Handmade soap is all the rage right now, and we’re here to tell you just why that is. Everywhere you turn, people are jumping on the bandwagon and making their own soaps at home. They’re taking classes and buying books just for this purpose. Even if you’ve been doing it for years, maybe it’s time to sit back and consider why this craze is so popular.
1. It’s healthful for you, your family, and your pets
As long as you’re buying your ingredients from a reputable source, the soap you make at home will be free of preservatives, additives, artificial coloring or sweeteners, chemicals that are best left out of your body.
2. It’s economical
Making your soap is a very economical choice. You can buy the ingredients in bulk or even grow some of them yourself, and it will still cost you far less than buying commercial soap.
3. It’s fun!
Even if you’re not particularly crafty, making your soap is a fun and relatively easy project and the result is both lovely and useful.
4. It’s customizable
One of the best things about making your soap is to customize it to suit your own needs and desires. If you have allergies or sensitivity issues, consider making a soap without the substances that irritate you.
You can make it unscented, scented with essential oils, or spiced up with natural ingredients like oatmeal and clay. Just take care not to add anything that will clog your pores or irritate your skin; for example, steer clear of shea butter if you have oily skin.
5. It’s creative
Soap-making is a great way to unleash your creativity. You can come up with various designs and colors and even create your signature scent.
6. It’s sustainable
It’s sustainable. Making your own soap is a fantastic way to be more environmentally aware. You’re not relying on mass-produced, chemical-laden soap that comes from a factory, and you’re making a natural handmade product in your own kitchen. Even the packaging is upcycled or recycled.
7. It’s therapeutic
Making soap is a calming and satisfying process. It’s a fantastic way to unwind after a hard day or anything else. And the result is something you can use and enjoy every day.
8. It’s educational
Soap-making is a great way to learn about chemistry, biology, and even economics. You’ll learn about the different properties of oils and fats, the difference between lye and sodium hydroxide, and how to price your product so that it will be competitive in the market.
9. It’s social
Making soap is a great way to connect with your neighbors, community, or family. You may offer soaps as gifts at baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, birthdays, and Mother’s Day. Whatever you want to call it! Even if no one gets excited about soaps except you and your loved ones, you’ll have made something special just for them.
10. It’s fun and valuable!
If all of the above reasons aren’t enough for you, think about this: your homemade soap can be as much fun or as helpful as you want it to be. Want a bright purple heart-shaped bar loaded with flower petals? No problem!
How about an organic goat’s milk soap with activated charcoal? You can do it!
This is your soap, and you get to decide what goes into it; don’t let anyone else try to influence your choices.
If you make one bar of soap this year, make two next years… and pretty soon, you’ll be surrounded by all kinds of beautiful handmade soaps. Go ahead and start your collection!
Even if you’re not particularly crafty, making your soap is a fun and relatively easy project. And, as a result, it’s both elegant and useful. You can make it unscented, scented with essential oils, or spiced up with natural handmade ingredients like oatmeal and clay.
Just take care not to add anything that will clog your pores or irritate your skin; for example, steer clear of shear butter if you have oily skin.
Why handmade soap is expensive
Handmade soap is expensive because the ingredients are of higher quality, and making it is more labor-intensive.
If you’re not sure why handmade soap is expensive, here are seven reasons:
1. The process is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Making soap takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. Each batch has to be monitored carefully to avoid problems like overheating or undercooking, either of which can ruin your final product. It’s not unusual for it to take several hours for the oils in the soap to saponify (turn into soap).
2. It’s a quality product
Because of the time and effort that makes it, handmade soap is a high-quality product. There are no dangerous chemicals or artificial scents, and the product is entirely natural.
3. The ingredients are expensive
Oils, fats, and butter are the primary ingredients in homemade soap. Because they’re used in such high concentrations (compared with store-bought soaps), they can cost several times more than regular dishwashing liquid or body wash.
4. It’s heavy
All that oil adds up! Each bar of handmade soap weighs roughly four ounces, compared with the one- to two-ounce bars, you’ll find at the store. That means shipping and handling costs are higher, too.
5. It’s a niche product
Handmade soap is a specialty item that doesn’t appeal to everyone. There’s a smaller market for it, so the quantities produced are smaller, and the price has to be higher to keep the business profitable.
6. Manufacturing location matters
If you live somewhere with a high cost of living, then you know that everything costs more in major cities than in rural areas, where real estate and other expenses are lower. In a large city, handmade soap will cost more than in a small town if everything else is equal.
7. It’s a cottage industry
Small businesses rather than giant corporations make most handmade soap. That means the overhead costs (rent, equipment, supplies) are spread out among fewer products, which drives up the price.