Making soap is fun. This is a hobby that nurtures and promotes your creativity while at the same time provides you with an excellent home-business opportunity.
We are going though difficult economic times, which is expected to see worse before it becomes better. Even when the economy was steady, people were always on the lookout to complement their income through a secondary occupation. Here is something that you could start from home whether you are 15 or 50 years old, with the minimum of effort and investment.
1. Treasure soap
This is a very easy to do recipe which would give you both satisfaction and excellent financial returns. You will need the following ingredients:
- Sodium hydroxide (lye) – 340 grams
- Lard or olive oil – 1.4 kg kept at room temperature
- Saucepan – capacity to hold 2.3 liters
- Water – 750 ml refrigerated overnight
- Gloves – plastic for protecting hands
- Eye protection
- Plastic dish pan – should be shallow, about 10 x 12 inches
- Wooden spoon or sassafras branch
- Food color for coloring
- Fragrance
- Small ‘treasure’ trinkets
- Shape cutters and thread
- Colorful cellophane or decorative ribbon or thread
¨ Wear your gloves and eye protection gear
¨ Pour the cold water in the saucepan and gradually and very carefully add the sodium hydroxide to it. Stir continuously with the wooden spoon. Take care that you do not bend over this mixture as the vapors are not meant to be inhaled. Beware that as the lye dissolves, the solution would become very hot. Always stir in one direction only
¨ Set aside and allow this mixture to cool down for about one hour
¨ Put the lard or olive oil in the plastic pan and pour your cooled down mixture over it
¨ Mix continuously for about 15-25 minutes until the lard has completely melted and mixed. If using olive oil, the mixing should not take more than 10-15 minutes
¨ Add the color and fragrance and stir to mix
¨ Allow to harden for about 2 hours and then indicate where you want the division to be made in the soap dish using thin thread to mark it. If you are using olive oil this procedure should be done after 4-5 days.
¨ Place the trinkets in the middle of the proposed cut piece of soap. The trinket would sink a little and settle in the middle while the soap continues to harden. In case of olive oil, allow it to harden for about 4 days before placing the trinket. At this time you could place in the decorative thread which is meant to make it possible to hang the soap, instead on placing it in a soap case
¨ Allow it to harden overnight if you are using lard; for about 7 days if you are using olive oil.
¨ Once it is hardened enough, use the cutter to cut it in the shape you want. In case you do not want to cut it, instead of pouring into the dish pan, you could use small different shaped paper cups to give your soap shape
Your homemade soap is ready to be sold, gifted or used. Such soaps could make excellent gifts during festive seasons.
2. Liquid soap
You will need the following ingredients:
- Pure castile soap bar
- Distilled water – same weight as the soap bar
- Wood spoon
- Antibacterial essential oils (eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil or the like) – about 20 drops
- Vitamin E and A capsules – 4 each
- Fragrance
- Food color
- Various sizes of liquid soap dispensers
¨ Cut the soap bar into small pieces or grate it finely
¨ Add the same amount of water and heat both in a pot taking extreme care (by stirring continuously) that the mixture would not come to a boil
¨ Remove from heat as soon as the mixture has turned into uniform liquid mass
¨ Add the color and stir until you obtain the color you intended
¨ Allow it to cool for about 15-20 minutes and then add the fragrance, essential oils and the contents of the vitamin capsules. This will give your liquid soap anti-bacterial, moisturizing and softening properties
¨ Fill in soap dispensers and use, gift or market it
Helpful online resources:
- http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/liquidsoap/ss/basicliquidsoap_10.htm - everything you wanted to know about liquid soap making and more
- http://greenliving.suite101.com/article.cfm/diy_make_liquid_soap - this is a wonderful recipe for those who have embraced green living
- http://www.mixph.com/2007/04/how-to-make-soap-the-soap-making-business.html - the ABC of starting a soap business, plus plenty of recipes for making all types of soap including dishwashing soap, liquid soap, beauty soap, and toilet soap
- http://www.soapteacher.com/StoreGroup.aspx?GroupID=15&GroupName=Starting+A+Soap+Business – an excellent website which not only teaches you step-by-step how to start our business, but gives away hundreds of free recipes for making soap and other beauty products
- http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=how+to+make+soap&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title# - an excellent video to make soap
