Basic Soapmaking

Basic recipes and instructions for making soap

How Does Soap Work

chemistry of how does soap work

Soap is an excellent cleaner because it acts as an emulsifying agent. Soap consists of molecules of 2 types which are opposites: one is water soluble and the other is water repellent.

Soap and water are required for the cleaning process. The history of soapmaking shows us that water and soap have been working together since the start.

How soap works

Your hands are dirty and need cleaning. You place your hands in water to wash them, the water will remove a good part of the dirt because most of the dirt is water soluble, The dirt mixes well with the water and is removed from your hands.

There are other molecules that are not water soluble like oil and grease. These molecules will stick to your skin. The soap molecules that are water repellent attach to grease, oil, etc which then float away in the water.

Soap can sometimes do too good of a job. Good body oils that your skin needs can also become attached to soap molecules and be washed away leaving your skin clean but dry and possibly irritated. Natural soap can help prevent this from happening by including natural oils that replace oils removed by cleaning.

 

Pages

  • African black soap recipe
  • Aloe Vera Soap Recipe
  • Amazing Sea Salt Benefits
  • Baby Laundry Soap Recipe
  • Baby Soap Recipes
  • Basic Soap Recipes
  • Bath Salt Recipe
  • Beeswax Soap Recipe
  • Biodegradable Soap
  • Books About Bath Salts
  • Books About Soapmaking
  • Calendula Flower Oil
  • Castile Soap
  • Castile Soap Recipes
  • Cold Process Soapmaking
  • Dead Sea Mud Soap Recipe
  • Epsom Salt Bath Benefits
  • Handmade Honey Soap Recipe
  • Himalayan Bath Salt Benefits
  • History of Soapmaking
  • Homemade bath fizzies
  • Homemade bath products
  • homemade herbal salve
  • homemade lip scrub
  • homemade massage oil
  • homemade milk bath
  • Homemade Soap Recipes
  • homemade teacher gift ideas
  • honey oatmeal soap recipe melt and pour
  • Hot Process Castile Soap
  • Hot Process Soapmaking
  • How Does Soap Work
  • How to make herbal soap
  • How to make lavender soap
  • How to Make Soap
  • Lard Soap Recipes
  • Lard, why use it in soapmaking
    • Rendering lard from bacon
    • Rendering lard from pork fat
  • Lavender Soap Recipe
  • lemon poppy soap cake
  • Liquid Soapmaking
  • lotion bar recipe
  • Lye Soap Recipe
  • Make Natural Soap
  • Making Castile Soap
  • Making Soap at Home
    • Soap Labels
    • soap packaging supplies
    • Soapmaking Equipment
    • Soapmaking Ingredients
    • Soapmaking Instructions
    • Soapmaking Kit
    • Soapmaking Molds
  • making soap without lye
  • massage oil recipe
  • Melt and Pour Honey Soap
  • Melt and Pour Soapmaking
  • Natural Soap Colorants (from your kitchen and garden)
  • Natural Soap Recipes
  • Natural Soapmaking
  • Oatmeal Soap Recipe
  • Organic Soap
  • Our Soap Recipes
  • Rebatching Soapmaking
  • Room Temperature Soapmaking
  • Saponification
  • Soap Recipes
  • What is tallow in soapmaking?
  • Why Make Soap

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