Newbie with lots of questions

[Morgan Ipsale]

Hi! I'm new here. I am really interested in making my own soaps for myself, my family, & friends. I really want to make a natural & pretty soap that (almost) looks professional, but is well fragranced.
I started to read some threads on the board but now I'm completely overwhelmed.

*What "type" of soaps (or ingredients) are best for natural soaps?
*Are there any natural soap recipes that have a nice strong scent?
*Does anyone make natural or organic soaps but still use a fragrance oil?
*What type of packaging should I look into?
*If I want to make a natural soap, what ingredients do I need to avoid?

Anything else I should know? Thanks so much!! <3

 

[dixiedragon]

This is a good kit for beginners:
https://www.brambleberry.com/natural-soap-kit-for-beginners-p6607.aspx

It has everything you need except a stick blender, a bowl and water.

Here's a bunch of good links:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beginners-learn-to-soap-online.64426/

I am going to assume you want to make soap from scratch, rather than using a melt-and-pour base.

The fragrance will come from essential oils (EOs), which come from plants, or from fragrance oils (FOs), which are a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients. Don't buy MLM brands like DoTerra and YoungLiving - VERY overpriced. I like NOW brand in healthfood stores. Make sure the label says 100% lavender essential oil (or whatever plant).

What fragrances are you most interested in? Maybe pick one to start with?

 

[Morgan Ipsale]

Are you familiar with Aztec soap/candle makers? I live right near them (I haven't been yet) but I looked on their website... and I'm just overwhelmed. Are they a good place to buy from?

I do want to make everything from scratch.

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome! There are many threads and ideas on the forum. I personally don’t consider soap natural, but it’s my personal feelings. Lye is not natural, most oils and butters have been chemically extracted or treated, I prefer FO over EO as it’s easier to make my soap smell good, some EO works great but some of my favorite scents are citrus and EO doesn’t stick. I also love colors. So use Mica. I love lard soap too. Most of mine are made with it. I do use some palm but not a lot.

You’ll get many responses and just. Need to decide what will work best for you.

 

[dixiedragon]

I haven't shopped from Aztec, but some people here have. Here's a link to the Aztec tab of our Scent Review Chart.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FTWfchk-c7sNswuh-yaTdRf1M/edit#gid=1880419997

 

[Morgan Ipsale]

I haven't shopped from Aztec, but some people here have. Here's a link to the Aztec tab of our Scent Review Chart.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FTWfchk-c7sNswuh-yaTdRf1M/edit#gid=1880419997

That is awesome!! Thank you! I was at Michael's Store last night and I was looking at the stuff they had to offer, but I felt like everything they had there for soap making was "cheap". Maybe it's good stuff, but it left a bad impression on me.

Another question, what is the best natural preservative to use? Optiphen?

Where is the best place (or brand) to find "Phthalate Free Fragrance"

It looks like I need to stay away from: Propylene Glycol, SLS/SLES (not sure what these are yet), & Parabens

"whipped" soap is another thing I'd love to try to make!

 

[Relle]

You don't need a preservative in soap.

Make a basic soap so you don't get overwhelmed without colour and without scent , so you know how it all works.
Here is a link to another post in the forum that will give you some recipes to try, pick one and go for it, try not to over think it. If you use the search engine at the top right hand side of the page and type in what you need to know it will give you links in the forum to read, it has just been revamped and is a lot easier to navigate. Most of your questions will have already been talked about before.

For this link I typed in Basic soap recipe
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/favorite-go-to-soap.68735/#post-681433

 

[Dawni]

Hi @Morgan Ipsale!

Starting from scratch can be overwhelming.. When I first started, which is very recent, what I did was to list everything I had at home that could be used. Spices, plant powders, oils, butters.. Mostly things in my kitchen. Those will give you, more or less, a "natural" soap, but it won't be up to par with the pretty, nice smelling soaps because most natural colorants and scents fade.

@Relle just posted an infographic on natural colorants after 6mos cure, maybe you already have some of those at home. You can search the best way to use them.. As powders, infusions, etc. here on the forum.

I spent my early days, and still do, looking up every search word I can think of and noting down what people here experienced using them.

I have not bought micas nor fragrance oils yet but I did have essential oils here already. Then I went searching for basic recipes, like the ones posted above, and matched or tweaked with what I had.

Start simple and start small is my newbie advise. It's what I got from this forum too.

 

[Zing]

Welcome, Morgan. Have fun! Echoing others, try a simple recipe first without color and scent -- you likely have 3 or 4 oils in your kitchen right now. Soap Queen has awesome videos for newbies, .

I love this forum and have appreciated the support I have found here. Having said that, you will see a million and differing opinions on a host of topics (essential oils, fragrance oils, definition of "natural", etc.) and, yes, it can be overwhelming. So just start simple and build your confidence on what works for you. Then experiment with different scents and colors and figure out what you like.

I won't get into what's "natural" and "organic" -- but I will tell you that my skin feels sooooo much better with my homemade soap than store-bought soap and I like knowing the ingredients.

And again, have fun. It truly is magical to watch a few separate ingredients come together and turn into soap! You'll engage both your scientific and artistic sides. Let us know how it goes!

 

[IrishLass]

Hi! I'm new here. I am really interested in making my own soaps for myself, my family, & friends. I really want to make a natural & pretty soap that (almost) looks professional, but is well fragranced.
I started to read some threads on the board but now I'm completely overwhelmed.

Welcome Morgan!

It can seem overwhelming at first, but just start out simple one step at a time, and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll be turning out a pretty soap that smells great. I personally would start with a simple recipe using the CP method- nothing fancy shmancy- just a one-pound, simple, basic formula without color or fragrance so that you can get a feel for the process.

A good recipe to start with is what is known as "The Holy Trinity" because it contains only 3 oils/fats: namely, olive oil, palm oil (lard or tallow can be substituted for the palm) and coconut oil. Something that looks like this:

40% Palm oil (or lard or tallow)
35% Olive oil
25% coconut oil
Superfatted @ 5%

Here is a very helpful link to David Fisher's site that I like to give out to beginners- he tells you how to get started with CP and lists out all the basic equipment you'll need and gives you a step by step pictorial of how to proceed from beginning to end. He even provides a basic recipe : https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/cold-process-soap-from-scratch-516814

*What "type" of soaps (or ingredients) are best for natural soaps?
*Does anyone make natural or organic soaps but still use a fragrance oil?
*What type of packaging should I look into?
*If I want to make a natural soap, what ingredients do I need to avoid?

You'll find out sooner or later that 'Natural' is a pretty loaded word around here, mainly because at face value soap is not natural (i.e., cannot be found 'as is' in nature)...and also because we all have own personal ideas of what we consider to be 'natural' when it comes to products we buy or sell or make. To me, 'natural' is how the dictionary defines it: "existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind". Based on that, I personally avoid using the word 'natural' when referring to my soap, but prefer using the word 'handmade' instead, because I make it by hand in my kitchen..... using a mixture of things that may or may not be made or caused by humankind. Having said that, I suppose one can consider it to be 'more natural' compared to a commercially-made soap, but that's really splitting hairs if you ask me.

In any case- even though some of my ingredients are not what I would term as being 'natural' as the dictionary defines it (such as lye- the most important ingredient, without which you cannot even make soap), my handmade soap is miles above the commercial soaps I've ever bought from the store. They're pretty, they smell great, and best of all, they feel great on my/our skin.


IrishLass

 

[Morgan Ipsale]

Welcome Morgan!

It can seem overwhelming at first, but just start out simple one step at a time, and you'll be surprised how quickly you'll be turning out a pretty soap that smells great. I personally would start with a simple recipe using the CP method- nothing fancy shmancy- just a one-pound, simple, basic formula without color or fragrance so that you can get a feel for the process.

A good recipe to start with is what is known as "The Holy Trinity" because it contains only 3 oils/fats: namely, olive oil, palm oil (lard or tallow can be substituted for the palm) and coconut oil. Something that looks like this:

40% Palm oil (or lard or tallow)
35% Olive oil
25% coconut oil
Superfatted @ 5%

Here is a very helpful link to David Fisher's site that I like to give out to beginners- he tells you how to get started with CP and lists out all the basic equipment you'll need and gives you a step by step pictorial of how to proceed from beginning to end. He even provides a basic recipe : https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/cold-process-soap-from-scratch-516814




You'll find out sooner or later that 'Natural' is a pretty loaded word around here, mainly because at face value soap is not natural (i.e., cannot be found 'as is' in nature)...and also because we all have own personal ideas of what we consider to be 'natural' when it comes to products we buy or sell or make. To me, 'natural' is how the dictionary defines it: "existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind". Based on that, I personally avoid using the word 'natural' when referring to my soap, but prefer using the word 'handmade' instead, because I make it by hand in my kitchen..... using a mixture of things that may or may not be made or caused by humankind. Having said that, I suppose one can consider it to be 'more natural' compared to a commercially-made soap, but that's really splitting hairs if you ask me.

In any case- even though some of my ingredients are not what I would term as being 'natural' as the dictionary defines it (such as lye- the most important ingredient, without which you cannot even make soap), my handmade soap is miles above the commercial soaps I've ever bought from the store. They're pretty, they smell great, and best of all, they feel great on my/our skin.


IrishLass

What recipe do you use?

 

[penelopejane]

What recipe do you use?

The thing about soap recipes is that what suits one person won’t suit another. Everyone’s skin is different and the oils available to different people make it tough to even compare.

Lots of people like the recipe IL gave above. Great to get started and make a good hard bar.

Then search for recipes on this site.

 

[IrishLass]

What recipe do you use?

Ditto what Penelope said- what suits one person doesn't always suit another. Having said that, I have several recipes I use- each having their own unique qualities that I'm trying to achieve....i.e., some are more bubbly, some are more cleansing, some are more gentle, etc.... it all depends on the person I'm making it for (I don't sell, I just 'gift' my soap to friends and family, as well as use them myself).

One of my regular formulas that seems to do well with most of the skin-types amongst my family and friends is a lard formula I came up with years ago. I posted it on the forum somewhere once or twice....let me go check....ah here it is: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/good-place-for-good-recipes.64946/#post-663452


IrishLass