Photo: AppleTone 景隆 / Flickr

It was only after the early 1900s that soap became widely available commercially. Prior to World War I, most people made soap at home, using animal fats. With the war came a shortage of animal fats, and synthetic soaps and detergents were developed. As with most household products, commercial soaps also tend to contain a lot of chemicals and other synthetic additives and preservatives which may have harmful long-term effects on our health as well as the environment. Making your own natural soap is not expensive and it is also much healthier.

Why handmade soap is good for you

Natural soaps often contain more glycerine than conventional products. Glycerine, of animal or plant origin, is a great moisturising ingredient, as are castor oil, jojoba oil and palm oil.

It has been found that animal fat-based soaps can act as irritants to our skin, causing eczema and clogging pores. They are now easily replaced by oils extracted from grains, nuts and vegetables, which are better absorbed by our skin.

Avocado oil pressed from fresh or dried fruit is very stable and is full of antioxidants vitamins A, B and D as well as lecithin, while beeswax is great for protecting your skin and it also helps make soap harder.

Other natural ingredients to consider include coconut oil, cocoa butter, olive oil and shea butter.

Your very own soap-making kit

You’ll need one pair of heavy duty, long rubber gloves, a pair of safety goggles, one cooking thermometer, a food scale, a large stainless steel pot and two large plastic spoons.

You’ll also need 2.5 gallon plastic containers with a pouring beak, a roll of plastic wrap, two yards of acrylic, a wire cooling rack and a plastic shoebox lined with plastic wrap.

The ingredients for this soap are two tablespoons of dried herbs, 12 ounces of distilled water, one ounce of pure cocoa butter, 4 oz. of lye, 7 oz. or pure olive oil, 7 oz of pure white coconut oil as well as 16 oz. of pure vegetable shortening.

For the instructions on how to make your very own vegan soap, check out this link. There are also many other resources online featuring more soap-making recipes.

Tags: homemade, soap