The 5 best soap-making kits for beginners, according to professional soap makers
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Bramble Berry
- 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.
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."
Interested in soap-making? Here's what the pros suggest for getting started:
Bramble Berry
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.)"