Wheat Germ Oil - Making Homemade Soap

Wheat germ oil is extracted from the germ of the wheat kernel. It is dark amber in color with a thick consistency and has a heavy scent. When stored in a dark, cool and dry location its shelf life can be six to eight months. This natural oil is used in different ways.

Wheat germ oil can be used as a cooking oil, but it is often very expensive. It has been used in massage oil formulations to soothe, relax, and soften skin. It is, also, used in a variety of commercial and homemade skin care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, and more. Its benefits make it nourishing for skin.

Wheat germ oil contains the benefits of vitamin D, E and A. It soothes and softens dry, irritated, burned and sunburned skin. It promotes skin cell formation helping to heal scars and stretch marks. It helps to smooth rough, cracked and wrinkled skin, therefore contributes to diminishing the signs of aging. It contains antioxidants benefits and anti-inflammatory properties, as well. This natural oil is found in many eczema or psoriasis skin care products.

Lots of soap makers use wheat germ oil but this, natural, soap making oil should only be used at approximately ten percent in soap formulations. Most soap makers use it to, basically, add moisturizing and skin care nutrients to their handcrafted soap. It helps to soften, soothe and moisturize dry flaky skin, dry scaly skin, cracked skin and more. This natural oil should not be heated too much. It should be added in the soap making process, after the hard oils have melted. It is, usually, a good idea to use this soap making oil as a small percentage of base oils or as a super fatting nutrient at trace.

You can learn how to make soap different ways. You can take in-person classes or learn, at home, with an audio visual resource, such as a DVD. Either way can provide you with an abundance of soap making information! You can learn, easy, soap making instructions, find soap recipes, learn by doing with trial and error, find resources and more! There are different methods to making soap, such as hot process soap making, cold process soap making and re-batching. Use the method that is most comfortable for you, or use them all! You can have all of the information you will ever need to make homemade soap! Use a soap making kit, containing oils, molds and other materials to help you get started making soap.

You can make YOUR very own homemade soap and enjoy the, healthful, benefits of wheat germ oil, today!

Soap Making Technique

This is about the cold process of soap making.

The soap making equipment

For safely making homemade soap it is essential that the specific proportions of these soap ingredients are scrupulously followed.

It is highly recommended that you use a specialised software to calculate the proportions for each ingredient and to run it every time a new recipe is tried. There are many types of softwares for this purpose. There are even iPhones apps.

Some basic equipment must be used when preparing soap ingredients and making soap:

- an accurate scale;

- an accurate quick reading thermometer;

- a few small measuring cups;a stick blender to blend the oils with the lye mixture and start the saponification process;

- and soap molds.

Here is an example of the proportions for the various soap ingredients:

- 450 grams of vegetable fat;

- 170 millilitres of water

- 60 grams of caustic soda

The soap making process

Preparation of soap ingredients

Soap making requires water, caustic alkali and fats or oils.

It is very important that caustic soda is gently poured into water, and NEVER the opposite which will cause a kind of explosion and splash corrosive product on your body. The temperature of the water and soda mixture naturally rises up to around 190°F, or 90°C.

Therefore a glass (Pyrex) or a stainless steel container is to be used. Do not use a plastic container as it would melt due to high temperature. Please remember that aluminium is corroded by soda. Always use wooden spoons to stir soda.

Mixing the soap ingredients

Soda temperature must lower down to 95-105°F (35-40°C) and oil must be heated up to 130°F (55°C). After checking those temperatures with an accurate quick reading thermometer, slowly pour caustic soda into the heated oil. As soon as the two ingredients are mixed, you can use a stick blender to blend the oil with the lye mixture. While stirring the lye-water-oil mixture with the stick blender, you turn on the blender in short bursts. Blend for 3 to 5 seconds and then stir some more.

Once you start using the stick blender, you may see the oil turn cloudy and the soap mixture begin to come together. Keep blending in short bursts until the oil and lye-water are completely mixed together. This should not take more than 30-40 seconds.

Now you are nearing the stage called "trace". Using the stick blender enables you to reach trace in under a minute whereas if you use a wooden or a plastic spoon it will take 10 to 75 minutes for the same result.

Successful soap making secret

Trace is the term to describe the consistency or thickness, and the stage where the handmade soap mixture is ready to be poured into molds. Tracing is easily recognized. Using a plastic spatula, drizzle a small amount across the top of the soap mixture. If a mark or trail remains for a few seconds before disappearing again, your soap has traced. The mixture should have the consistency of liquid honey or pudding.

Your personal touch in your homemade soap

It is now the right time for you to add your own additives (essential oils, honey, milk, etc) before pouring the mixture into the soap molds, which you would have lubricated already with vaseline.

You may now cover the molds with a cloth and let them rest for 24 to 36 hours before getting hold of the soap. Indeed, saponification takes at least 24 hours to complete and, during this period, soap is still corrosive. You should be particularly careful to keep children away from it during this period of time.

After soap making

After this time, you can take the soaps off the molds, and rinse them to remove any excess of lye.

However, soaps are still rather soft, and you need to allocate around 6 weeks for them to be completely dry and hard.

Example of soap recipe

Various soap recipes can be found on websites about soap. For example, here is a very simple recipe:

- 450 grams of coconut oil;

- 700 grams of olive oil;

- 450 grams of vegetable fat;

- 600 millilitres of water;

- 223 grams of caustic soda.

Liquid Soap Making - A Great Starter Soap For Beginners

The art of liquid soap making is probably one of the easiest ways to make your own soap at home. It's easy because melting down old pieces of soap, or even an entire bar is quick and simple. Liquid soap in it's simplest form is bar soap that has had water added to it, until you have nothing but liquid left. The only tools you will require are a pot, a measuring cup and a stove to heat everything.

You can also take it up a notch yet still keep it simple, by adding some fragrances to your soap or essential oils along with a bit of coloring. For the most part though, liquid soaps are usually put into a container where you use a hand pump and for the most part these are not normally see-through, so color does not necessarily have to be a consideration.

The first thing you do for liquid soap making is to take a bar of soap, or even old pieces, and grate them as finely as possible. When they get too small use a knife to cut them up, making sure to get it as fine as possible. The next step is to put the grated soap into a cup with measurements on the side and add water to equal the amount of grated soap.

The most difficult part of liquid soap making is the diluting process. If you use too little liquid then you may see your soap start to form a skin or it globs up in the bottle. If you add too much liquid then you won't see a good lather.

It's important to make sure you follow your recipe to the letter or you will run into problems. For the most part liquid soap making is the easiest of all the soaps that you can make at home. Knowing this, you will probably be fine and your recipe will work each time.

One of the most common reasons these days to use liquid soap is to help stop the spread of germs. With the recent flu scare, people in Mexico City started using anti-bacterial soap and washing their hand as often as possible. The result, besides helping to stop the spread of the flu germ, was a forty percent decrease in gastrointestinal problems. Nowadays it should be common practice for every sink to have some kind of liquid soap on the side for cleanliness as well as protection during flu seasons.

With liquid soap you can add any number of essential oils that also serve as anti-bacterial agents. Oregano and tea tree oil are both great for this, but there are also many others to choose from. You can even blend them with other essential oils for an even more pleasant smell and yet still have an effective product. One note of caution.

It is not advisable to use perfumed fragrances in combination with essential oils and still expect to have an effective product. You also need to take into consideration that if guests are using the liquid soap, and they have skin problems, then perfumed soap may not be to their liking. For guest bathrooms it is suggested that you stick to all-natural ingredients whenever possible.

One thing that recently has become very popular is liquid face soap. My favorite is goat's milk. A simple recipe is to reduce your water content by about eight ounces, then add 0.2 ounces of potassium hydroxide for every twelve ounces of goat's milk. This will cause the goat's milk fat to saponify. It's that simple and you will have a fantastic face soap that can easily be used on a daily basis.

The main thing to remember with liquid soap making is that it is the simplest technique around and probably the most foolproof. It's a great way to get started making soap, or introducing your children to the wonderful world of soapmaking at home.

For more information on Liquid Soap Making, visit our site at http://www.soapmakingguru.com/

Common Mistakes in the Soap Making Process

Your first soap making process does not always give you the results you are looking for. A ruined batch of soap also means a loss of time, money and most of all, the ingredients. Doing a test before you proceed with your soap making is very helpful. Just like any activity, natural soap making is a trial and error method.

Below is a list of some common mistakes in the soap making process.

1. Making a huge batch of soap. In business, the motto is start small, think big. This also holds true for your soap making process. There is always a chance that the recipe you have never used before can create problems with your batch of soap. Therefore if you make a huge batch, many of those ingredients will be wasted. Try using two pounds as a safe test size. If it works, then there is a higher chance that your larger batch will come out perfect.

2. Changing multiple ingredients. Experimenting with ingredients in the soap making process is good as you progress in the activity. However at the start, it is preferable for you to use a recipe that has been tried and tested. Refrain from changing more than one ingredient at a time in a recipe if you do not know what each ingredient will add or take away from the soap.

3. Putting in too many additional ingredients. Soap making is indeed a fun activity and as you become familiar with the process, you cannot help but try experimenting with the ingredients. You are free to add whatever fragrance you choose; additives such as olive oil, essential oils, sodium hydroxide and coloring. However, sometimes, adding too many ingredients can become a disaster, as it can completely ruin your soap. For example, if you use too much fragrance in your soap, the fragrance will thin out the product and it will be impossible to repair the damage.

4. Lack of patience. The soap making process does not end within an hour after your soaps are done. Soap is best when you allow ample time for the formulations to sit. Natural ingredients could take a few months if they are not combined at the right temperature. You can label your soap by batches and number and check every now and then to make sure that they are still stable. Note how long the fragrance lasts and check to see if your soap shrinks from the wrapper.

5. Not writing down soap making instructions. The more you make soap, the basics will start to become very simple and you can do it automatically. However do not think that you can remember everything, especially when you start making many different kinds of soaps. Write it down and keep a journal that you can check out every now and then. You may even wish to separate your work into different categories such as liquid soap, or solid, whether you used a hot process and even compile lists of your soap supplies. After all, soap making is not the only activity you do around the house. This way, you will have a fantastic resource, that you can refer to anytime you need it.

6. Putting in fragrance without testing. You often make changes in your soap recipe and mostly on the fragrance. Fragrance oils are just one aspect of the basic elements of your soap and experimenting with them can be a lot of fun. However if you are not sure about what the fragrance can do to your soap, it is best to test it first. Test the fragrance oil in a small batch of soap before you decide to add it to your larger batch. Essential oils are expensive yet provide a beautiful scent to your natural soap, so be careful and do not forget to keep instructions for yourself. Soon you will have some great soaps that will not only smell terrific but provide effective skin care too.

How to Earn Income at Home - Soap Making Business

Are you looking for a legitimate way to earn income at home? Tired of all of the home business scams? If so, there is a way to have your own home based business, by making homemade soap. If you think there is no work involved, in building your own soap making business, then you should stop reading this now. There is lots of work involved in building any kind of business, especially a home based business. Most successful business owners will tell you that they have been the toughest boss they have ever had! It takes, hard work, patience, dedication, skill, time, effort, money and smart business sense to build your own business.

When building any kind of business you will run into stiff competition. When making homemade soap your product should be of the highest quality. Most people can tell the difference between an average homemade soap and high quality soap.

Your soap should be healthful for the skin. In general, most people are beginning to use natural skin care products to maintain healthful, youthful, looking skin. One of these natural, homemade skin care products is natural goat milk soap. Natural goat milk soap can contain mild and gentle ingredients helpful for acne relief, acne scars, pimples, blemishes, eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, flaky skin, itchy skin, sensitive skin, oily skin and more! This homemade soap contains goat milk, which aids in the regeneration of collagen under the skin and helps keep skin very close to its natural pH level. It can help to reduce the signs of aging. It is a very popular, homemade, soap!

How can you have a soap making business? First, you must learn how to make soap. Making homemade soap is not for everyone; it requires, time, patience, dedication and skill. You should find a master soap maker that offers, step-by-step, soap making instructions. Some soap makers attend community events, teach soap making classes, give demonstrations, teach soap workshops and more. If you learn how to make soap, from a professional then you will ensure that you are starting at the right point, from the beginning. You can learn an abundance of soap making information from a master soap maker! Ask questions, get involved, make new friends, practice making homemade soap, repeatedly, and soon you can be on your way to soap making success. It is not easy building a soap making business, but it can be a lot of fun! You are the boss of your own company, so you will decide how hard you want to work.

Many commercial skin care products contain harsh ingredients, that can, actually, contribute to poor skin conditions. Natural goat milk soap can contain mild and gentle skin care ingredients beneficial for many different skin types. Many people are realizing the healthful benefits this homemade skin care soap can offer. The skin is the largest organ of the body. It matters what skin care products are used to maintain the skin's health.

As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." It is possible to earn income at home by making homemade soap. Your soap making business success depends 100% on you!

Turning Your Soap Making Skills Into a Business

So you want to make soap for a living. So many people have asked me how to start a soap making business.

It's like any other business to a point. You need to decide on a name to begin with. Your name should reflect how you want the world to see you. Take your time with this. You will need a few backup choices too, in case the name is taken.

Take these names to your local business registry department. You can find this information in the phone book or from your city hall.

A name search will begin and this will take a few days to get the results. There are a few fees involved. One for the name search and another for the name registration.

Take your new business name and paper work to your city hall and apply for a business license. Depending on where you live, you may also need to apply for a tax number. All of this information will be available once you register for the business license.

Once you have all the paperwork you need, you will be able to purchase your ingredients and supplies through wholesale sources. This is important because it will bring down your costs.

Next step is all about how you will present yourself. Do you want to have a logo made? This sounds like an expensive luxury, but it sets you apart from hobbyists and gives you a professional image. You should sit down and figure out what you want this logo to represent. Is it all about your soap making or are you going to expand into other crafts too? You can get a logo made up easily for around $50. It's well worth it.

Once you have your logo made, or create your own, it's time to get your business cards printed. There are good deals all over. Shop around or print them yourself. You can pick up a pack of printable business card sheets and the templates are usually available on line or with an attached cd.

Be sure you have the proper home insurance to cover you and your equipment. You will need to talk to your insurance broker for details.

Once all of the paperwork is out of the way, it's down to the fun business and deciding on your business plan.

The business plan should be written out and over time will be revised several times. A business plan needs to grow and change along with you and you business. You need to be flexible; things don't always go exactly as planned. To me, this is a good thing. It allows me to grow and change with my experiences and I really hope you are able to take on this perspective. For some, this will be the most difficult part, putting everything down on paper. Most crafters and soap makers are dreamers. We like to visualize and strategize in our heads. Putting it down on paper seems so mundane, but it needs to be done.

You need to be creative and logical at the same time. Asking yourself some key questions will help you put everything into perspective.

Next time, we can look closer at those key questions we need to ask ourselves when we are writing up the business plan.

History of Soap Making - Goats Milk Soap

The history of soap making began when the earliest recorded evidence of soap-like materials traced back to approximately 2800 BC, found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon. Approximately 2200 BC, soap formula inscriptions were written on the clay saying that fats were boiled with ashes, which are a way of making soap, but there was no reference to the purpose of the soap.

Approximately 1500 BC, ancient Egyptians used animal and vegetable oils, combined with alkaline salts to create a soap-like-substance used for treating skin diseases as well as for washing.

Around 600 BC the Phoenicians used soap for cleaning wool, cotton and textiles prior to weaving and dieing, instead of for human washing.

The early Greeks did not use soap. They washed themselves with blocks of clay, pumice, sand and ashes then anointed they with oil. Afterwards, they scraped sweat and dirt off using a curved bladed metal instrument called a strigil. Much later, in the second century AD, the famous Greek physician, Galen, recommended washing with soap as a preventative measure for certain diseases, especially diseases of the skin.

Bathing became popular in the Roman times. An entire soap factory was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii in 79 AD. The Romans exfoliated using abrasive substances like sand and pumice then scraped off the grime and dirt with sticks or a strigil. Luxurious scented baths and massages followed this exfoliation ritual, with perfumed oils.

By the 13th century when the soap industry was introduced from Italy into France, most soap was produced from the tallow of goats, with beech ash furnishing the alkali.

Moving forward in time, Great Grandma rendered animal fats to get oils, so she was limited to tallow or lard. We have all kinds of terrific oils to choose from, but the lard with some olive oil and coconut oil makes wonderful, basic, castile-type soap. Great Grandma, also, had to make her own lye; we have standardized lye available, commercially.

After researching the science facts; chemical qualities of different oils, the active properties of botanicals, the results of saponification and the physical properties of lather and bubbles, the result produced a mild and gentle, homemade, natural soap. This homemade soap is called goats milk soap.

Goats milk soap offers many skin care benefits, unlike commercial modern day soaps. It contains mild and gentle, natural, ingredients, unlike harsh "chemically manufactured" ingredients or detergents in modern day soaps. Goats milk soap leaves your skin close to its natural pH level, unlike harsh detergent type of soaps. Goats milk soap contains the benefits of vitamins A,B, C, D, E and K. Handmade soap experts confirm that goat milk is the ingredient that makes the difference between regular handmade soap and a miraculous luxury item!

Ingredients can be added to goats milk soap, such as oatmeal or aloe vera juice, to help contribute to their soothing properties. This homemade soap is great for all kinds of skin types including: dry itchy skin, dry flaky skin, oily skin, acne and sensitive skin. Harsh commercial soaps can, actually, contribute to poor skin conditions. Oil production, on the face, is often the skin's natural reaction against harsh chemicals in commercial soaps. Mild and gentle, healthful, goats milk soaps gently cleanses, softens, soothes, moisturizes and nourishes skin.

Learn from the history of soap. Get back to nature using homemade skin care products such as, natural goats milk soaps. You can have beautiful, healthful, skin the way nature intended.

Tips for Making Natural Soap

Making natural soap is an incredibly rewarding process. There's nothing quite as satisfying as knowing every single ingredient that went into your soap. However, there are a few things to keep in mind as you're making your soap that can help make the process a little easier and the finished result a little better and more professional.

First, know your process. There are many different methods of making soap, from the cold press method to the boiler method. Knowing what you're doing before you actually start doing it is a great way to make sure things go smoothly.

Second, know what ingredients you need and have all your ingredients on hand before you ever start making soap. Things move pretty fast once you actually get started, and you don't want to realize halfway through the process that you've forgotten something! If necessary, make individual lists of ingredients you'll need for each process, and make sure you have everything together before you get started. This is the best way to make sure that you don't have to stop in the middle of the process and ruin a perfectly good batch of soap.

Start simple. Don't try to get too fancy or too complicated the first time around, or try to include too many ingredients. You have to learn to walk before you can run, and you have to learn to crawl before you can walk. Start out with the most basic recipe you can find. There will be time for adding perfumes, oils, milks, and herbs after you've mastered your basic techniques, and you're confident in them.

Finally, don't be afraid of your ingredients. Use caution, yes, but don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. After all, you're making your own soap! And what's the point of making your own natural soap if you can't experiment a little? Get accustomed to soap making, as we've already discussed, but then don't be afraid to try new things. Making natural soap from scratch can be fun, if you let it.

Lye in Soap Making

Lye in Soap making have always gone alongside soap making.

But really, what is lye?

Lye, also known as Sodium hydroxide is a caustic alkaline chemical that dissolves substances like fat and reacts highly with other materials.

If you are a soap maker or at least have a basic knowledge about soap making, you would know that almost all handmade soaps are made of Sodium hydroxide except for liquid soaps which are often made from Potassium hydroxide.

Potassium hydroxide, unknown to many, is also a type of lye used to make liquid soaps.

So to put it simply, all soaps are made of lye.

It is important to note though that Sodium hydroxide and Potassium hydroxide shouldn't be interchanged in the making process as these chemicals produce different reactions.

Lye is an essential component in creating soap as the hydroxide in lye mixes with the fat to form a hard bar.

Lye has been widely known as an extremely caustic agent which when comes in contact with the skin, might cause burns. So, if we knew this all along,

why put such a harsh chemical on our soaps?

If we where to look back and Let me take you back to high school Chemistry.

We have learned that mixing a base with an acid forms a neutral. This is exactly what happens in the making process.

Mixing a base(lye) with an acid(fat) forms a neutral.

So, lye when mixed with soap making oils and fats will form a natural soap safe to use on the skin.

One must keep in mind though that too much lye in the soaps can cause burns on the skin and too little may not be enough to harden the bar.

So it is very important to know just the right concentration and the right amount to balance the proportion between the acid and the base.

Dealing with lye during soap creation may be scary for some people but like any chemical, it can be dealt with safely and accordingly.

One must be cautious when handling lye and take note of other precautions like using the proper equipments and donning protective gloves and clothing when handling lye.

Also, be sure that the lye you purchase is labeled for making soap as there are also other uses for lye aside from those in soap making.

As long as you know what you're doing, everything will be just fine.

So how do you make lye soap?

All you need is lye, distilled water and some oils or fats to make a basic handmade soap.

For a more luxurious product, you can add colorants, some fragrances and essential oils and some additives of your choice.

Natural Soap Making and Ingredients in Soaps - What Do You Wash With?

What is in your soap?

Active soap ingredients have always been on the forefront of all beauty, bath and germicidal soaps alike but do you know which substances make up most of the ingredients in your regular soaps? Let's take a look.

Among the most common soap-producing plants are the following:

Soap Plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum)

Soapbark (Quillaja saponaria)

Soapberry (Sapindus mukorossi)

Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis)

Roots are the primary source of saponins in most plants while others locate abundance of the same ingredient on the bark. Manual extraction procedure with water produces lather required for an immediate shampoo and body-cleaning needs.

It is obvious that people of the past have managed to use such ingredients in their purest form until they have discovered that other earth and animal-derived material can be used to enhance the efficiency and usability of such products.

Development of Soap Making

Our ancestors have seen the benefits of adding or enhancing the ingredients which makes up the soap they use. It was by accident which they realized that mixing saponin-containing substances with ashes or charcoal derived substances produces a more refined saponified substances as sodium stereate and in some cases, potassium stereate.

In addition, they have found out that the addition of rendered animal and plant fats with the then popular soldium hydroxide solution (which they have known then as an element and not a solution), produces a solidified version of soaps.

Plants are an abundant and popular known source of soap oils - olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil, tallow, palm, olive oil, soybean oil among others.

Modern Soap Ingredients

The introduction of soap technology and as people rallying on to reducing the manufacturing cost of soap production, fat oils such as rendered pork fat or beef fat, derived from animals have overtaken the use the use plant oils plant-derived saponin sources.

But the inclusion of several ingredients in soaps is generally not advantageous for it proved to be irritating to most skin types. Soaps derived from animal fats are no more than different so synthetic materials which makes skin more prone to itching and bacterial attacks.

Plant Oils and Animal Fats

Plant oils used for making soaps are considerably milder and the skin soft. It leaves little residue which usually is dissolved by washing. Moreover, the addition of scents such as perfume adds to the irritating properties of some soap products.

This residue takes in the form of sodium hydroxide, a popular caustic base agent in soap, rayon and papermaking.

Fats and oils derived from plants and animals are good enough to use as soap themselves but they lack the necessary caustic agent for them to produce the lathering effect as seen when using regular bath soaps.

Soap-Making

Lye (sodium hydroxide), is used in the entire saponification process. As treated fats and oils are mixed with lye, it begins to react and form begin the process described above. This process brings about the characteristic thickening and hardening of the liquids and begins assuming a different phase - thickened soft solid mass. This process is repeated until all lye has reacted with oil so that molding and packing goes next.

Active Ingredients - What does this mean?

Active ingredients are one among the most controversial substances ever to put in a bar soap. Active ingredients determine the applicable usage of a certain soap to a person's body and skin types.

For example, anti-bacterial soaps have triclosan and triclocarban as its active agent which inhibits the growth of specific type of bacteria (gram-positive).

In the same manner as BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) anti-oxidants and PEG-6 methyl ether sometimes found in detergents and added to soaps sometimes do more harm than good so it is best to check out for some of these substances.

You can find soaps made without petroleum or animal products if you have sensitive skin, allergies or are interested in natural products that are environmentally friendly.

Soap Making Information - A Business and Alternative Career

Soap making business is a great alternative career for mothers who find corporate life too demanding to respond to motherhood. I should know because I know of friends who totally gave up their corporate careers because they would rather spend time raising their kids. And I am telling you, the rewards are immeasurable. Their children are healthier, smarter and more responsible because their mothers are there to teach them the right values.

Soap making business can be very rewarding but you also need to do your homework before you can achieve success. But you need not worry because I am here to help you establish this business with these very practical tips.

1. Don't get overly excited in spending. Always keep in mind that the lower your start-up cost, the more profit you will gain. In the beginning, opt for the simplest way of soap making to come up with a perfect your product. There is no reason to over spend because then you can rob yourself of higher profit.

2. Develop the perfect product before going public. Being homemade does not mean low quality. The process is very simple and inexpensive that you can experiment on all kinds of ingredients to find your perfect blend. Once you find your most exquisite blend, then you are ready to proceed with marketing.

3. Create a specialty and novelty product. After creating the perfect blend, you can further improve this by putting in your personal choice of fragrance and variant. You can even create soaps for specific skin types to make your product more saleable. Just by adding a little bit of other ingredients like oatmeal, shea butter, coffee or chocolate chips, you are already creating a specialty brand.

4. Be innovative in packaging your product. Think of packaging ideas that are re-usable. This will not only add value to your product, it will also create a very positive image to your market.

5. Maintain a repeat purchase client base. If you can, at the earliest onset of your business, it is best to create a database of your clients. It will also be ideal to have a website wherein your clients can avail of flyers, brochures, promotions and anything extra you may want to give them just to maintain contact with your clients.

These above tips have helped me maintain a profitable soap making business. It is my desire that whoever ventures into this fun and exciting alternative career will also find it worthwhile. So, go ahead and be bold enough to put into action your long overdue dreams of making your own business.

The Secrets of Making Soap - Goat Milk Soap 101

You can make your own handmade natural goat milk soap! Making homemade soap takes work and making goat milk soap is a little more work because you do not want your milk to scorch, but the benefits are well worth the extra effort. Some commercial soap have chemicals that irritate skin, leave soapy build-up in the shower or tub and are just plain messy. These commercial soaps do not last long and leave a mushy mess. Do not be embarrassed by these soaps. You, your household and your guests may cringe or scowl upon using these messy soaps. After all, who wants to wash their hands in a pile of mushy soap?

When making homemade soap will not have these problems. You, the soap maker, control the consistency and contents of your own soap. Your natural soap is made just for you or for whomever you would like. If you like it, chances are others will like your natural soap too! Your natural goat milk soap can be mild, moisturizing, and good for just about any skin type. How do you begin making homemade soap with all of these great qualities?

First you need the proper materials, ingredients and knowledge. After that, you follow a good step-by-step homemade soap recipe that has been tested and proven to work. You would not begin cooking a meal without the proper cookware, appliances, materials, ingredients and recipe needed. So, use the same type of planning needed to make your own goat milk soap. Some soap makers keep soap supplies on hand to sell. You may want to check their soap supplies before starting. You can do it! You will enjoy the multiple skin care benefits and healthful rewards of making your own natural soap, as well as others too!

What type of materials will you need?

o A good scale that weighs in one-tenth ounce increments
o Stainless steel stockpot
o Wooden or heavy-duty plastic spoon
o Pyrex or plastic container (large enough to hold about twice as much milk as you will use)
o Plastic gloves and safety goggles
o Box to use as a soap mold
o Stick Blender (optional)
o Thermometer measuring between 50 - 150 degrees
o Plastic Wrap or Lid
o Towels

What ingredients will you need?

o Olive Oil
o Coconut Oil
o Lard
o Milk
o Lye
o Suggested additives are: food-coloring, dried lavender buds, ground oatmeal, pumice, skin-safe essential oil

Before working with essential oils, understand that they are potent chemicals that should be respected and used with care. Why? Essential oils are bioactive ingredients. They contain natural chemicals that interact with biological systems. Never use large amounts of essential oils externally, or internally. Never use essential oils straight. Essential oils must always be diluted in carrier oil, or soap, lotion, or other buffering agent. Finally, never use essential oils without knowing what their bioactive compounds are known to do. There are multitudes of great websites that explain what essential oils can do, including when and how to use them safely.

Now that you have the proper kitchen materials, ingredients and knowledge of the importance and care of working with essential oils, you should follow a step-by-step homemade soap recipe. The amount of ingredients you use will correlate to amount of soap you want to make. This homemade soap recipe includes the specific amounts of ingredients needed to make four pounds of soap! Now, that should be plenty of soap for you, your household and your guests! Goat milk soap can lasts long!

Again, making homemade soap takes work but with the right materials, ingredients, soap making recipe and knowledge, you will know how to make soap can do it! Have fun and enjoy making your very own handmade natural goat milk soap!

Lye, Or Sodium Hydroxide, Can Be Scary When Making Soap, But it May Also Be in Your Face Cream

Lye or sodium hydroxide (or NaOH), is needed for cold process soap, what this book and website is about specifically. Also known as caustic soda, it is a caustic metallic base. Lye or sodium hydroxide creates a strong alkaline solution when dissolved in water. It is used in many industries as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as a drain cleaner. Because Sodium Hydroxide is a common base in chemical labs, 45 millions tonnes plus are produced each year. Basically, lye is an electrolysised salt, a pure sodium hydroxide that is considered a solid; available in pellets, flakes, granules and as a 50% saturated liquid solution. I bought mine in 50 lbs bags, and this brand resembled salt crystals. Because it is hygroscopic and readily absorbs water from the air, it should be stored in an airtight container, which is also important in the case of a liquid spill into the sodium hydroxide, as it would start activating. A Lye or sodium hydroxide solution will leave a yellow stain on fabric and paper.

When I had my soap store, often people would ask if there was lye in the soap, because they wanted soap without it, like glycerin soap they said. We had to tell them that all soap has it, even the melt and pour/glycerin type bars. That the melt and pour that you can buy to make those clear bars, has already been through its oil/water/sodium hydroxide phase.

Because I know people are wary of lye, I've noticed that some soap makers avoid using that word when describing their soaps, in their advertising as well as their labeling. For instance, "naturally saponified" is used, which is legal.

I saw one website where the question was, "What does saponified mean?", the answer was "It is the traditional way of making soap from vegetable oil." When in fact, the traditional way of making soap was lye from wood ashes, water, and animal fats. There really is no traditional way of making vegetable oil soap, it's not old enough to be traditional yet. AND this answer dodges the 'lye' portion of an appropriate and correct answer.

There is also another type of lye called Potassium Hydroxide, which is used for hot process soap. This is also used to make liquid soaps, which may people prefer. Approximately 100 times more sodium hydroxide is made over Potassium Hydroxide. Because potassium soaps require less water to liquefy, they can contain more cleaning abilities (detergent-ness) than liquefied sodium soaps. So when that laundry detergent company states a newer concentrated formula, it means that they are adding less water.

As scary as this item is, it is also in a surprising number of household products. Drain Cleaner can be up to 95 percent lye or sodium hydroxide solution, and some of those anti-wrinkle face creams, they too have a small amount of lye. This creates a very minor burn action on your face, which in return, your skin adds fluids to the area in order to protect itself, plumps up the wrinkles, and thus, the 'appearance' of younger 'looking' skin.

On the internet, I saw an article, complete with images, on how to make soap from ingredients easily found in a grocery store. This included drain cleaner and those toxic room freshener liquid refills for the scent. Avoid doing this for a number of reasons: 1) drain cleaner also has a number of toxic chemicals in it to assist in cleaning drains; 2) using a drain cleaner you would not be able to measure accurately for a decent bar of soap; 3) using an equally toxic room freshener liquid as your scent could be hazardous as well, as not all synthetic liquid scents are for soapmaking.

Gosh, you'd be better off with store brand than a homemade soap like that.

Rose Hip Oil - Making Homemade Soap

Rose hip oil is extracted from the seeds of a rose bush, grown wild in the southern Andes. It contains the benefits of vitamin E, A (retinol) and C. It is high in omega 3 and omega 6 linoleic acids. It has antioxidants benefits and is slightly astringent. It is commonly used in skin care products.

Rose hip oil has helped a variety of skin conditions including: dermatitis, acne, eczema, sunburns, brittle nails, scars, mature skin and wrinkles. It slows the skin's aging process by assisting cell regeneration and promoting the increase of collagen and elastin levels. Results vary with reduced wrinkles, faded scars, firmer, smoother and youthful looking skin. Its slightly astringent properties help, tighten and tone the skin, helping to provide a youthful appearance.

Rose hip oil is used in a variety of commercial and homemade skin care formulations: soaps, lotions, creams, and more. It is a suitable choice for products intended for the regeneration of new skin cells, maturing or damaged skin. It is commonly used at a ratio of up to approximately ten percent in soap formulations. This natural oil is a great, healthful, choice for many homemade skin care products! It is a popular and versatile natural oil!

There are different ways to learn how to make soap. You can take in-person classes or learn, at home, with an audio visual resource, such as a DVD. Either way can provide you with an abundance of soap making information! Learn with, easy, soap making instructions, find soap recipes, learn by doing with trial and error, find resources and more! There are different soap making methods, such as hot process soap making, cold process soap making and re-batching. Use the method you are most comfortable with or just use them all! You can find all of the information you will ever need to make homemade soap!

Use a soap making kit, containing oils, molds and other materials to help you get started making soap. So, get started, you can make YOUR homemade soap and enjoy the multiple, healthful, benefits of natural rose hip oil, today!