal for your daily use

Posted on September 4, 2011 by abhishek

It’s almost everybody who use soaps made available in the market which come with great volumes of chemicals which can be harmful for one’s body. But most of us are not aware of the fact that making soaps at home is not as difficult as we may think. These soaps as made at our homes and by ourselves are pure and beneficial when used. They assure the users of providing no side effects to their skin when used. The competition pricing has forced companies to produces cheaper quality products which constitute of harmful elements on many occasions. Therefore it is advisable if a person can use a homemade soap which can be very easy to prepare. To many it might feel to be a strange prospect of making soap and using it for themselves in this era. However one might be astonished to know that they are easy and highly beneficial compared to some of the over hyped soaps in the market. Many people have some or the other types of allergies while using a commercial soap.

 

Benefits associated with use of homemade soaps can be many and to list down some it can be:

  • It has no itching or side effects to the skin
  • The commercial soaps generally tend to leave behind dryness to the skin which is absent in terms of homemade soaps.
  • Homemade soaps have a far better lather when used in hard water and the skin can be rinsed quickly.

In various studies also it has been proved that homemade soaps are way beneficial than the normal commercial soaps in the market. It lacks the chemicals used in commercial soaps and is free from synthetic detergents used to bring a different glow and face to the soap.

All the homemade soaps retain the glycerine which is the reason for them to be milder compared to the commercial soaps which are more alkaline. Many soap users have even said that once a person starts using a homemade soap he would never want to use a commercial soap ever again in his life.

Precautions before making homemade soaps:

  • One should ensure to use Lye for making the soap. Also should ensure that it is made up of 100% sodium Hydroxide.
  • One should not use elements such as aluminium bits with some other harmful elements which are generally present in commercial soaps.
  • At the time of preparing Olive Oil one can use different kinds of elements but they should be of good quality. Extra virgin olive oil which is used is of yellowish or greenish in nature.
  • Usage of other plant based oils can also be done for example: soya bean oil, sweet almond oil, etc.
  • Usage of non stick aluminium, cast iron, tin pots, etc should be avoided.
  • Also using wood is not recommended for repeated use as the wood tends to break down and comes in contact with the lye with more and more use.

 

Few other things which are required for making the soap include safety goggles for protecting the eyes, rubber gloves, weighing machine to weigh the water and other constituents appropriately. Two or three heat proof measuring cups for lye and water.

The recipe to make the homemade soap is simple yet easy. We have already discussed the procedure for making soap in our earlier articles which can be referred to make homemade soaps with the best and least efforts.  Long before the commercial soaps came into existence people used to make soaps at home which were of high quality and highly effective in nature. With changing times the use and preparation of these soaps has been given away due to availability of commercial soaps promising of delivering great results and come at great prices. However there are few companies who are actually manufacturing high quality commercial soaps but sadly they are very few in numbers.

Making soap may seem to be a tedious task for you but it should be noted that they are easy to prepare and far more effective than any other soap available in the market. But some of the precautions need to be taken such as using the constituents at their own specified levels which if not taken care may lead to a disaster in the making.

Thus it is recommended to follow the rules of making soap in the right manner with the recommended steps and precautions in mind. SO what are you waiting for the go ahead and try it out yourself. The next times you need soap make it yourself and use it. You can be sure of liking it more than any soap available in the market. Moreover try out the different methods of making great flavoured soaps and gifting them to your loved ones as this can be one of the best gifts which are unique that you can offer to them. We can say that you would love it and would always prefer it over the other soaps that you could ever see in the market.

 

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About Handmade Soaps and it Benefits

Posted on August 23, 2011 by abhishek

Handmade soaps are rated above the commercial soaps in more ways than we can actually count. In this article we present to you and overview of why you should choose handmade soaps over the commercial soaps despite everything else.

The main trait of handmade soap is that it is mild on the skin. This is one of the most important factors that put it a cut above the rest of the soaps that are in use. A combination of mild soap on the skin along with the organic and pure inputs as ingredients could prove to be the best cosmetic that you and your loved ones skin is made subject to.

The lather produced by any bar soap is directly related to the moisture allocated within the soap, the age of the soap (how long it takes to cure) and atmospheric pressure that it is exposed to while it was being manufactured. The humidity of the atmosphere around the manufacturing process of the handmade soap also affects the curability of the handmade soap along with the lather content produced by it.

Of all the varieties of soap, the mildest is of the handmade soap variety that is manufactured using the natural and pure ingredients that are safe to an unmatched level. The soap prepared out of contents of nature and handmade are the ones that contain a great quantity of moisture as well. This has a negative effect of reducing the lather preparation ability of the soap as well. With age, the lather producing ability of these soaps increases but the fragrance it holds reduces in handmade soaps. So the task at hand is to decide the most appropriate combination of ageing and dryness that can be obtained so as to get the best possible results of the bar soaps prepared by hands and not machines. The liquid Castile available is more positive on the lather production side than on moisturizing ability.

It is quite interesting to note that the best possible lather that can be produced out of soap can be done in hot or warm water. For lather production, hard water has a deteriorating effect. Water varies at very small distances and can be found to be soft somewhere while hard at other places. This hardness of water brings about poor quality of lather production in your handmade soap despite all odds you try. This is one of the primary reasons why commercial soaps gained so much popularity as they were chemically prepared which had been designed and chemically formulated to produce a good lather even in hard waters. The popularity behind the synthetically fragranced is also more or less the same. Good lather production and synthetic scents made such soaps more and more popular and desirable. It is only boiling and heating of water that can help in reducing the hardness in the water.

There is a very good lather producing variety of soap known as the coconut oil based soap but the drawback it has is that it is less mild when com[pared to other varieties of handmade soaps. This explains why more presence of coconut oil is soaps make it less mild but one can remain rest assure that they are in no way as harsh as the chemically prepared ones. The trick of getting more lather on the skin is to make use of a loofah while bathing. It is a fact that smooth skins produce less lather than hairy skin types. Citrus Oils characteristically produce more oil than other formulations of the soap.

The other pure varieties of organic soaps contain a pH level that matches with that of the human skin and thus do not harm the skin in any way. Commercial soap manufacturers sometimes use the term “Alkali Free” so as to misguide people in assuming the soap to be free of any ill effects. One should be aware that such advertisements and claims do not necessarily mean that the soap is good for the skin. These soaps also dry out and are harsh on human skins. Contrarily, organic soaps may be expensive slightly but give you the value of being completely skin friendly.

Higher pH content of the organic soaps actually reduces microbe build up and therefore more and more organic handmade soaps add Rosemary Extract which assists in prevention of rancidity. The ideal pH level expected in a good bar soap should be about 10.01.

Aloe vera soaps that are handmade often are very soft on the skin because of the herbal properties of the Aloe and when applied on skin, it feels creamy and produces little bubbles. Addition of oats, herbs and other such organic items to this soap shall make is harder on the skin. If one desires the soap to be more moisturizing, he or she can try out addition of cocoa, avocado, shea butter and other such vegetable oils that cleanse as well as moisturize the skin.

Hence dryness of skin is taken care of. Rosemary Extracts can also be useful in this regard. Natural oils, when combined with handmade soaps strong impacts on the soap’s effectiveness. Peppermint oils have the tendency to close the pores while lavender oils open pores up. Citrus oils lie somewhere between the two mentioned and are thus beneficial for combination skin types.

For anti inflammatory results, there are handmade soaps available. Combining oatmeal and comfrey or trying out proteins with the soap tender them to have a soothing effect on the skin. With organic handmade soaps one has the peace of mind that there are no harmful chemicals involved and they will suit the skin. Another thing that is beneficial is that one is aware of the kind of things that are going into the handmade soaps which is not possible in case of the commercial variety. Therefore, we know the reasons why we should choose handmade soaps over the commercial ones for the safety of us and our loved ones.

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Soap Recipes

Posted on August 22, 2011 by abhishek


There are many different soap making ingredients that can be used to create soap at home. Whether it’s a base, fat, oil, nutrient, natural preservative essential oil or colorant each substance has specific benefits for soap making, and will add unique characteristics to a finished product.

Before one uses any ingredient for all natural soap it’s essential that they know exactly what it is and what it will do to the finished product. If one is looking for one specific ingredient then that is not a problem also.

Base for Soap Recipes

One must keep in mind that the right ingredients for soap must be added for saponification to occur. In this chemical reaction, an acid reacts with a base to form a salt.

It is best to use a substance called lye for soap making, one can also use potash. Lye tends to produce a better and harder bar of soap whereas potash produces a not so nice softer bar of soap. Potash is the best while making liquid soaps.

Acid for Soap Recipes

Choosing the base doesn’t exactly allow to explore the creativity. One of the fun parts about soap making, however, is that one can create many different types of soap by varying the acid that reacts with the base. This variant in the soap recipe causes a person’s creation to take on its own unique form.

Nutrients

The two soap making ingredients that actually take part in the reaction are acid and base. They are theoretically the only substances needed to make soap. Most soap makers add beneficial natural skin care ingredients to their soap that, unlike the acid and base, do not change during the soap making reaction.

Here’s a list of some nutrients I have used in the past, and will use again and again to give my soap that extra flair:

  • Aloe Vera
  • Balsam copaiba
  • Honey
  • Oatmeal – this is a great ingredient for all natural soap
  • Alfalfa meal
  • Seaweed

 

Natural Preservatives

One dilemma with using all natural soap making ingredients is that they tend to decay quicker. You can easily remedy this problem by adding preservatives to your soap. One should only use natural preservatives and stay away from anything synthetic.

One doesn’t always need to use a preservative in the soap. It largely depends on which they oils are using and how long they are planning to store the final product.

Here’s a list of the best natural preservatives:

  • Grapefruit seed extract
  • Carrot root oil
  • Tocopherols

There are two more soap making ingredients that many soap makers incorporate into their finished product: Essential oils/fragrances and colorants. Because of the vast amount of information needed to be covered about these ingredients one needs to do a proper research on Soap Recipes.

Soap

The first soaps were probably the saps of certain plants, such as the Soap Plant whose roots can be crushed in water to form lather, and used as a shampoo.

Other plants, such as Soapbark, Soapberry, and Soapwort also contain the same main ingredient, a compound called saponin, which forms the foamy lather, and is also a toxin used to stupefy fish in streams to make them easy to catch.

Today, soaps are made from fats and oils that react with lye. Solid fats like coconut oil, palm oil, tallow, or lard, are used to form bars of soap that stay hard and resist dissolving in the water left in the soap dish.

Oils such as olive oil, soybean oil, or canola oil make softer soaps. Castile soap is any soap that is made primarily of olive oil, and is known for being mild and soft.

As warm liquid fats react with lye and begin to saponify, they start to thicken like pudding. At this point dyes and perfumes are often added. The hardening liquid is then poured into molds, where it continues to react, generating heat. After a day, the bars can be cut and wrapped, but the saponification process continues for a few weeks, until all of the lye has reacted with the oils.

Soaps are often superfatted, so after all of the lye has reacted with the fats, there are still fats left over. This is important for two reasons. First, the resulting soap is easier to cut, and feels smoother on the skin. Second, the extra fats make sure that all of the lye reacts, so no lye is left to irritate the skin, and the resulting soap is not too alkaline.

The saponification process results in about 75% soap, and 25% glycerine. In homemade soaps, the glycerine is left in, as it acts as an emollient (skin softener) and adds a nice feel to the soap. In commercial soaps, the glycerine is often removed and sold separately, sometimes showing up in skin moisturizers that remedy the damage done by drying soaps.

Commercial bar soaps contain sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate,sodium palmate and similar ingredients, all of which are the results of reacting solid fats with lye.

To these ingredients, they add fatty acids such as coconut acid and palm acid as the extra fats needed to ensure the lye is completely reacted, and the soap has a good feel.

Polyethylene glycols such as PEG-6 methyl ether may be added as surfactants, detergents, emulsifiers, or as thickeners.

Glycerine is added as an emollient and texture enhancer. Sorbitol is another emollient used along with glycerine. It is often added to help make glycerine soaps more transparent. Titanium dioxide is added to make the soap opaque.

Pentasodium pentetate, tetrasodium etidronate and tetrasodium EDTA are added as water softeners, and to protect the dyes and perfumes from the effects of metal ions in the mixtures. These compounds lock up calcium and magnesium in the water, preventing them from reacting with the soap to form insoluble soap scum.

Detergent bars

Not all bars that lather contain just soap. Many contain the same detergents that one can find in shampoo, along with soap.

In addition to the soaps and fatty acids, some bars will contain cocamidopropyl betaine a mild amphoteric detergent added to decrease irritation without decreasing suds or cleaning power and benzine sulfonate detergents such as sodium dodecylbenzinesulfonate. Other detergents such as sodium isethionate and sodium cocoyl isethionate are also common.

 

 

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