A Complete Guide To Skin Friendly Soap Making Ingredients

With Autumn and Winter rolling over us, a bit of crafting is definitely on the cards. The colder seasons have many of us spending more time indoors and staying warm on those winter evenings. Finding a fun hobby or craft to get stuck into on cold evenings and rainy weekends is a great way to get you through the winter!

Our blog covers the basics of soap making, and how to create soaps with skin friendly ingredients. To find out more about soap making and the best ingredients for different skin types, keep on reading!

Soap Making Basics

Soap making and other DIY crafts are a great hobby to take on over the colder months. Not only is it a great creative outlet and therapeutic process, you get to enjoy a hand-crafted bar of soap at the end! Not to mention, homemade soap bars can make excellent Christmas gifts for your friends and family. Whether you’re a seasoned pro, or just starting out your soap making journey, we’ve outlined some of the soap making basics that you should get to grips with!

Cold Process Soap

Cold process soap is one of the more common types of soap making that you will encounter, and you can customise these bars down to every single ingredient, colour and scent (including fresh ingredients like fruits and flowers). You can create fun designs and unique patterns with cold process soap, but you will be working with lye, which is a potentially hazardous substance. 

Melt & Pour

Melt & Pour is another beginner friendly method of making soap, where you don’t need to work with any lye. You can create excellent layering and more defined patterns in these soaps, but your ingredient choices may not be so flexible. It’s important not to burn your melt and pour soap bases so that you don’t ruin your soap.

Hot Process

Hot process soaps are another soap making option that allows for lots of ingredient customisation. These soap bars have a more rustic appearance, but the thick texture of this soap can be a little difficult to handle. You shouldn’t add fresh ingredients to hot process soap as they tend to burn during the process.

Rebatch Soap

Rebatch soap involves taking previously made cold process soap, shaving it down and remelting it. You don’t need lye for this method and rebatch soap is a great way to repurpose old soap and ingredients. Because there is already a base for this soap, it’s super easy for beginners to pick up!

Soap Making Kits

If you feel like these methods are too much of a challenge, don’t worry! You can still have a crack at making your own soap with a soap making kit. These kits come with all your ingredients and utensils, so you have everything you need to get going, including clear instructions. Many beginners decide to start out with a kit to get to grips with the process, and they can be a great way to ease yourself into the soap making world!

Basic Utensils

If you decide to make your soap without a kit, there are a few basic utensils you will need before you get started. Check your soap recipe before starting the process to ensure that you have everything you need, depending on which method you are using. General utensils you will need include:

• Slow Cooker
• A Glass/Plastic Container For Measuring Lye
• Safety Goggles & Latex Gloves (If Working With Lye)
• Scales
• Spatulas
• Soap Moulds
• Soap Cutter

Making Skin Friendly Soap

When it comes to making soap, it’s important to choose your ingredients wisely. Much like any other cosmetic product, your soap should try to include ingredients that are gentle on the skin and even benefit your skin. The first step in creating a skin friendly soap is breaking down the skin types, so you are aware of the different ingredients that benefit each skin type. 

Skin Types

To get a better grasp on which ingredients will benefit your skin, we’ve broken down each skin type so that you can judge which skin type you are and decide which base ingredients to include.

Normal Skin

If you’re fortunate enough to have a normal skin type, it means that you’re neither too oily or too dry. If you find that soaps and other products don’t seem to impact your skin health too much, you probably have a normal skin type. Using the wrong soap ingredients can still create a soap that might clog your skin pores, so it’s good to use gentle or herbal ingredients in your soap.

Oily Skin

Oily skin occurs when there is an excess amount of sebum in the skin, and you may be more prone to breakouts. You should avoid using extremely strong soaps and use ingredients such as tea tree oil or aloe vera to combat oily skin.

Dry Skin

On the opposite side of the spectrum is dry skin. Dry skin can be itchy and flaky, so making a soap that helps to hydrate the skin is best. Ingredients to consider could be glycerin, cocoa butter, coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba oil and other naturally moisturising ingredients.

Combination Skin

Combination skin has both oily and dry tendencies which can be difficult to accommodate. We would recommend glycerin soaps that aren’t too strong.

Sensitive Skin

If you have sensitive skin, you may be more prone to irritation and skin reactions. We would recommend an all natural soap with little to no fragrance or additional colouring. The less irritants in your soap, the better for sensitive skin!

Our  Top 5 Favourite Skin Friendly Ingredients

To help inspire you with your skin-friendly soap, we’ve picked out our top 5 favourite skin friendly ingredients to try using! You may have some of these ingredients handy in the kitchen but if not, they are easy to come by and extremely affordable!

Oats

Oats and oat milk have excellent skin care qualities. While it may seem random, oats can moisturise, protect and even exfoliate your skin in a gentle way. For particularly dry skin, or easily irritated skin, oats are a great way to soothe and take care of your skin. You can include oats in both cold process and hot process soaps.

Olive Oil

Olive oil holds a lot of great properties for all skin types, including sensitive skin. Not to mention, it creates a gentle and creamy lather when used in soaps. It is a natural source of antioxidants, helping to neutralise the pollutants in your skin. Olive oil’s natural ability to hold in moisture helps to keep your skin hydrated and soft.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is another excellent natural ingredient for your soap making. With antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties, aloe vera is great for acne-prone skin or sensitive skin types. It can benefit all skin types, and is very hydrating, making it beneficial to dry or combination skin types. You can use aloe vera in a blended form, or scrape the raw gel into your soap mixture.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is making more of an appearance in both skin and haircare, and for good reason! Coconut oil, much like olive oil, is a natural, moisturising oil that cleanses the skin. Because coconut oil is solid at room temperature, it can help with the hardness and texture of your soap bar, creating a thick and moisturising lather.

Glycerin

Glycerin is a naturally occurring compound, mostly made of vegetable oils or animal fats. It gives soaps a clear aesthetic. Commercial soaps tend not to use glycerin because it shortens the lifespan of the soap. But, glycerin can be a great addition to your homemade soap bars. Glycerin in combination with natural oils can create a moisturising lather and penetrate the skin more easily. It proves very effective on dry skin or sensitive skin types.

Soak Rochford: Bulk Cosmetic Supplies, Liquid Soap Ingredients & More

If you’re looking for wholesale soap supplies or soap making kits, look no further! Here at Soak Rochford, we offer a wide range of soap making products and more! From bath bomb moulds to liquid wax dyes, bath bomb supplies and more, you can check out our product range on our website.

For any further enquiries about our products, feel free to contact us today to find out more!