John Byrne from Bomar Aromatherapy advises on how to begin

How difficult is it to make soap? Is it more/less difficult than people expect?

For bars of soap, there are 2 main ways, Cold Process and “Melt and Pour”, to make soap and Bomar have the ingredients for both methods.

The first, and traditional way, is Cold Process Soapmaking where you melt oils such as coconut, palm, shea butter and combine with Caustic Soda (lye) (plus colour, plus essential oils/ fragrances/ botanicals etc.) and it saponifies into bars of soap. For beginners, handling caustic soda is daunting (it can cause serious skin burns) and there is a time element where the soap “cures” over a period of weeks. The upside is that this can make a particularly beautiful bar of soap. Most of the top craft soapmakers would use this method. Ideally you would take a course in how to get started with Cold Process soapmaking.

Bomar Aromatherapy also supply a number of “Melt and Pour” bases. These are exactly as described. You melt the base in a microwave or over a bain-marie, add your colour/ essential oils/ fragrances/ botanicals and pour into a mould. The soap is ready to use as soon as it hardens. The product could not be simpler to use. Any unused base can simply be re-melted. Ideally, because of the high glycerine content of these bases, (which attracts moisture), the hardened bar would be wrapped in cling-film until ready to use.

Bomar bases in stock include

·      White,

·      Clear,

·      Shea butter

·      Argan Oil

·      Carrot/ cucumber/ aloe vera

·      Aloe vera

·      Shampoo bars

·      SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) free (white)

·      SLS Free clear

·      African Black soap (rich earthy colour)

·      Organic base

 

What would be the basic kit necessary for beginners? And what are prices like?

Basic kit would include a soap base of your choice (we have ranges starting at €6.15 per kg), an essential oil or fragrance (e.g. lavender €3.85) and maybe a colour (starting at €3.55). You can use any silicone mould you might have at home or we have soap moulds starting at €9.90. A kilo of soap should make 8 to 10 good sized bars. Delivery is €8, no matter the weight of the parcel. For 2 kg of soap, some essential oils, delivery and using a home mould you would have 20 bars of soap for under €25.00

 

Are moulds difficult to source?

Any silicone mould will do that you would traditionally use for baking or Bomar stock special soap bar moulds (and loaf moulds) in various shapes.

 

Are there certain ingredients that should not be used together?

Certain oils can be an irritant to sensitive skin when used in too high a concentration or of course, certain people may have an allergy to oils. In general, though, at 1-3% inclusion levels (by weight) with the base there should not be an issue. 

The most popular oils, lavender, lemon, orange, tea tree, lemongrass, geranium, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary should be fine for the vast majority of people.

 

What sort of quantity should you aim for?

You should aim to make bars that would be between 100g and 125g each- this would be a traditional size, though of course you can make little “guest-size” bars too.

 

Could you give a general method for soap making?

It wouldn’t make sense to cover all of the aspects of Cold Process soapmaking here and I would highly recommend taking a course before venturing into this.

The Melt and Pour bases however are so simple to use- Melt the base, Pour into a mould and voila, you have a bar of soap. Add colour, essential oils, fragrance etc. to personalise each bar.

 

What would be the reason if batches didn’t firm up?

The melt and pour bases are very robust and easy to use. The only reason if wouldn’t harden up is if the additions of other ingredients such as essential oils/ colour/ fragrances/ botanicals exceed 3% of the weight of the soap base.

With the cold process method there can be a number of issues but again, I would suggest taking a course before embarking on this

 

What safety aspects should be adhered to? Should you wear glasses and gloves?

For Cold Process soap making, you definitely need goggles, chemically rated gloves (for handling the caustic soda/lye), ideally a lab coat/ smock of some kind to keep the lye away from your clothes.

For using melt and pour bases, it is like melting chocolate or similar if baking. Basic precautions such as being careful not to overheat the soap or dish and sensible precautions around handling warm/hot dishes. In general, avoid getting pure essential oils on your skin.

Bomar have a nice easy to use guide which can be emailed to anyone that needs it.

 

How easy is it to personalise soap (adding essential oils etc)?

Very simple indeed- once the soap base is melted you can add essential oils, colours and botanicals very easily, stir them in and let it harden. There are so many resources on the web for getting creative with melt and pour soaps with layering techniques, addition of colours, swirling, adding dried botanicals etc.

Each bar can be unique and highly unique to the maker.

 

For more information on Bomar Aromatherapy, log onto bomar.ie