One way to make natural soap is by using a pre-made natural soap base and incorporating other natural ingredients. This method involves combining a natural vegetable soap base, like Castile soap, with hot water and then adding desired natural scents or botanicals.
Understanding the Method
The method described involves dissolving a natural, pure vegetable soap in hot water and then adding scents or botanical elements once the mixture has cooled. This process essentially creates a liquid or reformed soap product rather than making soap from scratch using oils and lye. It's a straightforward way to customize an existing natural soap base.
Materials You'll Need
Based on the reference, you will need just a few simple materials:
- Natural Pure Vegetable Soap: Specifically, a soap like Castile soap is recommended. You can use liquid Castile soap or grate solid Castile soap into small shavings.
- Distilled Water: This needs to be boiling.
- Botanicals or Essential Oils: These are optional additions used for scent.
Step-by-Step Process
Follow these steps to create your natural soap mixture:
- Boil the Water: Bring your distilled water to a boil.
- Combine Soap and Water: While the water is boiling, stir in your natural pure vegetable soap. The recommended ratio is about 4 parts water to 1 part soap.
- If using liquid soap, measure it accordingly.
- If using solid soap, ensure it is grated into small shavings before adding.
- Stir Until Dissolved: Continue stirring the mixture until the soap is completely dissolved in the boiling water.
- Allow to Cool: Let the mixture cool down significantly.
- Add Scents: Once cooled, you can add your desired botanicals or essential oils for scent. Stir them in thoroughly.
Customizing Your Soap
The reference highlights the ability to add botanicals or essential oils for scent after the mixture has cooled. This allows you to personalize your soap.
- Essential Oils: Add a few drops of your favorite pure essential oils (e.g., lavender, tea tree, citrus). Be mindful of recommended usage rates.
- Botanicals: Incorporate dried herbs (like rosemary or calendula petals) or other natural additions, ensuring they are suitable for soap and won't clog dispensers if making liquid soap.
This method provides a simple way to create customized natural soap using a readily available base ingredient.
