/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Most people get into soap making as a hobby. They make guest soaps, party favors, or just want to produce a higher quality soap than they could buy at their local grocery store, for half the cost.

Personally, I'm approaching it as a business. I'm very new to it, and maybe it's a bit silly to start a business doing something I haven't done before, but life is all about adventure.

In this picture, you can see a bunch of supplies I ordered from Brambleberry, a really great soap supply company. You can get most of the stuff to make soap at your local grocery store and hardware store. There are also tons of hobby shops out there with soap making supplies.

The main ingredients in soap are oils. You can use virtually any type of oil: coconut, olive, castor, hell even beef tallow. When combined with Sodium Hydroxide (Lye), the process of Saponification begins. This process converts the oils into soap.