I've been interested in giving it a go, using herbs, essential oils etc etc.. Do any of you do soapmaking? If so, what ingredients do you need to make natural soaps?
My parents took a course in soapmaking, it was kind of cool ~ my mom especially took interest in it, making her own creams and soaps and lip balm and such, turned out fantastic. Maybe that might be something to look into.... a course I mean.
Hi I make my own natural soap. www.lovedupkitchen.co.uk best place to start is with a soapmaking group on Yahoo, they give you recipies know how, suppliers and lots of support thats where I started I'd also recommend the book The Natural Soapmakers compainion by Suzanne McCosivitch. The Recipies are simple and only using natural oils rather than renderd animal fat. The basic principle is that you need Lye ( caustic soda) and mix with oils, any such as Olive oil, cocoa butter, almond oil etc, then add your herbs and essential oils. I started with the UK soapmakers group on Yahoo Happy Soap making Catherine x www.lovedupkitchen.co.uk
I've been a soapmaker for about ten years. I have taught the craft to others and written about it. I've been wondering if there were any other soapmakers in this crowd! I make cold process, vegetable-based, all-natural herbal soaps. Anyone else?
I've just started looking into this hobby as well. I would love to make my own soap and sell some of them to friends, or for Christmas gifts. Do you have a more recent website you can suggest?
I use natural vegetable glycerin. You can buy it at natural stores and craft stores. I melt it down and mix in a bit of lavender and tea tree oil. I add a little bit of ground oatmeal too. Once you try out your first batch its super easy afterwards.
I am quite interested in trying this- I like the idea of ready-made soap bases that you melt and add ingredients to, since I am too lazy to make the soap from scratch! now looking for one that is cruelty-free and inexpensive as well...
I've been making soap for the last couple of years...its not that complicated to make from scratch..and then you can experiment with different beneficial oils and come up with your own recipies
I got to play in a soap shop. There were pre-made base soaps that we could melt down and add a sorts of things to for scent, looks, and cleaning properties. It was a lot like playing with candles in art class since heat could be used for all sorts of variations. If you want a really cheap way to start small, hit a dollar store for bar soaps and the cooking department for herbs. Decorative muffin and jello molds as well as candy molds can be used for fun shapes and turn up in thrift stores. Once you try a few methods really cheap, you can look into formula variations like lye or no, all plant or part animal(goat milk and butter are animal fats after all), and consider what essential oils seem worth a splurge.
I was interested in soapmaking few years ago, but then something stopped and I didn't come back to that idea again.
