Homemade soap recipes

Dear Fellow Craftsperson:
Just imagine making your very own custom blend soap - what an amazing feeling! And so much fun too!
You pop a finished batch out of the mold and carefully section it.
Unless, of course, you have proper instruction.

You look closely over each piece - studying its uniqueness. Enjoying the enticing aroma and raw beauty of your creation until you’re certain each bar deserves your “Seal of Approval”.
And whether you are soaping for your family and friends or for profit, your reaction is the same…
A triumphant wave of personal satisfaction brings on a little happy dance and a grin from ear-to-ear. You have created something useful AND unique. A custom-made soap that is far better than anything found on a store shelf!
Congratulations! You are a Master Soap Maker!

Before You Know It

For many people, soap making is addictive. I got hooked a few years ago. There was a story on TV about possible health risks from the additives in store-bought soap. I began searching for healthy alternatives for my family – ones that didn’t cost an arm and leg for each bar!
A friend suggested I try making my own soap. Always eager to learn something new, I started looking into it. From reading book after book and spending hours on the Internet, I grew more excited every day. My mind was filled with ideas about special oil blends, unique scents, using attractive add-ins to create personalized soaps for people to enjoy…
After all that time and information, I still didn’t feel ready to make that first batch. A list of “do’s and don’ts” and countless pages of printed out instructions, but still so much seemed unclear.
And making each batch takes time and money, so “trial and error” was not the way I wanted to go.
Being a “big picture” person didn’t help either. It’s easier to understand the directions and follow each step correctly when I see where it fits in the overall process. And while it sure doesn’t have to be complicated, soaping does have several stages…

Science Meets Art

If you don’t already know, soap making is fascinating. There’s nothing else like it. Chemistry in action with squeaky clean results.
Take a few select items from nature and mix them up just right and you get to watch a chemical reaction that causes the ingredients to turn into designer-quality, great smelling, skin nourishing soap.
Once the batch is ready (called reaching “trace”), pour it into a mold, and let it cure.
And you’ve created art with a purpose – and it’s good for you too!
You can customize it and personalize it to your heart’s content. Stick with the basics or add more steps – it’s entirely up to you. Just imagine all the ways you can put your special touch on each and every batch.
And that’s what it’s all about…
Making exactly what you want. Whether you feel like creating an additive-free soap, soap with a particular color or scent, or you want to express your creativity (and make money doing something you love) by starting your very own line of custom bath products, it’s easy - once you know the basics…

The Long Road

So there I was, filled with ideas, ready to express my inner artist with lathering masterpieces, but I was stumbling over the fundamentals.
Saponification, trace, cure, gel phase, superfatting… You have to get these down before you can really let your creativity flow. I still had a full-time job, so my time was limited. And I wanted to be up and running yesterday.
I got through it though, learning a little bit more each day. So many questions came up when I compared what I read to what I was experiencing. Things didn’t look exactly as I imagined from reading the text described and having pictures was helpful, but nothing showed me everything from start to finish. Still I kept at it, determined to get the process down cold.
Any failed batch cost me time and money, but I kept telling myself I was learning something new. My self-confidence grew every time it turned out right. And slowly I started experimenting with new ingredients, more complex recipes, and interesting molds…
Without having someone there to walk me through the soap making process, many things took far longer than I had planned, but eventually I “got it”. Now I create incredible-smelling, creative, and unique soaps that people can’t seem to get enough of. It’s exciting to be “in demand”.

see how easy it is to make soap.. go here: 
http://bit.ly/gUCtyK

How to Make Soap: Cold Process Soap Making Guide
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/45840018/Make-soap-at-home
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/67851510/Make-your-own-soap