There are a number of incredible books out there that will explain step by step the process of making soap.  One of my favorites is the Art of Soapmaking by Marilyn Mohr.  In this book she describes how to combine the oils and the lye and the process of curing the soap for use.  Soap made using this method, which is called the Cold Process Method of soapmaking, needs to be insulated for a short period of time for saponification to occur properly and then the bars need to be cut and stacked and left to rest for an additional 4 - 6 weeks to complete the saponification and curing process.

   Unlike our grandmothers before us, the handcrafted lye soap of today is not harsh enough to remove your skin.  Today we know the saponification value of each different type of oil that can be used to make soap.  We have learned which oils to use to make a hard or a soft bar, or a bar with lots of lather, and various other properties.  For instance, coconut oil will make a very rich later, but it should never comprise more than 20% of the total oils in a soap or it will be drying.  Palm oil is also a staple in many vegetable soaps as it makes a harder bar of soap.  Some soapmakers use rendered tallow (beef fat) to make their soaps.  Others prefer to make a purely vegetable bar.  Both types of soap are cleansing and moisturizing.  It's purely a matter of personal preference which type to use.  The variety of soaps available from the small crafter is as varied as the number of crafters out there.

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   The mass produced bars of soap are little more than detergent.  They contain very little, if any, actual soap.  When making the detergents, large manufactures remove the glycerin by distillation because Glycerin is a valuable by-product that is used as a solvent and sweetener.  It's much more monetarily advantageous for them to sell it separately.  Glycerin is a natural product of the saponification process and handcrafted soap retains all of the naturally occurring glycerin.

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   I cannot stress enough the necessity of taking the safety precautions very seriously if you choose to make soap using the Cold Process Method.   It is very important to wear safety glasses and gloves and enough clothing to make sure none of your skin is open to the air while you are working directly with the lye.  Anyone who has experienced a lye contact burn will tell you it is incredibly painful.

   Another option for making handcrafted soap is to purchase a glycerin soap base that has already been saponified for you.  Make sure you purchase this base from a reputable source.  There are some soap bases that you can purchase that are of a lesser grade and are not made from vegetable oils, but include such things as Sodium Laurel Sulfate.  This is a dangerous carcinogen which is used in some of the commercial soaps and shampoos to make more lather.  There are numerous reputable sources for the glycerin soap base.

Until recently, there hasn't been a way for soapers to be able to communicate with each other. We've each been a sort of island of our own. We have made many of the same mistakes and triumphs, and have found both good and not so good suppliers, but have had no way of sharing that information with other soapers. To that end, a group of soapers have gotten together to form a non-profit organization called the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild.    Their mission is to promote and implement standards of excellence among soap makers of every level while encouraging creativity in the medium; to act as a center for communications among soap makers, and as a channel for information beneficial to soap makers; and to educate the general public about the art and science of handcrafted soap in order to create informed customers.  This organization is still in its infancy, but hopefully the seal of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild will someday stand for unsurpassed excellence in soapmaking.

   One of the beauties of this soap base is that you can be very artistic with it.  I use it to make a chocolate chip cookie that looks and smells just like a chocolate chip cookie.  I have also made a soap which I call the embedded rose soap.  I embed an opaque rose in a translucent bar of rose scented soap.  It's very popular.

   There are many talented artists out there who make an incredibly artistic product using this soap base.  A fellow artist  makes soap gems that are really incredible.  Nette also has sample photos of some of her loaf soaps on this page as well. Nette's Soap Gems. AnnaLiese is considered royalty amongst some of us soapers.

   She is an incredible artist. You can view some of her work by clicking on these links. Violet Brazillian Agate    Thundereggs, etc.   Yes folks, Nette's and AnnaLiese's soaps are really soap!  Primal Elements has taken the art of loaf soaps to a new dimension.  This soap is mass produced so I'm not certain of the purity of the ingredients, but the artistry is incredible. A visit to their site to see what can be done with soap base and loaf soaps is a must.