Creating your own Vegan Soap is a great way to save money and reduce your soap consumption. There are other benefits as well. Making your own soap is less likely to contain harsh chemicals and additives that you might find with commercial soap. Besides, it is so much fun and is a great way to learn new skills! You can even make soap in your own kitchen as a hobby. To begin, you will need some basic ingredients. Depending on what type of soap you want to make, you may need just one or a few specific ingredients. Below you will find a list of some of the most common ingredients you will need. Keep reading to learn more about each one and how to make your own vegan soap.
What You Need to Make Your Own Vegan Soap
When you make your own soap, you have a large amount of control over the exact recipes and ingredients. While there are many different ways to make soap, most vegan soaps start with oils. The most common oils used are olive oil, coconut oil, and jojoba oil.
Vegetable oils, such as soybean, canola, or sunflower oil, work well as well. All oils can be purchased at grocery stores, health food stores, or online.
You will also need an acidic liquid to help the soap “melt”. For the most part, this will be some type of liquid glycerin.
You will also need a soap base. The most common soap base used is Merenda Superfat Soap. Merenda makes a vegan soap base that is free of parabens, sulfates, and cheap fillers. It is also made in the USA using hard white soybeans.
Another popular soap base is liquid coconut oil soap. This soap base can be purchased online or at health food stores.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer. It’s also great for the skin because it’s not comedogenic.
The soap making process relies on the fat in coconut oil to create soap. The soap is created by “cooking” the oils and glycerin in the mixture.
So coconut oil is an important ingredient as it aids in the “cooking” process. It also has many wonderful benefits for the skin, hair, and nails. Therefore, you should always try to use the highest quality coconut oil possible.
However, you do not need to be purchasing organic coconut oil to make your own soap. You can use the cheap and easy alternative of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.
When purchasing coconut oil, make sure it is extra virgin.
Extra virgin coconut oil has many benefits for the skin and nails. It’s also an excellent moisturizer for dry skin.
You can purchase coconut oil online or in health food stores.
Arrowroot Powder
Arrowroot powder is a dry flour that is used as a thickening agent. It is also used as a coloring agent in homemade cosmetics as it can help create natural colors.
You can purchase arrowroot powder through many online retailers or through health food stores.
It comes in different colors such as white, blue, and purple. You can also get colored arrowroot flour by adding a few drops of food coloring to the dry flour.
The amount of flour you need depends on how you want to make your soap. Some people like to make their bars small and thin, while other people like to make bigger bars and chunks.
Salt
Salt is used in many homemade cosmetics to help with the “cooking” process and to create a lot of the basic ingredients used in soap making.
It is also used as a preservative and to bring out the natural scents in your soap.
You should try to use kosher salt or another type of salt that has no additives.
Glycerin
Glycerin is used as a base for soap. It is a naturally occurring substance that is produced by various types of plants, such as sugar cane and sugar beet.
Glycerin is then extracted and refined to be used in soap. It is typically used as a liquid and is what creates the soap “melt”.
Glycerin can be purchased online as a liquid or you can find glycerin at health food stores.
Where to Find the Other Ingredients
Vegetable glycerin – Vegetable glycerin can be purchased online or at health food stores.
White soybeans – White soybeans can be purchased online or at health food stores.
Kitchen knife – A kitchen knife is optional and can be used to chop up the ingredients.
Merenda Superfat Soap recipe
The Merenda superfat soap recipe is one of the most popular soap recipes online. It produces a solid soap that is also great for washing your hair.
It is free of all the common additives found in commercial soap.
Ingredients
• 2 cups soybean oil – 1 cup coconut oil – 1 tsp. arrowroot powder – 1 cup soap making granules – 1/2 tsp. tea tree essential oil – 1/2 cup soybean or olive oil – 1/2 cup water – 1 tsp. vitamin E oil (optional) – 1 tbsp. sweet almond oil (optional) – 1 tsp. castile soap (optional) – 1 tsp. shea butter (optional)
Instructions
• Melt the oils in a saucepan over low heat – Add arrowroot powder and stir until well combined – Add soap making granules and stir until well combined – Add the soybean oil and stir until the mixture begins to bubble – Add the water and stir until the mixture fully dissolves – Add the vitamin E oil, sweet almond oil and shea butter (optional) – Keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken – Remove from heat and let cool – Pour into molds and refrigerate until set
Where to Go From Here
Now that you know what ingredients you will need, it’s time to make your own homemade soap! The best part about making your own soap is that you can try out new recipes and experiment with different soap bases each time. The only limit is your imagination!
Once you’ve finished making your soap, be sure to store it in an airtight container in a dry place. Soap will begin to deteriorate once it is exposed to air. You can also give some of your soap away as a gift. It’s a great way to spread joy and share the handmade experience with friends and family!
