Reviews
Written by Lauren David
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- Soap-making can be a fun way to make custom soap bars at home as a hobby.
- Soap-making kits are great for beginners because they come with all the products needed.
- We spoke to 2 professional soap makers for the best beginner tips and soap-making kits.
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Walk into any beauty store with artisan soap and you may wonder what it would be like to craft your own.
Making a bar of soap requires a little learning and understanding when it comes to mixing together ingredients, but anyone can make a beautiful bar with the right materials (and patience).
I took a soap-making class and was fascinated by how straightforward (or complex) the process can be, based on the ingredients you choose to use. I was also surprised by how important math is in soap-making, because you have to calculate and measure the correct amounts of oil(s) and lye for the desired results.
To learn more about how to make soap as a beginner, I reached out to two professional soap makers: Sandra Velasquez, a soap maker and the founder of Nopalera, a Latina-owned Mexican Botanicals line made from Nopales (cactus), and Dr. Candace Parrish, Ph.D., a soap maker and the founder of Odelia, Marie & Patrice, LLC.
"The beauty of making your own soap is the ability to control the ingredients for different results," says Velasquez. At the same time, she adds that "soapmaking is a very precise chemical process" and is "more laborious than people think!"
For some, soap-making can even hold deeper meaning, as it does for Parrish. "It's a connection to my heritage, as my great-grandmother made soap," she says, explaining that soap and candle-making was "a huge part of many daily requirements for many slaves in America." Parrish sees soap as a way for her to get in touch with her roots, while also finding it "a very enjoyable and therapeutic process."
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Interested in soap-making? Here's what the pros suggest for getting started:
If you're intrigued by soap-making but aren't really sure how to get started, Parrish's advice is: "Jump right in!"
"It's as fun and challenging as you guessed, but so unexpectedly rewarding," says Parrish. There are a lot of variables in making soap and like with many things, there is a learning curve. "Relax your mind and allow yourself to create something organic without expectations of outcome," she adds.
"There are only two types of soap-making kits out there," Velasquez explains, "Cold process soap, which requires sodium hydroxide (not for kids) and melt-and-pour soap kits (easier and kid-friendly because no sodium hydroxide is needed.)"
Here are the 5 best soap-making kits for beginners:
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24K Gold MP Soap Kit
Want to make your own soap without dealing with any chemicals? Consider a melt-and-pour kit where you take steps in making soap but avoid mixing the ingredients together. "The premade base has already been saponified for you, thus removing the need to interact with chemicals," says Velasquez.
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Candle Science Soap Making Kit
Candle Science offers a melt-and pour-making kit with all the materials needed to make your own soap bars, including molds and scented oil.
"It makes the buying process so easy because you can have the entire kit with the click of a button – lowering any anxiety about not having all the proper tools or products," says Parrish.
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Bramble Berry Beginner's Soap Making Kit
A beginner's cold process kit is a wonderful way to get started making soap and gives you the chance to see if you like creating your own. "If you want to learn about the chemistry behind making true soap, this is a good starting point," says Velasquez. "You want to master the fundamentals before you start creating your own formulas."
Bramble Berry Pink Salt Soap Making Kit
This kit offers the chance to apply your basic soap-making knowledge by mixing scents and colors. "The Pink Salt soap making kit is a fun 'next step' into creating a different type of soap where the fragrance or coloring process is slightly more elevated than the beginner process, but still not complicated," says Parrish.
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Bramble Berry Aloe Cold Process Soap Making Kit
Once you have some experience with making soap and are ready to combine more ingredients, this kit gives you the opportunity to increase your soap-making skills. "[This] kit requires the use of lye and aloe, which are two elements that require more care and understanding that usually comes with experience in soap making," says Parrish. This kit also gives you the chance to try out creating different patterns and colors.
Check out our other beginner hobby guides here:
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- The best tarot card decks
- How to get started in photography as a beginner
- The best DIY wood projects for beginners
- The best quilting tools for beginners
- How to draw handmade greeting cards
- How to design and make your own stickers
- Everything you need to start crocheting
- The essential tools for knitting beginners
Lauren David is a Chilean-American freelance writer. She writes about food, travel, tech, wellness, and more and has been published in various publications, including Budget Travel, Greatist, Huffington Post, Reader's Digest, and Taste of Home. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time in her garden and by the ocean. See her portfolio on her website:https://laurendavid.net/ Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here.
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