Josephine Simon - Step by Step Soap Making: Material - Techniques - Recipes

Step by Step

Soap Making

Material Techniques Recipes

Josephine Simon

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How many times have you brought a bar of artisan or home-crafted soap to your nose and inhaled the scent and lightly traced your finger over the texture of the bar, thinking to yourself how wonderful it would be if you were only able to make soaps like that yourself at home. If you are anything like me, that exact scenario has happened, but I always backed away from soap making thinking it was just too difficult. That was until I learned just how easy and enjoyable home soap making can be. All you need to get started is a little guidance from a trusted friend, and that is exactly what you will find in this book.

Soap making is an age-old craft, one that allows you creative expression and a sense of satisfaction. Within this book, the beginning soap maker will find everything that they need to start their crafting journey. From an introduction to commonly used terms to understanding and simplifying the process of creating your very own soap recipes, this book will help you along every step of the way, with clear and simple advice that isnt clouded with overly technical talk or chemistry lessons. You can now craft all of the beautiful, pure soaps that you have imagined with ease and pleasure.

Lets get started,

Josephine

Contents

Soap is one of the most basic products in our lives. For most of us in the western world, we depend on soap daily. We use it cleanse our bodies, our homes, and our clothes, and when the soap is exceptional, it can cleanse and purify on an emotional or even spiritual level as well. How many times have you wandered the aisles of a store pondering over bars of soaps and bottles of body washes, wishing you could find one that was truly unique and suited just for you? Or, maybe you have visited smaller, artisan markets where soap crafters displayed their beautifully wholesome-looking soap, and you wondered if it were possible to make soap yourself. The truth is that yes, you can make those soaps yourself, and you can tailor them to your wants and needs, and the process really isnt complicated at all. Many people feel slightly intimidated by soap making, feeling that the equipment, chemicals and time involved make it something that they are better off avoiding. The reality is that soap making is actually quite simple, and people have safely and effectively been making soap throughout history.

It is suspected that the very first soap makers were the Babylonians, with evidence of the very first soaps being crafted as early as 2800 B.C. Those early soaps were created from rich oils combined with ashes. A little later in history, the Egyptians cherished soaps crafted from animal fats and alkaline salts that they used to cleanse their bodies. From there, different cultures and civilizations developed unique soap formulas that were used for a variety of purposes from spiritual ritual practices to the cleansing of wool and textiles. They were even used medicinally as we move closer to modern times. What is interesting about soaps, like so many other things in history, is that these individual cultures each managed to discover that mixing oils and fats with substance such as ash, alkaline salts, and other ingredients produced a substance that had value in cleansing our bodies, possessions, and even souls.

A little history of soap making is important to understanding not only the need for soap throughout time, but to point out that even more primitive civilizations, those without the scientific knowledge that we have today, those without the protective gear, those without the internet to offer literally hundreds of soap making ideas, somehow managed to not only produce soap, but also develop it into the substance that we are familiar with today. By embracing this ancient craft of soap making, you are connecting yourself to history and to your ancestors, and you are learning a skill that is not only valuable, but also purely enjoyable.

In this book you will find everything that you need to get started making soaps. We have aimed to simplify the process to help you see just how easy and accessible home soap making is. Its true that there is some chemistry and science with soap making, and if you are at all interested in that aspect, I encourage you to explore it more. However, if you dont care about anything related to chemistry, this book is created for you to jump right in. The fundamentals are set out for you, along with a great set of beginning soap-making formulas that you, yes you, can build off of when you are ready. Soap making is a time-honored and enjoyable craft, one that can become addictive once you get started. Now that you have everything you need, there is no reason to wait any longer. Put on your rubber gloves, dive in, and experience the pleasure of home soap making.

As you start your home soap making journey, there are a number of terms that you will come across time and time again. Some of these terms are very basic and self-explanatory, while others have meanings specific to the art of soap making. Here is a list, with definitions of some of the most common soap making terms that you will see.

Ash : Refers to the soda ash that is on the soap as a result of the lye interacting with oxygen during the saponification process. Any soap has a chance of developing ash. Covering and insulating your soap once it is in the mold will reduce the amount of ash that develops on your soap. To remove the ash from your soaps surface, you can either steam the soap gently or simply rub it off. You may also choose to just leave the ash on your soap, as it poses to harm to your skin.

Cold Process: The act of making soap through combining fats, oils, and lye without actively adding heat to the process. All of the heat is provided by the chemical reaction that occurs with the addition of lye.