Have you ever wondered how easy it is to make your own soap? Ever thought about giving it a try? Me neither, but when an opportunity came my way to do just that, I couldn’t wait to get started.
Founded back in 1997, Aromantic is a second generation family run business who offer everything you need to make soaps, lotions, balms, toiletries and so much more. Their belief is that nothing is better for your skin than natural beauty products which have been tailored for you. So, landing on my doorstep was a soap making kit, complete with everything I need and some handy instructions.
In the kit is a bright link soap mould, some Glycerine, which if you follow me on Instagram you will have seen, some essential oils, some lavender flowers and of course a handy and easy to follow step-by-step guide to making your soap. The extras you will need include a knife, something to stir the glycerine with, a steel pan or microwaveable jug, some clingfilm and around 30 minutes of your time.
The steps to making your soap is set out into 10 different sections and all are really easy to follow and they include:
Firstly cutting the Glycerine soap into small chunks and then add them to your stainless steel pan or jug - either work fine but the method changes slightly. If using a pan, you need to check the glycerine doesn’t burn, so you cannot leave this unattended for any amount of time and you must allow a low heat to melt the Glycerine. If using the microwave, the advice is to firstly cover the jug with clingfilm and then on high-power heat for 30 seconds, remove and stir, then heat in increments of 10 seconds to repeat the entire process until the solid becomes a liquid - quite satisfying to watch too.
At this stage, the guidance says to add the Apricot Kernel oil and stir until they have been fully combined. You need to add the entire contents of the 12g bottle of oil into the mixture and give it a really good stir.
Once you are satisfied with this, the next step is to grab the water based colour and add a few drops at a time to get the colour you are happy with.
As you add the water based colour into the mixture, it is incredibly blue and the more you add, the brighter the blue colour. So I decided to go all out with my soaps and add a fair amount of blue colouring, all the while giving it a stir after each few drops to try and ensure the mixture was really well stirred and ready to pour.
However, before you can go any further with the proceeds, you need to allow your mixture time to settle and cool. The advice is to let it become thick like custard but without a film on top. I set mine on the side in my kitchen and left it for 20minutes and came back to find it had cooled and was quite thick. Before you pour into the moulds, it is time to add your essential oil, stir the mixture thoroughly and then add the Lavender Flowers and stir again. At this stage, I decided to split my mixture into two and do one with lavender and one without - knowing it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to the scent.
Once you’re happy with your mixture, ensure your soap mould is resting on a baking tray, the flat surface not only helps make the pouring equal but when you transfer to the fridge, it makes the whole process a doddle.
A slight confession because again I deviated slightly from the instructions when it came to the lavender flowers, because instead of stirring them into the mixture, I thought it would look much better aesthetically for my social media to try and make them look pretty, so I poured a layer of the petals into the bottom of the soap mould for three of the soaps and then poured the mixture on top - the hope being that there would be a lovely smattering on the top of said soap.
My soaps are now wrapped in clingfilm, following the advice on my sheet. This prevents them from sweating and becoming a blubbery mess everywhere. They now reside in my bathroom and kitchen cupboards and the Lavender is a wonderfully fresh scent. You could of course always change from using Lavender, the kit, which is priced at just £22 here, gives the option to also choose an Orange Scent instead.
I found making this soap incredible relaxing, I loved the process of cutting the Glycerine and then adding the blue water based colour. It’s a task I’ve never done before and one I would absolutely do again, perhaps adding in some Apricot Kernel Powder to make an exfoliating soap or some Coconut oil for a really creamy soap.