Soapmaking 101

Lesson 3: Ingredients

Finding soapmaking ingredients

Many ingredients can be found locally (see below), others you will have to order over the internet or by mail order.

Here are some tips to finding high quality, pure, natural ingredients for your soapmaking:

• Read all labels. The ingredient you are looking for should be listed as the only ingredient. Avoid synthetic ingredients.

• Beware of low, low prices. The base and essential oils referenced in this guide range in price, for example, 16 oz of castor oil costs as little as $5, while 16oz of Wheatgerm costs about $14. One ounce of Citronella essential oil costs as little as $2, while one ounce of Geranium can cost $20. Prices too good to be true are too good to be true. Cheap oils will have been diluted or heavily refined — you won’t want them on your skin and they may not react the way they are supposed to in saponification.

• Look for cold-pressed oils which mean that neither chemicals nor heat have been used to extract the oil.

• Finally, find a supplier you can trust. Check my resources section for links to trusted suppliers on the web. All the recomended books for this course also have excellent resource lists to help you find a supplier neer you.

Follow these tips for finding ingredients locally:

LYE

Find lye at your supermarket or hardware store near the drain cleaners. Look for 100% Sodium Hydroxide in a granular (not liquid) form. The Red Devil brand is the most prevalent. DO NOT use other drain openers like Draino, for example, as these contain other substances that will interfere with saponification and may be harmful to your skin. If at all possible, find your lye locally, even if you have to ask your hardware store to order it in for you. This is because shipping lye requires you to pay a hazardous material shipping charge, which far outweighs the actual cost of the lye.

OILS and FATS

Finding oils for your soapmaking can be the most difficult. Look for olive oil and vegetable oils and shortening in your supermarket. You may be able to find avocado oil in upscale supermarkets. Pharmacies should keep castor oil. Health food stores may stock wheatgerm oil and sweet almond oil. Try a beauty supply store for almond oil, commonly used for massage. Some supermarkets and beauty supply stores stock coconut oil in the haircare section as it is used to strengthen and condition hair. Look in bulk food supply stores that sell to restaurants and other businesses for coconut oil as it is also used for popping popcorn. Look in ethnic grocers for other oils.

ADDITIVES

Many are already in your kitchen (e.g. oatmeal), or available readily at your supermarket. Others, like bulk herbs, can be found at a whole foods store or a health store. Find aloe vera and Vitamin E (often in capsular form) in the vitamins and supplements aisle of your supermarket. Look in ethnic grocers and family owned pharmacies for other less common additives. Buy organic when possible so that you can be sure no pesticide products will find their way into your soap.

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