|
9 Steps to Soapmaking Success |
|
|
|
| Articles Art + Drawing Beadwork Candlemaking Crafts for Kids Decoration Dried Flowers Fashion Flower Arranging Framing Jewelry Make Money With Crafts Origami Painting Papercrafts Photography Pottery + Ceramics Puppets + Puppetry Quilts + Quilting Scrapbooking Seasonal Sewing Soap Making Woodworking Wreathmaking |
9 Steps to Soapmaking Successby Lisa MaligaMelt and Pour soap is glycerin soap which is made from vegetable oils and is safer for your skin than most commercial brands found in your drug store or supermarket. You can obtain melt and pour soap over the Internet. Keywords are: 'melt and pour soap making' or 'glycerin soap'. You'll pay around $3 - $5 per pound. Translucent glycerin and opaque are the most common types sold. Opaque glycerin is white as it is colored with the mineral titanium dioxide. Also, you will be able to buy soap making kits that contain all the needed ingredients. Once you've made your first batch, you can get more creative when choosing colors, scents, and additives such as dried flowers, herbs or soothing oils. You'll discover the ideal way to make useful gifts for family, friends and co-workers. Your newfound hobby may even turn into a new work-at-home business! Soap Supplies:
These will come in various sizes and shapes but plastic is recommended. You can order soap molds online or find them at a crafts shop or candle supply store. You can use microwavable containers, food containers, candle molds or even drawer organizers. At many discount stores you can find the perfect mold, and for less than $2 in many cases. Using plastic means that you can reuse it and that it will make getting the soap out so much easier than a glass mold. Warning: Don't use aluminum or metal. Step 1: On the cutting board you'll slice up the soap into cubes, approximately one to two inches. You'll then put these into a plastic container, first weighing the container and noting the weight, and putting the filled container onto the scale. Step 2: Using your double boiler, fill the bottom part with water a few inches deep. For microwave users only - when you melt the soap, don't use the highest heat, watch the soap carefully and don't melt it all the way, allow a few chunks to remain. They'll melt quickly. Step 3: For the double boiler method, put the soap in the top level and melt, stirring occasionally. Add a piece of color if using Color Nuggets, from the prepackaged colors you've bought. Powdered colors aren't highly recommended for glycerin soap, as they're more difficult to mix. Cosmetic grade liquid colors can be used. Step 4: Once the color is melted it's time to add the fragrance. Use 1 teaspoon and let your nose be your guide. Underscenting will cause your soap to be less aromatic after a few months. Adding a little more scent is okay. Step 5: Pour your soap into the mold. For this recipe you need a 4.5-cup capacity mold. A rectangular shape is preferred. Step 6: You can let your soap harden at room temperature, or you can put it into the freezer for about 30-60 minutes. Freezing the soap speeds up the process and allows the soap to pop out of the mold easier. Step 7: It's time to see your first successful chunk of handmade Melt and Pour glycerin soap. You can tell it's ready when: the mold is cool and it easily pulls away from the soap. Release it onto a wax paper-covered surface. Cover it with more wax paper and a paper towel. You should allow it to return to room temperature before using it. It's advised to let it sit for 24 hours for the fragrance oil to settle. Step 8: Cutting the soap can be done with a large knife. This recipe yields approximately 6 bars, depending on the thickness. Plane the rough edges and traces of white filmy popped bubbles with a paring knife. These will be more noticeable on darker colored soap. Step 9: Wrap the pieces with a cling wrap. The generic cling wrap is better. Pricier cling wraps don't allow the aroma to be smelled, as they're too thick. Make a label for your soap if you'll be giving it to someone for a special occasion like Christmas, birthdays, a wedding or anniversary, a promotion, etc. You should list the ingredients. About the Author: http://www.lisamaliga.com Read and learn at Lisa's Library of Writing. Discover the diverse writings ranging from soap and bath & body recipes to fiction, figure skating, aromatherapy, herbal hints, and helpful publishing advice. Boost your own site’s rankings by reading of web design and promotion. This is the literary home of Lisa Maliga, owner of EverythingShea.com Some craft projects on this site may be unsuitable for children. In any case, adult-supervision is required all children's craft activities and projects. This article is reprinted here with the author's express permission. 
Other websites that may be of interest:
 |
| All views, opinions and ideas expressed in this article are those of the article's author and not necessarily those of Answers 2000 Limited. Privacy Terms Of Use Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures Copyright © 2005-2009, Answers 2000 Limited CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. |
|
|
In Association With Amazon.com
All trademarks are property of their respective owners. All third party content and adverts are copyright of their respective owners. Disclosure: Our company's websites' content (including this website's content) includes advertisements for our own company's websites, products, and services, and for other organization's websites, products, and services. In the case of links to other organization's websites, our company may receive a payment, (1) if you purchase products or services, or (2) if you sign-up for third party offers, after following links from this website. Unless specifically otherwise stated, information about other organization's products and services, is based on information provided by that organization, the product/service vendor, and/or publicly available information - and should not be taken to mean that we have used the product/service in question. Additionally, our company's websites contain some adverts which we are paid to display, but whose content is not selected by us, such as Google AdSense ads. For more detailed information, please see Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures Some graphics on our web sites are Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Hemera Technologies Inc., and used under license. All such pictures are provided for viewing purposes only and are not to be saved or downloaded. All such pictures of recognizable individuals are models and used for illustrative purposes only, and not meant to imply any association or endorsement of said individual with any product or service. |