Dream of Making your first Natural Soap but afraid that it requires professional tools?
Do not get stressed!
Most of the tools required are easy to find in every kitchen.
Check the Tips below & let's start the soap fun.
Before diving into the world of soap making one should prepare basic tools.
Attention: all the tools used for soap making can not be later used for cooking. Please separate your soap tools/ingredients from cooking tools!
1. Recipe & the pen. It is essential to check and prepare your recipe before starting the practice. Keep your recipe in written form on your soap making table. As keeping it in the online version is not advisable, due to possible problems with the internet.
2. Digital Scale. It is a king of the soap making process. Normally without it, you can not start the process. The scale should be sensitive up to 0.1 gram, to make your measurements accurate enough. The scale must have a TARE/RESET button to help you calibrate the weight of bowls you are using to 0.
3. Blender is a queen of Soap Making. You can handle the process without it but it will be very hard for newbies. The blender helps to mix lye solution with oils & start the reaction of saponification.
4. Mask & Gloves are basic safety requirements to keep your hands, face, nose from lye steaming, or possibly burn. For 100% safety usage of goggles & safety cloth required. If you do not have one, apron or old pajamas work well.
5. Big pot (stainless steel) the one that you will heat your oils in and later on mix it with the lye solution. For HP soap makers, this pot will be used to cook your soap in.
6. 2-3 bowls for measuring water, lye, and mixing it together. Stainless steel/ good quality plastic or glass works very well.
7. Whisk to mix lye crystals with water.
8. Spatula with a rubber end to help measuring lye solution or later to mix the soap in the big pot ( number 5 on the photo)
9. Cooker. Any source of heat works well if it is gas, electric, or induction cooker. It just requires some time to get used to a particular type.
10. Thermometer. This is a prince of Soap Making process. It helps to make the reaction of saponification predictable and smooth. Different T range of mixing lye solution and oils can help you to gain smooth runny trace, or to make it thick and quick. It can give you time for swirls or opposite bring your soap to Vaseline phase in minutes. Do not hesitate to use T in your creations. Observe, make notes, and learn.
11. A filter is needed to filter the lye solution into the oils. To avoid any undissolved lye crystals in your soap.
If you skip this tool there is a high chance of getting lye crystals into the oils. They can not be dissolved in oils, so they will create a soap with lye pockets or crystals. Which is dangerous and can not be rebatched.
12. Oils. Like basic soap making ingredients. It can be oils of vegetable origin/ animal fats or butter.
13. Lye. If you are planning to do solid bar soaps you would go for NaOH, but if you would like to make a paste or liquid soap choose KOH.
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