Many people have found problems with their store-bought and commercially produced soaps: theyare filmy and thick and leave you feeling sticky. Theyare also made with harsh chemicals that are tough on your skin. But you canat just stop washing. Instead, try making homemade soap, which will be gentler on your skin. Making your own soap is fun, and the soap you produce will do away with many of the problems you find in commercial soap.
Commercial soaps are bad for your skin and the environment: rather than being soap, theyare usually detergents, which are petroleum-based products. Because they arenat really soap, they have the tendency to dry your skin with their harsh chemicals. Also, when buying commercial soaps, itas often difficult or impossible to tell whether the soap was tested on animals, and whether such tests were conducted in an ethical manner.
There are major concerns over the testing of commercial soaps and whether the animals on which the soaps are being testing are being treated ethically. If you make homemade soap, you circumvent this testing process, and you can feel good about doing your part in making the world a better place. All the ingredients in homemade soaps, if chosen properly, are very environmentally friendly.
Another great thing about making your own soap is that, besides controlling the ingredients, you also control all the other elements of your soap. What will it smell like? What shape will it be? What color? All of these are totally in your control, and youare free to create the soap as you see fit. Also, because you control every part of the process, you can control what stays out as well as what goes in: you can keep out oils, perfumes, and other components that you know are harsh on your skin.
Because of all the decisions and choices involved, soap making is a fun creative process. Choosing your colors, fragrances, shapes, sizes, and other elements lets you free your mind and use your imagination. Learning to make soap helps keep an old art from dying out, and helps you be more self-reliant. And homemade soap makes great gifts for others, too!
One of the easiest soap recipes uses lye, purified water, and coconut, olive, and grape seed oils. You want to make two mixtures: one of the lye and water, and the other of the three oils. The lye and water mixture will be hot and give off fumes, so set it outside to let it ventilate and cool to 110F. The oils, on the other hand, need to be heated to within 5 degrees of 110F ia the closer you can get the oil temperature to the lye/water temperature, the better. Pour the lye mixture carefully into the oil mixture, then blend in a blender until itas about the consistency of a thin pudding. After this, pour it into molds.
Because lye is very caustic, youall need to remember to exercise basic safety precautions, and youall want to make sure that youare wearing gloves, goggles, and an apron to protect yourself. However, if you handle everything carefully, making soap is as easy as that!
Learning to make homemade soap can be a fun, creative process that offers many benefits for you and your skin. From being healthier for you, to being more environmentally friendly, this skill and art is sure to be a satisfying pursuit.
Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about organic soap making, and make homemade soap. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.