An interesting and useful hobby which everyone can try is soap making. Soap is used to wash our hands when we get dirty, or wash our bodies whenever we take a shower. Other uses can be for washing clothes or dishes. In general, it is mainly used for washing things. But soap can also be used as an ornament in the bathroom, kitchen or even bedroom. A beautifully made and crafted soap can be a great addition to any room you desire, or it can simply make bath time a lot more fun.
Some ingredients that you will need as a beginner are lye and some fats. The basic properties of the soap that you are going to make will depend on the type of oil that you use. Using coconut oil will produce soap that makes a good amount of lather. Vegetables oils will produce soap that is soft while olive oils make soap that is much milder than using other vegetable oils. Lye on the other hand, is used to hydrolyze the oils to yield fatty acids and glycerol.
Soap making can be done through the cold process or the hot process. Both are relatively simple to do and once you are done, the pre-formed soap will be ready for you to design in whatever way you want. For the hot process, mix lye and water while heating the fat in a separate container. Add the lye water to the fat and continue heating for two hours until your soap is ready. The cold process is almost the same, without having to heat the fat. Just add the fat to lye water and mix until cool. This can then be poured into molds depending on what shape you like.
Once your soap mixture is ready, you can add several things to it so that you can enhance its appeal. You can choose to add colorful dyes to obtain the color that you want your soap to be. Fragrance oils will add to the smell of the soap making it more appealing to use. With constant practice and trying out different techniques and styles, you will be able to come up with different and attractive designs for your soaps.
A precaution that you should keep in mind is that lye is a dangerous substance. It is a corrosive substance which can degrade skin upon contact. This is why protective equipment such as gloves should be used, and children should always be supervised by an adult.
Soap making is a fun hobby which can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. It is different from the usual arts and crafts that make use of wood, clay or paint. It is also useful as the finished product can be used as a display or it can be used as normal soaps in the bathroom.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about liquid soap making, and natural soap making. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.
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