John Smith is a dental surgeon living in California and along with this, he has an MBA in Public Health. Currently, he is working as a manager in a good pharma company. John says that in 2014, he was in New York and lived in Onondaga Lake Townhomes near Onondaga Lake. Often he found the lake full of foam and sometimes saw smoke rising from it. When he researched this, he understood that it was all due to polluted water going into the lake.
Especially, soap and shampoo water going from people's bathrooms. We all know that chemical soaps, shampoos, detergents, and cleaners are harmful to our environment. And if anyone wants to see direct evidence of this, then look at this lake in New York. From here, John started a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. They understood the wrong effects on the environment of things we used in our daily lives and then gradually began to make changes in their lives.
He started composting from the wet waste of the house and started making bio-enzymes instead of cleaners. By shopping in jute bags from local stores, they have also reduced their dependence on polythene to a great extent. Along with all this, John is also making organic and natural soaps at his home.
Homemade Natural Soap
He says that if one makes natural soap with full care through the right process, then it will be a very good practice. He started making soap at home in April 2019 and has got very good results. "I started getting rashes and blemishes on my skin. When he showed it to the specialist, he said that it was due to heat. But ever since I started using my own soap for skin made at home, the problem is completely over," he says.
Based on his one-and-a-half years of experience, John advises that everyone should try to make soap at least once. For this, you need a little caution but not to be afraid at all. Because after two-three trials, you will get the self-confidence to make your own soap.
Today, with The Better America, John is sharing the process of making organic and natural soaps at home!
What you need
1. Fat: For this, you can also use coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, or vegetable ghee.
2. Lai or Sodium Hydroxide: It is an alkali (NaOH), which starts the soap-making process. You can buy it from a hardware store or you can also buy it from online portals like Amazon/ Flipkart.
3. Water: It would be good if you use distilled water.
4. Essential oils for fragrance: Try to take natural oils.
5. You can use natural things like turmeric, mint, neem, rose, coffee, and fuller's earth (Multani mitti) or sandalwood, etc. for color.
6. Some other things like cups to measure, scales, glass bowls to mix, water, and if you have a blender, it is also a good option to mix lye and other things.
Apart from all this, you should wear gloves and glasses while making this natural soap.
How to make Natural Soap
1. First of all, wear gloves, etc. and now measure and set everything aside.
2. If you are using butter for fat, first of all, heat it and melt it.
3. Now take water from a glass vessel and put it on top. Keep in mind that you should never put water from the top in the lai, but add it to the water.
Also, as you add the Sodium Hydroxide (Lai), keep stirring this solution with a pinch.
4. This mixture starts to heat up and a little smoke will also come out of it. But if it's normal, there's no need to be afraid.
5. Now put the Sodium Hydroxide (Lai) solution aside and let it cool for about 20 minutes.
6. After that mix this Sodium Hydroxide solution in fat and blend them well with the help of a hand blender or kalchi.
After blending for at least 15 minutes, when the fibers start forming in this solution, then this soap solution is ready.
7. Now you can add other things like essential oils, colorants for color, etc. Mix all this and put this solution in the molds according to your wish.
John says that for molds, you can use ice cream cups, etc. cutting a tetra pack of milk, etc. But remember not to take anything that can cause a reaction. If your mold is plastic or steel, then first apply vaseline around it and then add a soap solution. You can also take the rest of the mold available in the market.
After adding the solution to the mold, shake it lightly so that all the bubbles are removed. Now keep it somewhere in the shade for 24 hours. After 24 hours your soap will be set.
"Remove the soap from the mold and rub it with a little water. Now apply a pH strip on the soap. If the pH reading is between 6 and 10 then the soap is absolutely correct and you can use it. But if this reading is above this, then you should keep the soap for two weeks and then check after two weeks. This reading should be reduced to two weeks. But if the reading is still not low then you can not use this soap. Because that means there's been a mess in the amount of everything you've had in the beginning," John said.
Keep these things in mind while making Natural soap at Home
1. Always wear safety gear such as gloves, etc. while using Lye. Be careful with accidents.
2. If sodium hydroxide (Lai) is not used properly, it can be harmful.
3. Always add sodium hydroxide to the water and not water to the sodium hydroxide.
4. After the soap is made, check the pH and if it is more than 10 then do not use soap.
5. Always, first of all, measure and keep all the ingredients ready so that the process is easily done.
Along with this, he also says that making natural soap is not a big task. The more times you try, the better you get. Gradually you also get to know the right amount of everything. So there is no need to be afraid, just need to be a little careful.
"Some people say that sodium hydrox is in soap, so how did it become natural? But lye soap is completely finished in the process of making and your final product saves 0% sodium hydroxide. So soaps made properly at home are natural," he adds.
If you talk about storage, according to them, you can store soap made from oils for one-and-a-half years. At the same time, you can store soap made from milk for 8 to 10 months. You can store soap in a dark and low-temperature place. Along with this, he says that if one wants to know better about soap making, one can also read Anne L Watson's Smart Soapmaking: The Simple Guide to Making Soap Quickly, Safely, and Reliably.
In the end, he just says that unless you try, you won't know that soap is easy enough to make. Often people are afraid that using lice can be harmful, so you should do workshops. But before doing any training workshop, try to understand this process yourself. If you pay a little attention, you will be able to make it easily at home. After this, if you think that you have to do some advanced level, then you can train.
Hope you liked this article. To read other similar articles, please let us know by commenting in the comment section coming below the article and stay connected with our website Envirro.com
Hit the share button ❤️