There are many reasons why you might wish to learn how to make your own homemade soap and beauty products: Homemade soaps can be tailor-made for your skin type and fragrance preferences, and offer a more natural approach to skin care. Plus, homemade cosmetics make a wonderfully personalized and special gift at a very small price. And with the many soap recipes and materials available online, soap-making is an easy hobby to try.
Glycerin is a thick, viscous, almost gelatinous liquid that can be produced from animal fats or from vegetable sources, though most is rendered from animal fats. It is often added to commercial soaps and beauty products because of its hygroscopic (water-absorbing and water-retaining) properties. It is able to absorb as much as 20 percent its own weight in water from the air, thus making it ideal for moisturizing soaps and lotions.
Glycerin can be obtained in bulk from many pharmacies and health food stores, as well as from the many online merchants that sell soap-making supplies. A note of caution: because of glycerin’s hygroscopic quality, in its pure form it can remove moisture from sensitive tissues and even cause blistering. It is thus advisable to use gloves and to take protective measures when dealing with non-hydrated glycerin.
For a simple liquid soap that uses bar-soap as a base, grate one full-size bar of your favorite soap and add it to 1 cup of boiling water. Add this mixture to a heat-proof blender and whip it until the soap has disintegrated completely. Next add 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of glycerin to the mixture and blend it again thoroughly. Now add enough water to the mixture to bring it up to the six-cup mark and allow the mixture to cool, occasionally mixing it in the blender. When the mixture has cooled and is thoroughly blended, pour it into a bottle with a pump top.
If you want to start from scratch with your liquid soap without relying on pre-made soap as a base, here is a basic recipe.
What you need:
6 ounces of water
3 ounces of potassium hydroxide
8 ounces of non-hydrogenated soybean oil
4 ounces of coconut oil
4 ounces of sunflower oil
½ cup of glycerin
Essential oil in fragrance of your choice
First, begin by combining the 6 ounces of water and the 3 ounces of potassium hydroxide (this can be obtained at some pharmacies and at any of the online business that cater to soap-making hobbyists). Next, combine all the oils together and heat slowly. Be sure to stir well, so that the oils will mix fully.
After the oils have mixed well, bring the mixture to about 150 degrees F and mix in the water/potassium hydroxide mixture. Mix vigorously to prevent the different components from separating. When all the oils have stopped rising to the top, then allow the mixture to cool. Now let this mixture set for a week or so, occasionally stirring it to help prevent the oils from separating.
Finally, add in the half cup of glycerin and the amount of fragrance that you desire, and give the mixture a final stir. Add as much water as is needed to dilute the soap to the consistency you desire – more water if you desire a very liquid hand soap, and less if you desire more of a body wash or shampoo. When you have the desired consistency, pour the mixture into pump bottles and use.
To add a bit of herbal flair to your liquid soaps, make up strong batches of herbal tea and substitute it for the plain water in the above recipes. Chamomile, mint, and green tea work especially well. Also, if you want a nice body wash, mixing a bit of oatmeal into the above mixes helps produce a grittier texture that will allow you to scrub away layers of dead skin more effectively.
As a final note, when making your own soap, be aware that homemade soaps do not contain preservatives. Indeed, this is the allure to homemade soaps for many, but this also means the soaps do not last as long as commercial soap and should be refrigerated to prevent the oils from going rancid.
