The art and history of Soapmaking - Make your own organic soap

The transformation and the journey from olive oil baths to the commercial soaps we have today, has been quite a bit! The first trace of soap making was found in Babylonia during excavation around 2800BC. The need for soap making aroused to clean cotton and wool clothing. Therefore the first of soaps was not used for personal hygiene. The process of making soap was very different from what we have now; they used animal fat and ashes to make soap. There is also a legend about the invention of soap in parts of Romania. The waste of animal sacrifice flowed into the stream during rains and when women came to wash clothes, the clothes were much cleaner. The invention, however it took place, is a boon to mankind. It is also said that, prior to the invention of soap, in the middle ages, diseases had taken over due to unhygienic living. A product that was considered a luxury has become an essential part of daily hygiene.  

Once the world saw the importance of soap in our daily lives, the business caught up. Not just for clothing but also for personal hygiene. This gave rise to the invention and mass production of soaps. When soap production began, it was a very expensive commodity. As the times passed, there were evolutions and inventions in soap making. From luxury commodity, it became an essential item. Presently, we have more than 1000 different brands of bathing soaps in our country itself. The addition of fragrance, raw material, etc has differentiated each bar of soap from the other. The demand gave rise to the use of chemicals to achieve the need. From soap bars, we then moved to body washes. All of these inventions at the end resulted in the following:

1. Use of harsh chemical on our skin
2. Use of artificial/fake raw materials in the mixture
3. Increased use of plastic for body wash
4. Pollution of water bodies with these chemicals

All of these factors will have a heavy impact on our bodies as well as our planet.

The question is how we can reduce/minimize the use of chemicals/plastic in our daily hygiene routine. Making soaps at home is one of the easiest, cost-effective, and eco-friendly ways to choose. There are several benefits to making soap at home, you know what goes into your soap, it is cost-effective, it is eco-friendly and you can add a new skill to your basket.

Let us see 3 easy-to-make DIY Soaps.

Basic soap for the winters

Winters can leave your skin feeling dry and flaky. This eco-friendly soap will not treat your skin right but is 100% organic.

Ingredients:

Goat milk soap base

Shea butter

Tea tree essential oil

Almond oil

Almond shavings

Take a clean bowl, add goat milk soap base to it (depending on how many you want to make in this batch) and melt it. While using an LPG gas cylinder, take heed to kitchen safety. Install IGT gas safety device for 100% kitchen safety.  Once the base is off the gas, add Shea butter 1:3 ratio with the soap base (if your skin is extra dry, consider add some more). Add few drops of tea tree oil and almond oil to it. Pour the mixture into the desired soap mold. Now add the Almond shaving and stir it before you let it dry out.

Pop-out the soap, they are ready to use.

Floral summer soap

These soaps are best for when you are out in the tropical sun; it offers a good amount of freshness and a fragrance that lingers through the day.

Ingredients:

Glycerine soap base

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Grapefruit essential oil

Lemon extract

Lemon peel shavings

Calendula oil

Calendula dried petals

Take a bowl, microwave the soap base. Add coconut and olive oil to the mixture. Add lemon extract into the mixture. Add the essential oil and finally the lemon peel shavings and dried calendula petals. Pour the mixture into a rectangle soap mold. Add few dried petals to it. Let it sit till it dries out, then pop out the soap. Cut the soap according to use.

Rose facial Soap

Face washes come in plastic containers that fill our land mills for centuries to come. Switching to facial soaps is a more eco-friendly option. Read more about the different uses of garden roses. 

Ingredients:

Goat milk soap base

Olive oil

Neem extract

Roughly ground oats

Rose oil

Dried rose petals

Microwave the organic goat milk soap base. Add olive oil, neem extract, and oats to the mixture. Add few drops of rose oil and dried petal to the soap batter. Pour the mixture into a soap mold and top it with a few rose petals. Pop-out the soap once the mixture dries out.

Take a step towards eco-friendly and conscious living. Make your organic soap at home.