Soap Making - Simple Recipes, Oils, and a Tip or Two: Soapmaking and Essential Oil Uses

I see a lot of people are wondering what is the correct amount of herbs and oils to use in their soapmaking and other spa products. Well, the answer is not a simple one.

It mostly depends on the recipe you are using. Whether it is melt and pour
(recommended for beginners), or hand-milled which is shaved soap or a base ingredient, or is it made from scratch which is the most difficult to learn.

Which ever method you use, you must have some sort of recipe.

I like recipes that are easy to understand like 2 ounces or 1 tbsp or 10 drops. Some people get carried away with calculations like 2.35 oz and such and that is ok if it works for them. If you are a beginner though, you need to find a good spot with easy to understand recipes.

MAKE YOURSELF PROUD - DESIGN YOUR OWN T SHIRT OR MUG OR WHATEVER

http://shop.cafepress.com/gift-center

I just recently read a new web page that recommended a great sight with tons of information on it from how to including a place to SHOP - that's right ladies, I said "shop" for herbs, supplies, it has recipes and loads of items to purchase.

Make your own soaps or buy some of theirs

Another fantastic place with really creative ideas for the more advanced soapmaker is

http://goplanetearth.blogspot.com

If you like Tea Tree Oil - this is my favorite ingredient, you can see my personal story at

MEET ME HERE !!!

http://www.teatreewonders.com/getting-rid-of-dry-hair.html

Getting rid of dry hair

by Debbie
(Oxford, Michigan)

Michigan Soapmaker

This is one of my favorite sites to visit regularly and I send people here from

my web pages and stuff as I love the endless possibilities for using tea tree oil.

I highlight and dye my hair regularly to hide the gray so my hair tends to be dry. I alternate using tea tree oil in my regular shampoo and when that is gone I add a few drops to my conditioner. My hair doesn't get greasy as fast and it is nowhere near as dry as it used to be.

My other favorite use is for a cleaning solution, it makes my kitchen smell good and it is a lot less caustic when absorbed into the skin.

Last but not least - tea tree oil is like none other in healing skin that has been damaged from cuts, sores, and bug bites etc... IT IS JUST PLAIN AWESOME STUFF!

IT ALSO WORKS GREAT FOR YOUR PETS TOO !!!

Learn all about it at: http://teatreewonders.com

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF OILS, BUT HERE

IS THE THREE MOST BASIC ;

What is the difference between carrier, essential, and fragrance oils

This is a quick basic, for more detailed info, buy a book about essential oils

CARRIER OILS - Act as a fixative and may help the evaporation of other oils and botanicals that give your soap mixture its beautiful fragrance. Oils include palm, coconut, almond, olive, castor etc. )

ESSENTIAL OILS - Should be mixed with base oils , carrier oils and fragrance oil, as they can be irritating to some skin types if used full strength. They are derived from the actual plant, leaves, roots and main plant parts. Cold pressed oils keep their vitamin and mineral content somewhat better than fragrance oils.

FRAGRANCE OILS - Blended oils - can also be expensive depending on what they are mixed with. Also adds to the fragrance of your soap.

STUDY OILS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU BEGIN SOAPMAKING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE, WHICH OILS BLEND WELL TOGETHER, AND WHAT PART OF THE BODY THEY MAY COMPLIMENT.

MY best suggestion for beginners in soap making is to learn about essential oils and how they are so beneficial to your body before you start making soaps. Are they safe for children, how much oil should I use in my soapmaking, these and many more questions will be answered once you get to know about oils. Get a copy of one of the books below from Amazon, they are good reading.

Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in solid bars or in the form of a viscous liquid.

Soap consists of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats with a strong alkaline solution (the base, popularly referred to as lye) in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol.

Today, soap is often replaced by other cleaning agents, such as synthetic detergents.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article