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Soap Making Guides

Here is a starter list of 'HOW TO MAKE SOAP' websites/forums.
This list is not exhaustive, there are many many online resources available on the subject and hundreds of YouTube resources. There is a great deal of support for soapmakers as members of various Facebook groups too within Australia.

The majority of soapmaking links/forums are from the USA respectively which is fine if you are learning to make soap and cosmetics...However, it is very important to familiarise yourself with the Australian legal framework for the import/production/manufacture and sale of cosmetics, including soap, within Australia. 


LEGAL REQUIREMENT OF MAKING AND SELLING SOAP AND COSMETICS IN AUSTRALIA
Please note that if you intend to sell soap to the public in Australia, there are legal requirements to follow which are part of the Australian legal framework of the Department of Health's NICNAS (NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT) SCHEME. The NICNAS policies for the production and sale of soap and cosmetics can be found here

The following links are mostly USA based respectively. 

Of course, the best resource to start with is the Australian soapmaking book and its 77 recipe counterpart, found on our website, here

Basics of Cold Process & Hot Process Soapmaking
https://www.ultimatehpsoap.com/
https://www.soapguild.org/consumers/about-handcrafted-soap.php
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAADF6209996265D2
https://www.soapqueen.com/.../free-beginners-guide-to.../
http://blog.thesage.com/category/soap/cold-process-soap/

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/handmade101/how-to-make-recipes/cold-process-soap-making.aspx?
https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/controlling-trace-in-cold-process-soapmaking/

Properties of Oils for Soap Making
http://soapee.com/resources
https://www.soapandmore.com/oils-in-soap.html
http://essentialstuff.org/index.php/2011/01/07/Cat/fats-for-soapmaking/
http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils

http://www.lovinsoap.com/oils-chart/

The Chemistry of Soap - All Kevin Dunn's lectures
(Click on 'lectures' menu on left to access all of his soap chemistry lectures)
http://cavemanchemistry.com/scisoap/lectures.html?
Eg the topic of 'Scientific Soapmaking' is on the first subheading under 'Lectures', called '
BCCE2008b' and can be found here.

Soap/Lye Calculators
http://soapee.com/calculator (The main one that I use)
http://soapcalc.net/ 
https://www.soapguild.org/lye-calc.php 
http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/advanced-calculator-solid-cream-or-liquid-soaps 
(only in ounce measurements, not grams) 
(another one that I use)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNwYNQleDLs
http://bunni.com/soap-math-using-soap-calc/
http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/soapcalcs-soap-quality.../

https://www.thesage.com/calcs/
https://www.brambleberry.com/pages/lye-calculator.aspx?FSIntent=true


Comparison of Soap Calc vs Soapee: 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/howtomakesoap/permalink/1688211334528635/
http://www.allsortsofsoap.com/lye-calculators.html


Soapmaking Recipes
http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/secret-to-the-best-soap.../
http://www.makingskincare.com/how-to-make-soap/

http://soapee.com/recipes
http://blog.thesage.com/category/soap/
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqWnqXTqZTvU&h=VAQFYD9_7
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.diynatural.com%2Fhow-to-make-soap-2%2F&h=0AQGuBoru?
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/back-to-basics-simple-gentle-cold-process-soap/
http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/classic-3-oils-soap-recipe


The Saponification Process and Curing Soap
'Must read' article on the topic of sodium hydroxide as proportion of total oils and effects on saponification...>>!! http://cavemanchemistry.com/WaterDiscount-Dunn.pdf

Also see....
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-cold-process/
http://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/discountedcp.html
https://classicbells.com/soap/cure.html


Is My CP/HP Soap Safe To Use? Testing the Alkalinity of Soap...
The most effective tool to measure alkalinity in soap, is a pH meter...however the 'zap da tongue' test followed by the 1% Phenolphthaleine tests at demould and again between the 4-6 week cure mark, works well for me too. 

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/phenolphthalein-ph-and-soap
http://whitetiger0603.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/ph-testing-your-soap.html? (Liquid soap, but it's the same principle for HP and CP)
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46692?

Soapmaking Terms and Abbreviations (USA terms)
http://www.lovinsoap.com/.../soapmaking-terms-and.../
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=3789

Soapmaking videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv/videos

http://www.lovinsoap.com/soapmaking-videos/

Troubleshooting
https://www.soapqueen.com/.../tip.../soapy-mess-quick-guide/

OTHER SOAPMAKING RESOURCES:
http://soapee.com/resources
http://www.makingsoapmag.com/
http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/
http://www.makingskincare.com/
http://www.teachsoap.com/forum
http://www.craftserver.com/
http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/basic-soap-recipe.html
https://www.facebook.com/Scientific-Soapmaking-123574497658292/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/howtomakesoap/
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/education/recipes.aspx
http://blog.thesage.com/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Your-Own-Silicone-Molds/



This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 07 December, 2017.