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Soap is used by everyone to clean clothes, utensils and even ourselves. Because of this, it is really an important tool that we use everyday. Soap can come in solid or liquid form. In today's times, liquid soap has become more and more popular, and this has caused the lessened use of regular bar soaps when showering. But due to the many ways as to how solid soaps can be designed and altered, bar soaps can become popular again.

Since soaps can have a lot of different properties, and most people have no idea how to make soap, a lot of people think that soap making is a very hard process to do. On the contrary, it is a very easy process that even small children can make soap as long as adult supervision is present.

Soap making can be done through two methods but you will require the same ingredients for both. The first method is the hot method, which involves heating of your ingredients. The second is the cold method, and you will not need any heat to make your soap. The first method is generally used if you have unpurified lye as you will not need exact measurements in this method.

The main ingredients that you will need to make soap are just lye and oil. With these two ingredients, you will already be able to make the most basic type of soap, without much special properties. Lye will need to be dissolved in water and continuously mixed. Once it has fully dissolved, the oil can then be added and the two substances will undergo a process called saponification. This whole process will require heating in the hot method, but the heat is not needed for the cold method.

When the mixture has been thoroughly mixed and attained a condensed milk consistency, it can now be poured onto molds for them to cool and take shape. Different molds may be used to design your soap in a way that you want. Adding dyes may also be done so that your soap will have the color that you want.

The hardened soap can then be taken out of their molds and further designs can still be added using knives. Fragrant oils and lotions can be added to give your soap the properties that you like. Others may even use herbal leaves to help give their soap a more therapeutic effect.

Different types of oil will also result to your soap having different properties. If you want soap that you will only use for display, you might want to use oil that will give your soap a hard quality. For soap that you are going to use for showering, you might want to use coconut oil mixed with olive oil so that it will have good lathering properties while being mild on the skin.

Regular soap may be losing its popularity but it is certainly not a thing of the past. With the many designs and creative ways that you can change and alter the properties of bar soap, you will definitely have fun creating and designing your own soaps.

Jen Hopkins has worked in the skin care industry for years. She maintains websites about making transparent soap, and melt and pour soap making. If you want to contact her, you can use the contact form at one of her sites.