New to soap making and wondering where to start? At Soak Rochford, we love welcoming newcomers to the soap-making world. So whether you’re an arts and crafts enthusiast or you’re simply looking for a fun, relaxing hobby to try, we’re here to help you explore all your options when it comes to soap making.
What Are the Different Types of Soap Making?
When it comes to soap making, you probably didn’t expect there to be such a variety, but there sure is! In this article, we’ll explore all the different types of soap making, from bars and liquid soap to jelly and whipped soap.
Bar Soap Making Kit
Let’s start with the classic option. Who doesn’t love a good old bar of soap?
When it comes to soap-making as an art, this is probably the easiest place to get started. Here are a few reasons why it’s best for beginner soap-makers:
- Straightforward moulds: You can pour the soap batter into a loaf mould or individual cavity moulds. Once cured, you just cut or unmould them into bars.
- Less equipment involved: Bars don’t require extra tools like pump dispensers or fancy packaging.
- Easy to store: Bar soaps are easier to cure (dry and harden) and store compared to liquid soaps.
- Room for creativity: You can experiment with swirls, colours, fragrances, and additives on a small scale without needing advanced skills.
So if you’re looking for a traditional soap bar that you can customise to your liking, then this is a fantastic place to start!
Liquid Soap Kit
If you prefer liquid soap over bars, this is also a great place to start your soap-making journey. It’s nothing technical, but it will involve some careful measuring so that you mix the soap into the correct proportions. It can serve as a fun activity to do with your friends or a partner.
It’s best to start off with a soap-making kit, to “learn the ropes”, but once you’ve made some liquid soap a few times, you’ll start getting the hang of all the ingredients you need, as well as the proportions in which you need them. Then you can run wild with all your ideas for scents and aromas.
So, whether you’re looking to add a personal touch to your hand soap or want to smell amazing getting out of the shower, liquid soap making is a great way to add a touch of personalisation to your everyday life.
Whipped Soap Kit
Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s have a chat about some more creative soap-making ideas. Whipped soap is actually one of the most quirky, but also one of the easiest soaps to make. So, if you don’t like anything technical or having to measure out and balance ingredients, this could be the one for you!
Whipped soap kits usually come with a premade foaming butter base, meaning you don’t actually have to make the soap from scratch. You’ll mainly be focusing on adding all your favourite colourants and fragrance oils. Whipped soap has a mousse-like texture, which can be used as a gentle cleanser, and is really hydrating on the skin compared to off-the-shelf soap brands.
It’s also one of the most fun-looking soaps to make, so it will make a perfect gift for someone you know who has a creative touch.
Jelly Soap Kit
Fancy putting a spin on traditional bar soap? Jelly soap acts in a similar way to a bar of soap, but has a jelly-like texture. Imagine a squishy bar of soap!
Jelly soap is just as easy to make as whipped soap. It involves a few basic steps:
- Chopping the jelly soap base
- Melting the base
- Stirring in your favourite fragrance
- Pouring into pots or moulds.
Just as easy as that, you can make your own jelly soap, and surprise all your friends when they come over and wash their hands with jelly.
Soap Sponge Making Kit
Lastly, let’s dive into the world of soap sponges. This is basically a 2-in-1 product that combines your favourite soaps inside a sponge. Imagine having a sponge with built-in soap that lasts a few weeks. Sounds great, right?
Not only that, but soap sponges combine the art of soap making with cleansing and exfoliation, so after you get going with these, you’ll feel another depth to your level of cleanliness, beyond just using typical bar or liquid soap. Soap Sponges are a great way to refresh and soften your skin.
Making a soap sponge typically involves melting a soap base, adding fragrances, and pouring this over the sponge, then just letting it soak. Quite easy, when you get the hang of it!
How to Choose the Right Soap-Making Method for You
Now we’ve learnt about all the different types of soap, how do you know which one is right for you?
If you’re a complete beginner, it might be easiest to start with bar or whipped soap making, because these are the easiest to get you started. Then, once you’ve had a go at those two, you can move on to others like soap sponges and liquid soap, still very easy to make, but a little step above.
If you’re gifting the soap to a friend or family member, think about how crafty they are. If this is something that would be completely new to them, then perhaps gift them with a simpler option like soap bars or whipped soap.
If you know they’re experienced with arts and crafts, you can go ahead and test them out with liquid soap!
At Soak Rochford, we’re passionate about getting as many people as possible into the art of soap making. That’s why we created all of our beginner kits to ensure that everyone has a fair and easy chance to explore soap making at a pace they are comfortable with.
Final Tips for Getting Started with Soap Making Kits
Soap Making can be a difficult thing to try and learn on your own, so starting off with a kit that provides the exact amount of everything you need, in all the right proportions, will stop you from overthinking, ordering too much of one ingredient, or missing something crucial to the process.
Following a step-by-step guide with all the instructions you need will make the process of making your first soaps much easier.