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.

There are two ways as to how soap can be made. The first is the hot method which will require heating of your ingredients while they undergo a process called saponification. The other method is the cold method, which does not require any heating. The first method is usually used when your lye is impure and you have no way of measuring exactly how much lye you are working with.

The main ingredients that you will need to make soap are just oil and lye. Using these two ingredients, you will already be able to make the most basic type of soap. Lye will first be mixed with water until it is fully dissolved. Oil will then be added once the lye has fully dissolved. Heating is continuous during this time with the hot method, but no heating will be required if you choose to use the cold method. Just be sure that you have the exact measurements that you need for the cold method to work.

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.

After a few hours, your soap should have hardened but you can still make alterations on the design using knives. Other modifications that you can do with your soap are adding fragrant oils or lotions after saponification is done so that your soap will have added properties. Adding herbal leaves is another option that you can do to add to your soap's appeal.

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.

Because of the many ways that you can alter hard soaps, soap making is really a very fun hobby to do. It will stimulate your hands and mind as to how to think of creative ways to make your soap. Now, you won't have to buy those regular and boring soaps at the supermarket, when you can start making your own soaps at home.