One may ask, "what is soap"? Soap as many may know is the bar that one buys in the supermarket or drug store. In the soapmaking industry we call this commercial soap. This soap is mass produced where the glycerin is removed to provide a longer shelf life product. Glycerin is an important component of soap because it is an amazing moisturizer for the skin so instead ofkeeping it in the soap, it is used in high priced creams and lotions.

Soap is a salt that is formed when an acid and a base react together and neutralize. This process of neutralization is called saponifaction. Soapmaking uses fats (animal) or oils (vegetable), and sodium hydroxide (lye) to make the final product. Additives, like botanicals, herbs, fragrance oils, essential oils and colorants are added to make a variety of soaps. I only use vegetable oils, extra virgin olive oil, soybean oil, coconut oil and avocado oil as my base. Glycerin is kept in the soap because of its moisturizing properties, which is why handcrafted soap is so much finer. The interesting part to the process is that soap made using the cold process method, can not be sold and/or used right away. Like fine crafted wine it needs to sit and cure anywhere between 4-6 weeks. This allows for the soap to become harder; the longer the cure the harder the bar of soap.

I have found soapmaking to be exciting and fun. It takes research, experimentation and continued education to handcraft a bar of soap one is proud of. Soapmakers are always tweeking their recipe until satisfied.

I recommend trying a variety of handcrafted soaps. I enjoy purchasing soaps from fellow soapmakers and learning from others. I can guarantee you if I am at a Farmer's Market or a local store that sells handcrafted soap, I am sure to buy one. 

As a reminder please keep your handcrafted bar of soap in a soap dish away from streaming water. This can cause the soap to become soggy and to disintegrate a lot faster.  

Happy Soaping!!