Learning how to make soap is easy to do. But there are endless variations to make soap more interesting and useful. That’s why soap making is a such a popular hobby. This hobby is easy to get going but interesting because of all the different ways to make soap.

Basically, soap is just a mixture of fats and oils with an alkali. The alkali usually is referred to as lye. Lye comes in one form that makes hard soap, bar soap. In comes in a second form that makes liquid soap.

In days gone by, lye was derived from leaching wood ashes with water. The lye product was quite variable and soap produced with such homemade lye was very variable too. It might work well and it might take hide off man or beast. That’s why commercial grade lye is used. It is very predictable and relatively easy to use.

Normally lye is mixed into water and then the lye and water mix is mixed into oils. After some stirring and some time, that mixtures begins to turn almost magically into soap.

The mixing of the ingredients is very critical.

Note that one always mixes the lye into water. Never mix water into lye. What you may likely get with water dropped into lye is splatters that are very dangerous. That’s because lye is extremely caustic. That means it causes burns if it contacts your skin. Plus it can damage eyes beyond repair.

That’s why a given in working with soap is the proper eye protection. Lye splattered in eyes is disaster.

Also it is necessary that the materials used to makes soap be mixed in the proper proportions. Use too much lye or too little oil and you get finished soap that still contains unreacted lye. That’s the kind of soap that peels skin. You don’t want that.

One the other hand, too little lye or too much oil produces soap that doesn’t work well either. That kind of soap tends to feel oily and doesn’t clean well or lather well either. That’s a waste just as surely as the soap with too much lye.

It is easy though to get the proportions correct. When you do, you get a mild, moisturizing product that cleans well but has a luxury feel too.

Learn how to make soap and you can produce a superior product that will please friends and family alike. Who knows, your handmade soap might even become the basis of a profitable small business.