How to buy handmade soaps without making mistakes

They come in all colors and fragrances, soft and rough, more or less hard or translucent., and round, rectangular, star-shaped or any other imaginable shape. Some even look like chocolate chip cookies or fruit cakes.

The soap makerss, industrial and artisan, strive to offer products that they seduce by sight and smell, but not all respect the natural protection of the skin.

A soap natural and handmade, made with quality vegetable oils and essential oilswithout additives, dyes or artificial perfumes, it is not only effective but also It can prevent skin from becoming dehydrated and dry with daily use.

The ingredients of a good natural soap

Three basic ingredients are needed to make soap: water, fat, and alkali.usually sodium hydroxide.

This, which is popularly known as caustic soda, reacts with water heating up, and by adding a fat, animal or vegetable, it becomes in a substance composed of soap, glycerin and water with traces of soda.

After a few weeks the soap solidifies and the soda disappears completely. This process is called “saponification” and has been known for more than four thousand years.

For liquid or cream soaps, A more soluble alkali is used. potash or potassium hydroxidebut the process is the same.

Once the soap is made, whether solid or liquid, you can add essential oils, fragrances, cereals, milk or many other substances to give it different smells, textures and properties.

When buying one, the smell and appearance will probably guide the first impulse, but some details can help you choose better. The soap should be of quality and as neutral as possible.

The longer it is left to macerate and rest once it has been prepared, the closer it is to the natural pH of the skin.. If it has not rested long enough, it can be too alkaline and do not forget that the skin needs a slightly acidic pH to protect itself from pathogenic bacteria.

Distinguishing a natural soap from an industrial one

some soaps not natural are produced with caustic soda but with vegetable saponins, some soapy substances that are extracted from plants such as the soap dish or the papaya, but they are an exception.

The difference between a natural soap and an industrial one usually lies in the way in which the soapy substance obtained with the saponification classical.

Chemicals are added to industrial soaps that are not present in natural ones, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, which can cause irritation in some people and is used so that more foam is formed, or triclosan, used soaps with antibacterial properties and that together with harmful bacteria it can eliminate others that protect the skin. But that’s not important.

Industrial soaps often have some or all of the glycerin removed. generated with saponification. Glycerin has valuable applications in the cosmetics industry, softening the skin and keeping it hydrated, and manufacturers are interested in separating it to take advantage of it in more profitable products like lotions or creams. On the other hand, in handmade soaps it is not usually eliminated and the skin does not dry out as much.

The best oils for soap making

Another part of the secret of a good soap lies in the type of fat used. Today natural soaps of quality are always made with vegetable oils and most through a system of saponification cold that does not affect its beneficial properties for the skin.

Instead, in the industrial It’s possible to find tallow or other fats of animal originwell they result cheaper and produce hard soaps and sparkling.

The olive oilvery nutritious, has been for centuries one of the most appreciated to make soap. Today it is still the main ingredient of the legendary Aleppo soapwhich is made by hand in the Syrian city of the same name and is left to dry in the sun for months.

Other valued oils are coconut, which produces a lot of glycerin and leaves the skin very soft; the one of jojoba, creamy foam; the one of wheat germ, rich in vitamin E; or the one of almondsvery nutritious.

He Palm oil gives hardness to the tablet but its use Attempts are currently being made to stop deforestation of tropical forests.

Other good option as vegetable fat that gives very soft soap is the shea butter.

How to make homemade natural soap

Making soap at home with caustic soda allows you to control the quality of the fats and customize the tablet, but It takes time and above all caution..

There is a faster and safer alternative to obtain pills to the taste of each one: remould soap.

Buy glycerin or grate the essential oils or remains of soap you have at home. The quality of the soap you obtain will largely depend on its quality. In a pot melts glycerin or soap in a little water, without boiling.Out of the fire add essential oils or dried plants what you wish, vegetable oils or shortenings to get a more nutritious soap, or cereals or flowers to give texture.Pour the mixture into molds and let it rest until it hardens.