• Soap is made from a fat and a lye.soap image by ivan kmit from Fotolia.com
  
  Soap-making can be both a hobby and a useful activity. The soap you create can be used for gifts or in your own home. There are a variety of methods used to make soap. The two most common are cold process and melt and pour. In both methods, the same basic ingredients are used.
  
  

Soap Base

• To make soap, you need a soap base. If you are using the cold process method you will need a fat and a lye to make your soap base. The fat is usually olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, or almond oil. Lye can be purchased at a craft supplier or hardware store; it is also called Sodium Hydroxide.
  
  Melt and pour soap is much easier and safer to make. You simply buy a soap base already made, melt it down and add the desired essential oils, fragrance and exfoliants. Soap bases come in a plethora of varieties. They can be purchased with or without color, and with additives like honey, milk or shea butter. You can also find them in natural varieties that forgo the use of chemical ingredients.
  
  

Fragrance and Color

• Part of the fun when making soap is personalizing it with your own choice of fragrance and color. You can scent your soaps with artificial fragrances sold at crafts suppliers, pure essential oils, or even spices from your cupboard.
  
  Coloring your soap is tricky because you need to use something that will blend into the soap base. Soap dye can be purchased from most craft suppliers. You can also buy natural pigments to sprinkle into and color your soap.
  
  

Additives and Exfoliants

• Adding things to your soap can make it both aesthetically appealing and functional. Herbs, salts, minerals, oatmeal, honey, and even essential oils have properties that make them beneficial to the skin. For instance, sea salts help exfoliate and ease inflammation.
  
  

Molds

• To make soap you also need soap molds. Basically, a mold is what your pour your soap into and in which it will set. These can be geometric shapes, animals, or other forms, or you can use a large square pan as a mold. The soap will set in one huge bar, which you then cut into squares.