After making a few batches of cold process soaps and waiting patiently for 3+ weeks while they cure, you are probably wondering if there’s another way of making soap that doesn’t require such a long waiting time. What if you need to make gifts for an upcoming party/holiday/special occasion, and there’s not enough time left? What if you are like me and sometimes just don’t have the patience to wait that long to use your new soaps? Then you should try hot process soap making - make it in the morning and use it in the afternoon! Hot process involves cooking the soap mixture in a slow cooker, double boiler, or stock pot for a couple of hours until it becomes neutral (heat speeds up the saponification process), and the soap is usable right away.

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One of the reasons soap making is so much fun is that you get to experiment with various shapes, colors, and scents. These are usually the first things people notice when they are presented with soaps. I think the traditional rectangular bar is quite attractive in its own way, but I also find various other shapes and forms from the simple round or ball to the exquisite specialty mold designs irresistibly charming. There are many different types of soap molds available online and in craft stores, but if you are like me and want a simple and affordable way to add variety and charm to your creations, then you should try soaps in the round.

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I started making bar soaps at home from scratch a few months ago and have become somewhat “obsessed” with soaps, so I finally decided to write about it. “What made you decide to make your own soap?” my friends and coworkers ask. It seems like a strange thing to do, especially in this day and age (and I live in Silicon Valley). Well at first I did it out of curiosity more than anything else. But after I started using my handmade soaps and read more about it, I discovered that they have more benefits than I realized. Until a few months ago, Softsoap or Dial liquid hand soaps and Dove or Olay body washes are what you would find in our home, and it has been that way for a long time. During this last winter season (and previous ones), my skin got really dry and itchy and none of the “intensive moisture” body washes I tried helped. Then I started using my handmade soaps, and the itching stopped and the dryness improved significantly. The soaps had nice lather even with our hard water, didn’t sting Michael’s eyes when he washed his face, and rinsed clean quickly unlike the body washes that left a film on the skin. I gave some to my parents, Michael’s parents, coworkers, and friends, and everyone liked them.

(  Click here to read the rest of Handmade Natural Soap - Basic Recipe  )