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Soap is a natural product that is the result of a chemical reaction between lye (caustic soda or sodium hydroxide) and oils or fats. In days gone by it was necessary for people to make their own lye from ashes and their own soap often mixing the fat of animals with the ashes. Today we can buy soaps in the store, but there is still a great feeling of satisfaction in making your own soap.

Soap is much more sophisticated today and making it at home no longer requires dirty ashes or messy animal fats. You can also make great soaps with fancy skin nutritional oils and lovely colors and fragrances. There are three main ways to make hand crafted soaps. Some are easier then others and all can make great soaps.

Melt and Pour.
One of the easiest and most common methods of soap making is melt and pour soaps. Here you will buy a basic soap base in either opaque or white (sometimes cream colored). You will then melt it, add colorant of your choices, any excess oils or additives, herbs and or flowers, and fragrance. The soap is then poured into molds of your choice and cooled to let it harden. This is an easy way to make soap and allows you to make beautiful soaps with a lot of additives to it. Easy recipe for great soft moist skin.

3 cups melt and pour soap base of your choice
1 Tablespoon Aloe Vera gel
1 Tablespoon Hemp Oil
15 drops Vitamin E oil
5 drops tea tree oil
Use a pinch of powdered soap colorant or a few drops of liquid
Use 3-15 drops fragrance oil or essential oils

Melt your soap. Mix in additives. Pour into molds. Let harden and remove from molds. Use or give away!

Cold Process Soap.
Cold process soap is the most common method used for making soaps from scratch. Here you will be mixing your lye and your oils. It is more dangerous and requires a lot more equipment. The basic process is to mix lye with water. While the lye is cooling you will want to warm your oils till all solids are gone. You want your oil and your lye water to be about the same temperature when you mix them together (most recipes will have you mix at 90-110 degrees. If your recipe doesn't have a temperature then mix at 105 degrees). You will want to keep mixing till the soap has begun to form and the mixture thickens. This is caused trace and happens for different soaps at different times. Now is when you add colorants, fragrances, and other additives such as flower petals or other plant materials. Mix thoroughly and pour into molds. Let sit for 24 hours. Remove from the molds (being careful not to touch

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