Making your own soap is a simple process with endless variations. You can learn the basics in a few sessions, but to become truly proficient you’ll want to spend more time honing your skills. Your own learning curve depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn soap making and some resources to help speed the process along.
What is Soap Making?
At its simplest, soap is a fusion of fats or oils with a base like lye. The resulting chemical reaction, called saponification, gives soap its unique properties – soap molecules link up with dirty, germ-laden skin oils and fatty membranes of bacteria and viruses and wash them away. You can make soap with either a hot process or cold process method, or use the simpler melt and pour method and customize it with your preferred oils, fats, plants, and fragrances.
The earliest record of soap comes from ancient texts dating to Bronze Age Mesopotamia, which describe making soap from the resin of fir trees. Babylonians and Egyptians later expanded on these techniques by using plant ash, oils, and animal fat to produce soaps much like the products we use now. Soap suffered a drop in popularity during Medieval times when unsanitary conditions helped fuel the devastation of the Black Death. By the sixth century AD soap came back into favor with European royalty, and broad use quickly followed. Making soap was a laborious process until a French chemist developed a method for making soda ash from common salt and large-scale soap making became possible. The formula for soap remained essentially unchanged until product shortages during World War I forced innovation and chemists synthesized the detergents that are used in soaps you buy today.
Benefits of Learning Soap Making?
Learning to make soap is a way to express your creativity, challenge your skills, and live more sustainably. Using handmade soap without excess packaging and unknown chemicals is a great way to incorporate more all-natural products into your home. You can make soap with eco-friendly ingredients like coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil, and use organic botanical fragrances and plant materials. The Sustainability Project says that using bar soap is the easiest and simplest switch you can make to reduce your waste on a daily basis.
Learn Soap Making
- Up to $20 off your first class
- 10% Reward Points
- Price lock guaranteed
- No added fees
Thousands of classes & experiences. As featured in Time Out.
Making soap is also just plain fun, and fun is good for you. So is creativity – people who are creative every day report greater happiness. Learning soap making can connect you with a whole community of fellow soap making enthusiasts and even lead to new entrepreneurial ventures. The global handmade soap market is valued at nearly $148 million and growing, and the online marketplace Etsy features almost 158,000 handmade soaps for sale. Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild (HSCG) is a national community of handcrafted soap, cosmetic, and candle makers that offers skill-building, community, and financial resources. Their annual conference offers certifications and classes where you can grow your skills and get inspired by other soap makers.
Soap making allows you to create beautiful and functional products with formulas that are soothing to your skin, aid in relaxation, or smell divine. You can pour your soap into decorative molds, or spread it into loaves to cut into trendy rustic bars. Luxuriate in the gentle, skin-nourishing lather of your all-natural soap and delight your family and friends with one-of-a-kind gifts.Â
Average Time It Takes to Learn Soap Making
Soap making is a journey of continuous learning; even experienced soap makers expand their knowledge and create their own signature soap recipes. If you are a beginner with no prior experience, it will probably take a few months of practice to become comfortable with the basic techniques. You’ll need to understand how to measure ingredients accurately, handle lye safely, and follow all of the steps to a finished bar of soap. This is a good time to experiment with simple recipes and gradually build your skills and confidence.
You might spend a year or more to become truly proficient at soap making. Once you have mastery of soap making you may want to explore different methods and experiment with a variety of ingredients, colors, scents, and designs. HSCG offers professional certifications for aspiring soap makers, with credentials for basic, advanced, expert, and master-level skills. Each skill level requires you to demonstrate your knowledge of product chemistry, problem-solving, using additives, creative techniques, and the commercial soap industry. Expect to spend several years working toward your certifications if you pursue this goal. Members have successfully completed over 600 Certification Levels, with three reaching Master Level Certification status.
Other Factors
The time it takes to learn soap making can be influenced by various factors. Learning soap making is a personal journey, and the period it takes to become proficient varies from person to person. Along the way, remember to embrace the learning process and enjoy the creative aspects of soap making so your experience is fulfilling and rewarding. Here are a few key elements that can impact the learning process:
Prior Experience
When you learn to make soap, you might be using tools and techniques that are new to you. Accurately measuring ingredients by weight, maintaining precise temperatures, and calculating ratios are all skills that require practice to gain mastery. A prior understanding of chemistry and cooking will help you with your soap making journey.
Practice Time
Like most new skills, soap making gets better with practice. If you have time to regularly apply your new skills, you’ll probably improve quickly. If you only make soap occasionally, your learning process will understandably take longer. Consistent practice helps you develop skills, improve your techniques, and gain confidence.
Access to Resources
Having access to resources like in-person classes and workshops makes learning soap making faster and easier. You’ll also need a kitchen or other easy-to-clean workspace and a supply of materials for your soap recipe. Books, access to online tutorials, and remote classes can also help you get up to speed more quickly.
Creative Exploration
When you begin making soap, you might be excited to experiment with new ingredients, fragrances, colors, and techniques. All of this creative exploration will enrich your experience and help you discover your unique style and preferences. However, learning more intricate techniques or experimenting with advanced ingredients and designs may require additional time and practice.Â
What to Know Before Learning Soap MakingÂ
Soap making ranges in difficulty depending on the techniques and recipes you choose to explore. Melt and pour soap making is considered the most beginner-friendly, as it uses pre-made soap bases that you can customize with color, fragrance, or additives. Cold process soap making involves creating soap from scratch using oils, lye, and water. You’ll need to make careful measurements, use safety precautions with lye, and understand the saponification process. Advanced soapmakers may explore the hot process method and more complex designs and additives.Â
Start by making soap with simpler methods and progress to more complex techniques as you gain experience and confidence. Melt and pour soaps require only a microwave, mixing tools, and molds. As you advance your skills, you may want to obtain additional equipment and supplies for other methods of soap making. Ensure that you understand the fundamental methods of soap making and practice safety measures so you’ll achieve luxurious results and enjoy the creative process.Â
The cost of soap making depends on the process you choose and the additives and molds you incorporate. You’ll need to repurpose or buy ($50) pans, bowls, stirring utensils, a knife, and a cutting surface. A digital kitchen scale ($20) ensures accuracy and an immersion blender ($50+) makes mixing easier, and you’ll need silicone molds for loaves or individual shapes ($10-20). Ingredient costs vary, but you can expect to pay between $25 and $50 for a good batch of supplies. Fancier soaps cost more to make, as you’ll need to purchase specialty butters, oils, and additives. You may also want a spice or coffee grinder for grinding dried herbs and flowers ($30), a wooden soap cutter ($30-50), and soap stamps ($10-30).
Can I Learn Soap Making for Free / on My Own?
It’s certainly possible to learn to make soap on your own. Try borrowing soap making books from the library, watching free tutorials online, or attending demonstrations at craft shops and fairs. You will still have a cost for purchasing materials, and you may use excess products in trial and error as you learn soap making. The quality of online resources varies, and making soap requires exact chemistry and effective safety precautions.Â
Key Takeaways
- You can master a simple technique like melt and pour soap making in a few sessions, but gaining mastery of the chemistry and process involved can take many months, or even years.
- Learning to make soap is a great way to express your creativity, challenge your skills, and live more sustainably.
- Make sure you have a space where you can work undisturbed and ample time to practice when you endeavor to learn soap making.Â
- Prior experience with chemistry and cooking will help you learn soap making more quickly.
- Contact CourseHorse to find options for online or in-person training, including private group sessions.