First you need to prepare all the necessary raw materials and equipment. To do this, we buy from the list below all that is needed for the manufacture of handmade soap.
1. Soap base (hereinafter referred to as MO).
It is transparent, white and colored. Sold in special stores for soap makers. It is produced by both Russian and foreign companies. Different MOs differ from each other in transparency, plasticity, smell, color, effect on the skin, foaming and, of course, price. Mo is now being produced that do not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, or as a cream. There are MO glowing in the dark, there are jelly. Colored MO is more expensive than transparent, so it is better to make such a basis yourself using dyes.
2. Silicone forms.
Very convenient to use forms for soap. Due to its flexibility, the form is simply turned inside out and removed from the soap like a stocking. Mylice can be taken out a little warm. Molds are bought at hardware stores as "ice molds" or "baking dish". In such stores they are sold in plates, 4-8 identical pieces per sheet. The assortment is not very large. In soap shops they sell them individually.
3. Plastic mold.
Their huge variety, for every taste. They are tough and the soap can be removed only if it is well frozen. With strong pressure, the shape can be broken.
4. Volumetric forms.
There are also 3D shapes. The soap in them is "voluminous". Such molds consist of two halves with a hole for pouring the melt. Halves are fastened with a lock. They are many times more expensive than flat shapes.
5. Dyes.
Dyes are used very different. There are food colors, there are mineral pigments, there are neon and gel paints. They are sold both in dry form and already divorced. Concentrated dyes are enough for a few kg of soap.
6. Perfumes.
To give the soap a pleasant smell, cosmetic fragrances are used. There are a lot of them in stores. You can buy essential oils at the pharmacy and also add them as fragrances to the soap. You can combine odors and create your own fragrance.
7. Melt tanks.
It is best to melt MO in a microwave oven in thick-walled glass or plastic glasses of various capacities. A patch is glued onto the glass, on which it is convenient to note the level of the melt for a particular shape.
8. Stir sticks.
It is safer to stir the hot melt with glass or wooden (from land) sticks. It is better to have several of these sticks for each color of MO.
9. Knives and drills.
It is easier to cut the MO with a large knife, and the notch between the multi-colored layers, the finalization of the finished soap and the correction of small defects is best done with a small knife or even a scalpel. Different round holes make drills of various diameters.
10. Alcohol.
In order for the multi-colored layers in the soap to bond better, use alcohol in the spray gun. Alcohol (or any antiseptic solution) is bought at a pharmacy.
11. Glitter and mother of pearl.
If you add glitter (glitter) or mother-of-pearl of various colors to a transparent MO, then the soap will turn out to be very beautiful, as if glowing and shimmering from the inside.
12. Decor and stamps.
Finished soap can be decorated with various decorative elements: toys, poppy seeds, glass beads, etc. You can use various stamps that give beautiful prints on the back of the soap.
If you have prepared all this, then the time has come to show your masterpiece to the world. Successes.