Making soap is not just a way to make your own cleaning products to suit your needs or fancy, but can also be a source of endless fun, and can even be a way for you to start your own business in Singapore.
The beauty of soap-making is that you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. While making adjustments to soap-making aren’t hard, it does take practice, and accurately weighing and measuring the amount of ingredients you have can make or break your batch.
Ingredients
While there are several different processes and styles when it comes to soap-making, one of the best ways to make soap is by starting from your scratch. Start by gathering the following ingredients:
• Water – Ideally, you want distilled water when making soap to get the best results.
• Oils/Fats – Use both solid (i.e. coconut, cocoa butter, and palm) and liquid (i.e. sunflower, canola, and castor) oils when cooking soap. Be sure to weigh them separately in different containers.
• Lye flakes – Be careful when using lye, as it can eat holes through fabric and even burn your skin if you’re not careful. Always wear proper safety equipment when handling it.
Procedure
1. Make the lye-water solution by slowly adding the exact measurements of lye to the water in a pitcher and not vice versa. Stir the mixture gently until the lye is completely dissolved, and cover the mixture with a tight lid and put it in a safe place. Handle the pitcher carefully as the mixture can be quite hot.
2. Once you’ve weighed your soap-making oils separately, melt the solid oils in a large, stainless steel pot over medium-low heat and stir gently. Once the molten solid oils reach 43 degrees Celsius, turn off the heat and add the liquid oils to lower the temperature.
3. Once the liquid oils have been added, allow the mixture to drop to 37 degrees Celsius before adding the lye-water mixture. Use a stick blender to mix them but do not switch it on just yet. Set aside the rest of the mixture.
4. Turn on the stick blender to mix the lye water and oil mixture in short bursts of three or five seconds. Continue to stir and blend until mixed evenly.
Check if the mixture has emulsified by dipping a spoon into the mix and allowing it to dribble back into the pot. If it leaves a trace, the mixture is ready.
5. Add any additives (fragrances or moisturizers) or coloring that you fancy into the mix and give the mixture a brief blend with the stick blender.
6. Once the soap mixture has thickened, pour it into a mold and spread it evenly until the mixture fills the mold. Set the soap aside in a warm, secure area for 24 hours. Wrap the fully-cured soap in wax paper and seal in an airtight container.