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Scents of the Season

Soap-Making Basics

Making your own soap offers you the chance to customize it by adding your own ingredients. To begin, there are two basic processes that involve soap making, the melt-and-pour technique or the cold-process technique.

Melt-and-Pour Soap-Making Technique

The melt-and-pour technique is a popular and easy way to start soap making. This technique is preferred by beginners because handling lye directly is not required; therefore, it is safer. Its few ingredients also make this technique economical.

Supplies & Ingredients

  • Premade blocks of soap base
  • Double boiler or heavy soap pot for use on stove top, or microwave-safe melting pot for use with microwave
  • Additives such as scents, dyes and herbs
  • Soap mold

To get started with the melt-and-pour technique, purchase premade blocks of uncolored and unscented soap from a craft store or online soap-making supplier. Cut the base soap into chunks, and melt in melting pot in microwave or in double boiler or heavy soap pot on stove top. If you melt it in a microwave, heat on low power for 30 seconds at a time. If melting on a stove, heat slowly over low heat. Whichever technique you use, be very careful not to boil the soap.

After the soap is melted, add the color and scent of your choice. At this stage, you can also include other components such as herbal additives or apricot seeds, which exfoliate and add beauty to handmade soap. After the components are mixed and before the soap begins to cool, pour the mixture into a soap mold. When the soap mixture has hardened, gently twist and pop the soap out of the mold. If it resists release, place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and try again. The melt-and-pour technique is a great way to introduce yourself to soap making. After you have mastered this technique, you may want to move on to the cold-process technique, which gives you greater control over the ingredients you use.


Cold Process Soap-Making Technique

Supplies and Ingredients

  • Animal fat or oils
  • Stove in a well-ventilated area
  • Heavy soap pot
  • Thermometer
  • Mixture of lye and water (see below)
  • Additives such as scents, colors and herbs
  • Soap mold

In the cold-process technique, an animal fat or vegetable oil is heated in a soap pot to approximately 100 degrees. When the correct temperature is reached, slowly add the lye-water mixture. To make a lye-water mixture, pour 1 3/4 cup cold tap water into a plastic jug or 1 quart mason jar. Slowly add 4 ounces of lye. Handling lye requires special safety precautions such as mixing in a well-ventilated area like the outdoors or under an exhaust fan. After you have created your mixture, pour it into the soap pot and blend until it thickens to what soap makers refer to as "trace."

After the mixture reaches trace, add fragrance, color and additives, and pour it into the mold. This soap will take about 24 hours to harden, and about four weeks to cure in a cool dry place before it's ready to use. Cold-process soap making is more complicated than the melt-and-pour technique, but it gives you more control over your ingredients since you are making your own base. Anything can be added to the base, which is ideal for those seeking natural-based and customized soaps.

Holiday Soap-Making Ideas

Handmade soaps are a popular gift-giving option that is always appreciated. Try some of these creative handmade soap ideas.

  • Poinsettia Guest Soaps -- Make single-use soaps using the melt-and-pour technique. Purchase silk or fabric poinsettias from a floral supplier. Remove the petals and dip them into the melted, scented and colored soap base. Remove petals with long tweezers and let them dry on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Place the petals in a pretty bowl and give to your favorite hostess. Soap-covered petals make great single-use soaps guests will love to use.

  • Fun Soaps -- After pouring soap base into a mold, embed plastic or vinyl toy shapes into the soap. Search the Web or craft stores for fun shapes such as fish or bugs that kids will adore. Create grown-up variations by embedding plastic snowflakes in the soaps. Other fun grown-up shapes I have seen are tiny plastic or vinyl flowers or miniature fruits.

  • Presentation Is Everything -- Arrange and give your handmade soaps in a special basket along with a loofah, handmade candle and washcloth. Wrap each handmade soap in special packaging you create yourself along with a personalized gift tag.


Candle-Making Basics

Candle making is very similar to soap making in that it allows you customization with almost any color and scent desired. Additionally, basic candle-making supplies such as a melting source, paraffin, wick, scents, dye and molds can be found at craft and hobby shops.

Melt the paraffin in a heavy pot or pan such as a cast-iron pan, being careful not to bring to a boil. Once the paraffin is completely melted, add the dye and scents of your choice. Stir the scents into the paraffin following the manufacturer's instructions. Keep the mix on very low heat while preparing the wick.

Preparing the wick properly will allow the candle to burn more evenly when lit. Prepare the wick by dipping it into the melted paraffin, coating it evenly. Attach the wick to a pencil or other long object and place it over the opening of the candle mold, so the wick hangs straight down into the mold. Make sure the mold being used has a mouth that is wider than the base of the mold, so the hardened candle will slide out easily. You may also want to grease the inside of the mold with vegetable oil. Pour the melted paraffin into the mold, filling the mold to the top. When the candle is completely hardened, remove the mold.

Holiday Candle-Making Ideas

  • Pinecone Fire Starters -- These are a tried-and-true favorite for holiday gift giving. Add essential oils of pine and cinnamon to melted paraffin. Dip pinecones into the mixture, add the prepared wick to the top and let them cool on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Pinecone fire starters are used as kindling for a fireplace, wood-burning stove or campfire. They are easy to ignite (simply light the wick) and will sustain a generous flame for about 10 minutes while the logs catch fire.

  • Teacup Holiday Candles -- Put your thrift-shop finds to good use by using them as containers for your new waxed creations. Scour stores for holiday-themed teacups to give a special presentation to your candles.

  • Make Beeswax Candles -- In the 13th century, only the wealthy could afford to keep bees and were lucky enough to be able to make their own beeswax candles. Today, this is a super-simple process you can do by purchasing beeswax sheets and rolling them into a tight tube (no melting required!). They are clean-burning and have a pleasant, sweet scent.