China Detergent Information Website

• Hospitals make use of antibacterial soaps, because such products are believed to control the spread of bacteria, thereby reducing the risk of infections. This is the reason why antibacterial soaps can be found everywhere within a hospital’s premises, right from the doctor’s office to the intensive care units to the operation theatres.
• Such soaps help in preventing the spread of bacteria that cause many stomach and other ailments.
• Antibacterial soaps give a person extra protection from different types of harmful bacteria that are known to thrive in household premises.
• Washing hands with such soaps prevents the spread of most of the ailments related to stomach.
• Washing hands with plain soap remove the germs, but not to that extent as it is known to be done by an antibacterial soap.

• Triclosan, the main ingredient used in antibacterial soaps, has been found to kill not only bacteria, but also human cells.
• Such soaps kill any and every type of bacteria and are not limited to disease-causing bacteria only. Since they kill every susceptible bacterium and remove competition from the ecosystem, they might lead to multiplication of resistant bacteria. The end result will be drug-resistant “superbugs”.
• Antibacterial soaps offer no protection against the most common germs, since they are caused by virus and not bacteria.
• Use of antibacterial soaps might do more harm than good to your baby’s immune system. This is because it has been found that for developing a baby’s immunity, it is very necessary to expose him to germs during the initial years. The children who are not exposed to common bacteria usually end up being more prone to allergies and asthma.
• Over-use of antibacterial agents has been found to be associated with environmental problems also.
• Studies have revealed that the triclosan in such soaps reacts with chlorinated water to produce inappropriately high levels of chloroform, which is a probable human carcinogen.
• Researches have pointed out that too much triclosan can lead to considerable disorder in the endocrine system.

The research also suggests that the reaction of triclosan with chlorine could be producing highly chlorinated dioxins in the presence of sunlight. Triclosan is also found in toothpastes, acne creams, deodorants, lotions and 75 percent of liquid soaps and nearly 30 percent of bar soaps. It is also incorporated into a wide range of consumer products like toys, cutting boards, toothbrush handles, hot tubs and athletic clothing. Like Levy, other researchers suggest restricting the use of antibacterial cleaning products to health care settings like hospitals or nursing homes with very sick residents. However, industry representatives contend that their products are safe and that people should be able to clean themselves and their homes as effectively as hospitals. Unfortunately, triclosan and other antibacterial chemicals take time to work, needing to be left on a surface for up to two minutes. Since most people are not that patient or conscientious, they end up rinsing off the antibacterial cleansing agent before it has time to work. On the other hand, regular soap gets rid of bacteria too, by adhering it to the soap’s fatty acids, which become encapsulated in droplets of water and washed away. Another piece of the puzzle not mentioned by the soap industry in its marketing of expensive antibacterial agents to consumers is that many of the most common diseases are viral in nature and therefore not prevented by antibacterial products! So take the advice of some of the world’s best microbiologists and medical doctors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and wash your hands, your baby and your home thoroughly with ordinary soap and warm water or traditional cleaning agents. And you will be effectively, safely and inexpensively warding off infection while not destroying your family’s natural immunity.

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If you are someone who knows how to make homemade soap, or you are simply looking to get started with homemade soap recipes, there is a good chance that you have heard the phrase superfatting being tossed around a lot. Superfatting is essentially the process of adding more oil to your soap while keeping the amount of lye that has been used essentially the same. If you are looking at your recipe, you can superfat it by looking at the lye and oil ratios and increasing your oil content by five percent or so.

When you are looking at how to make homemade soap and you want to know how to superfat a recipe, whether it is one that you have loved for years or whether it is something that you have always wanted to try, start with a lye calculator, which will often give you an option to superfat the recipe. You may also just figure it out mathematically. If you want to superfat the recipe by, say, five percent, take the amount of lye in the recipe and multiply it by .95, leaving the oil as it is.

Superfatting homemade soap recipes can leave you with a 3% increase in oil or even a 10% increase. Remember not to go overboard though. The free oil that remains in your recipe can go bad, and spoiled soap has small unattractive orange bubbles of spoiled free oil. This is a trial and error method, so keep good notes on what you are doing and what the results are.

You may be wondering why you would do this. The truth of the matter is that having too much lye is something that can be extremely bad for your soap. You’ll wind up with a product that you don’t like, that is far too abrasive and that may have you wishing that you had never gotten started in the first place! This is essentially saying that with superfatting your homemade soap recipes, it is better to err on the side of caution.

Similarly it is also important to realize that there is nothing wrong with soap that can add a little it of moisturizer to your hands. This gives your soap slightly more emollient qualities, which essentially means that it can soften your skin much more effectively. As a lot of soap tends to dry your skin out, this can be very important.

Have some fun experimenting with the process of superfatting when you go to make homemade soap. You never know when it is going to make your next batch something really special!

Okay, so you can already make homemade soap using the cold process and the melt and pour method. How about giving a shot at making liquid soap? This process and hobby is becoming more and more popular these days whether you have your own technique or use suggested homemade soap recipes. While this hobby can also save you money since you wont be buying your liquid soap, it takes a few steps, but with patience, you can be an expert in no time.

First, you will need a few things like distilled water, boric acid, soap oils, and soap fragrance and color. But just keep in mind its not necessary to put in any fragrance or color in your liquid soap at all if you don’t want to. So, to make homemade soap liquid style, youll also need to gather some other items such as a large crockpot, thermometer, small scale, measuring cups, stick blender and a potato masher or flat whisk.

Put your oils in the crockpot on low and keep this temperature at 160 degrees during the entire process. Next mix your lye water and we recommend wearing rubber gloves and safety goggles for this procedure. First, weigh the amount of distilled water that your homemade soap recipes requires and weigh on your scale and then do the same with the lye. Add the lye to the water and stir to dissolve and dont be alarmed if the mixture is bubbly, thats normal.

Now you can add your lye and distilled water mix to your soap oils that you have at 160 degrees in your crockpot. Here is where you will use your stick blender, this may take a while, but hang in until it is completely blended. You will need to continue this until your soap has what the experts call a trace appearancea sort of pudding type look.

When you are at the desired trace mix, place the lid on your crockpot and check on it in about fifteen minutes. You dont want it to separate so if it is, give it a quick stir using your potato masher of flat whisk, and keep checking your liquid soap every fifteen minutes or so, stirring each time. Depending on the homemade soap recipes you have, your mixture can take up to four hours to cook and go through several stagesthe stage you want is a sort of a translucent Vaseline state.

At the four-hour point, add one ounce of boiling water to your mix and stir. This is called testing your soap mixture and you want it to be clear, however, a little cloudy is okay when making handmade soap. If your mixture is too cloudy and doesnt appear even somewhat translucent, then it needs to be cooked longer or you may have mixed your ingredients incorrectly. You will want it to stay clear or become even clear as it coolsit will cool in about an hour.

After its cooled, add as much water as your homemade soap recipes call for and wait until the oil-distilled water-lye mix has completely dissolved into the water you have just added. Once this step is done, turn the crockpot back on and heat back to 180 degrees. Next, you will need to go through the neutralizing process.

The neutralizing process is where you mix boric acid with boiling water. Make sure you follow your homemade soap recipes and its measuring guidelines carefully and stir while keeping it hot. Add approximately ounce of this neutralizing mix for every pound of your soap paste. When this is complete, you can add fragrance and color before the soap mixture cools.

Finally, your soap will need to cool in jars and be kept in a cool place. While homemade soap recipes vary, this is the basic way to make homemade soap the liquid style. You can play with mixing fragrance and color, but you should stick to the measurements of other ingredients that your recipe calls for. Have fun!

So you want to learn how to make soap? Are you looking for a more natural alternative to commercially available soaps? Or are you just a crafty person looking for a new creative adventure?

Well, you’re in the right place. In addition to the basics of how to make soap, you’ll get soap making instructions, tips, and safety guidelines. This primer, and the Soap Making pages here on About, will teach you basic techniques of how to make your own homemade soap, guide you step-by-step through some interesting soap projects, and give you the knowledge and resources to start developing your own soapy creations.

But Why Make My Own Soap?

One of the pioneers of today’s natural hand made soap making community, Ann Bramson, in her book “Soap”, says, “Where the hard pastel-colored bars sold at the drugstore are anonymous and indifferent, homemade soap has character. It charms…it smells good…feels good…is comforting in ways which manufactured soap can never be.” She is so right! If you’ve never tried a bar of real natural hand made soap, you’re in for a real treat. If you have tried one, and know just how wonderful it is, you’ll be surprised that making your own fantastic soaps is not as difficult as you think.

A Basic Chemical Reaction

Soap is the result of a basic chemical reaction between fats or oils and lye. That’s it. The difference between Grandma’s harsh, greasy, “lye soap,” and your luxurious hand made soap, is the choice of ingredients. Think of it this way: With just some flour and water, you can make primitive bread. Not very exciting or tasty, but still bread. But when your recipe is made with your favorite whole-grain flour, fresh eggs, sea salt, yeast, and honey, simple bread becomes a remarkable home made delight.

It’s the same with soap.

By carefully choosing a combination of quality oils, adding your favorite fragrance or essential oils, and swirling in a lively colorant, your soap suddenly takes on that charming “character” that commercially manufactured soap can’t even begin to compete with.