The Soapmaker's Companion was my first introduction to the art of making soap and although some of the information in the book is dated, I still consider it a good introduction. Making soap is pretty straight forward... in the most basic case, it's just fats, water and lye mixed together in the right proportions. From there, you can up your game by adding essential oils, exotic 'fats' and fitting your product into custom molds. Personally, I avoid any fragrances and occasionally add an exfoliant... spent grains from the brewing process work great for this.
I follow the 'cold process' for making soap. This means that I mix the lye with water and separately, warm the fats just enough to liquefy them. When the fats are liquid, the lye mixture is combined which starts the chemical reaction and the entire mixture is stirred vigorously. You can do this by hand, but I recommend using an appliance to do this. Eventually, you'll want to look for signs of a trace. Scoop some of the mixture up in a spoon and slowly drip it across the surface of the mixture and look for it to leave a distinct trail across the surface. This means it's time to add any additional additives and get it into molds quickly. Cover the molds with towels to keep them warm and wait for a day or two. At this point the soap should be hard and you can technically use it, but I recommend curing it. Take the soap out of the mold and cut it into the bars that you intend to use. I like to put them on a paper bag in a dry, dark area. This curing process can go on for up to 6 weeks and every few days, you can turn the bars so that each side is exposed to the air.
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