Expert on Soap Making
When you are seriously passionate about something, you are likely to want to be good at it or be an expert at it. Most people are proud to say they are great at doing something they love. We can say the same for soap makers. Whether absolute beginners or pretty well seasoned, all soap makers who are absolutely in love with soap-making strive to be experts at their craft.
However, many craft workers don’t know where to start becoming an expert at making homemade soap. Sure, they have the equipment tried the recipes, and have made successful batches, but can they call themselves experts already? Maybe not. To become an expert at making homemade soaps, you will have to have mastered the following:
Four Soap making Methods
It’s a no-brainer that an expert at making soap should have mastered all four soap-making methods: the melt and pour, the cold process, the hot process, and rebatching. Apart from perfecting their technique with these methods, they have to understand or know the difference between the methods and know which types of soap will respond best to each of the various methods.
Making Clear Soap
Only true experts at making homemade soap can make clear soap. Clear soap is difficult to do, and many people who have been making soap for years have still not had any success with this process. The process is unique, following a cold procedure with a few extra steps. Once we have created clear soap, we can use it as a soap base for the melt and pour method, or we can use it to create unique soap presents. The number of things you can do with it is limitless, which is what makes it so ideal and wanted after by many soap makers.
Creating Unique Fragrance Blends
However, many craft workers use fragrance oils to add scent to their soaps. True experts at making homemade soap can create their unique blends by mixing two or more fragrances in a single soap batch. Typically, this process is learned by understanding both essential oils and fragrance oils, as well as knowing that some essential oils have a natural scent to them and how fragrance oils can react to different essential oils or between each other. Either way, the ability to create unique blends is a craft on its own and can elevate you to expert status.
Saving a Batch/ Troubleshooting
What do you do when something goes wrong with your soap? Maybe your solution is to let it set, then start all over again. Maybe, you choose to rebatch every time. A true expert at making homemade soap should know what they could do next they see something has gone awry.
The first step to making those soaps with advanced designs is mastering the basics. You’ll need to figure out how to make soap with the properties you need by adjusting the type of fat you use and the exact amounts you’ll need. After you’ve mastered the basics, you can move to more advanced designs.
The ingredients that you will need to make more advanced soaps are dyes and fragrances. Aside from these, you’ll probably need several molds and a knife for sculpting soap. Dyes will, of course, give you the color of the soap that you want, and fragrances will add to the appeal of your soap. Molds and knives will help you shape your soap in any way that you please.
But soap making is not all fun and games. You must also be careful, as lye is a very corrosive substance. It also emits dangerous fumes when immersed in water. Therefore, you should take precautions such as wearing gloves and face masks to protect yourself from harmful effects.
Continue to practice, and you will eventually be able to create soaps that are comparable to those found in specialty shops. One day, you might even surpass their designs, and you may want to sell your designs to earn some money from this hobby.
