Although natural soap making seems to be an easy step, omitting some details causes us to make mistakes. We made these mistakes frequently when we first started making soap. Incomplete information on the internet and our inexperience caused us to lose both time and raw materials. However, we should not forget that every mistake makes us experience a little more.

We wanted to make a small compilation for those who produce natural soap at home, upon receiving frequent questions about handmade natural soap making. If you pay attention to these points in this short article, your margin of error will be lower.

Things to take into consideration

• Things to take into consideration. Of course, there will be no explosion in the production of natural soap. But we must not forget that we use caustic. The place where you will produce must first be airy. Before starting production, there should be no one other than you and your assistants. Children, our animal friends and anyone who has no job should not be in the room. Gloves must be worn as we will be working with caustic. If you do not wear gloves, you may experience redness on your skin that starts with itching due to caustic. It is not enough to just protect your hands, if possible, you should protect all your open parts. Make sure to wear a mask and use goggles. Particularly during mixing, particles may splash into your eyes from the mixture. As a person who has lived it, I can say that it hurts a lot.

• * Before you start making natural soap, make sure that all your ingredients are ready and as far as your hand can reach. Because sometimes saponification can be fast and you may need to act quickly. Don’t let your search for ingredients cause the distraction needed for soap making.

Most Asked Questions

1. The soap I made is still soft, not solidified? It is a common situation for those who are generally starting their first soap making. Actually, the solution to the problem is simple and easy. There are several important points in making natural soap. These are: a) Scales: You must have a kitchen scale. Making soap with the cup account will leave you open to error. You must accurately measure oils, water and caustic. b) Heat meter – digital thermometer: temperature measurements are indispensable in natural soap. If you do not measure at the right temperatures and intervals, your soap will not be likely. Generally, the soap made is thrown away because the above two details are skipped.
2. I made soap with the formula I used before, but this time it didn’t work? What we see in our customers who have such questions is that the oil types and ratios used in their previous formula have changed. For example, they make natural soap using olive oil, then add different oils to the formula. They use the ratio of water and caustic they used while making olive oil soap. It should not be forgotten that the saponification factor of each oil is different. Soap caustic ratio should be recalculated for new oils used.
3. Solidification occurred suddenly during soap making, why? While making natural soap, solidification may occur during the mixing due to some reasons. There are several reasons for this. – The acidity of the oil: The high acidity of olive oil, especially used in cold soap making, is one of the reasons that accelerate saponification and cause solidification. If it is possible that the olive oil you will use is not very acidic, make sure that it is edible olive oil. If the olive oil has a high acidity or is in the style of pomace, visible solidification will be seen as soon as you pour the caustic water. When you start mixing with a blender, the caustic and oil will not be mixed properly and the soap will not be of the desired quality. – Essences used: Not all essences are suitable for making natural cold method soap. When everything is going well, when you add the essence to the mix, things can go wrong. Therefore, you can obtain a hardened mixture before pouring it into the mold. It is important to use essences suitable for soap making at this point. – Essential oils used: these oils are expensive oils such as rosemary, thyme, tea tree, cinnamon, lavender, etc. Unfortunately, the originals are difficult to find as they are expensive. Most of those sold in the market are diluted and essential oils. As we mentioned above, solidification can occur due to the essence. Pure and correct oils are as important as the right essences. – Temperature: Factors affecting saponification and hardening at the temperature you measure during mixing in soap making. Soap making at high temperatures accelerates saponification. Lower temperatures save you time. But it should not be forgotten that depending on the formula and content used, sometimes making it at high temperatures will give better results. – Your blender or mixer: although there is a small possibility, the motor power of the blender or mixer is high and rapid saponification is also an important point. It is useful to choose a mixer depending on your production volume as much as possible. Solid fat ratio: The amount of solid fat you use in your formula is an important point. Especially in cold weather periods, it is another reason that causes the soap to come to a rapid consistency depending on the room temperature.
4. The soap I have made does not foam? If you want to give foam to natural soap, you don’t have much choice. The best foaming oil is coconut oil. Castor oil, which you will use together with coconut oil, will give you a foamy soap. Apart from coconut oil and castor oil, palm kernel oil also adds foaming properties to the soap. However, this time, saponification can be accelerated in the soap with natural ingredients. Therefore, our recommendation is to use coconut oil and castor oil together.
5. I have used coconut oil but still my soap is not lathering as I would like? This is one of the most frequently asked questions. There is order and mathematics in making soap. There is no guarantee that using coconut oil or castor oil will give you foam. The important point here is what proportions you use. For example, using 10 percent coconut oil in your formula will not give you the required level of foam. The ratio should be at least 20-40 percent. Adding castor oil to coconut oil will create a synergy in your formula and increase the foaming rate. However, we recommend using castor oil between 3 and 8 percent.
6. Soap runs out too quickly! If you are making natural soap, you are not using any additives. Natural soap, which consists only of oil, water and caustic, has a lesser life compared to market soaps in the market. However, with small additions to your formula, you can increase the usage time of the soap a little more. Palm oil comes first among these oils. Palm oil can prolong the use of soap in the bathroom for a few more days. It also helps with shea butter, cocoa butter, palm kernel oil.
7. Does the soap run out too easily? Natural soap, which will only be born from oil, water and caustic, has a shorter life compared to market soaps. However, you can increase your design a little more for your soap with small additions. Palm oil is at the top of these oils. Palm oil soap can be extended for a few more days in the bath. It also helps in oil, cocoa butter, palm oil.
8. Sabun banyoda bekledikçe jelleşip eriyor? Doğal sabunda katı yağ oranı önemlidir. Bu gibi sorunlarla çok karşılaşmak istemiyorsanız katı yağ oranını dengelemeniz gerekmektedir. Sabun banyoda kullanıldıkça neme bağlı olarak eriyebilir, jelimsi bir kıvama gelebilir. Bu sorunu da en iyi hindistancevizi yağı, palm yağı, palm çekirdeği yağı, kakao yağı çözer. Aynı zamanda sabunun iyi kurutulmuş olması da önemlidir.