Skin care has been an important part of lives always. In the days before industrialization and mass production of cosmetics, people used to use Natural Handmade Soaps and cosmetics. But with the industrialization, the ‘soap’ that are generally marketed as ‘moisturizing’ or ‘cleansing bars’, is full of chemicals, hardening agents, and harsh detergents.Â
Return to the Natural Products
This revelation has lead to a fresh boost to the Handmade Cosmetics industry. More and more people are including handmade items in their skin care routine.Â
If you buy or make your own handmade soap, there are two things you need to consider for it to have a long lifetime; the ingredients used and the proper storing.
The ingredients in natural handmade soaps are mostly the same used in different combinations to create a variety of soaps. The ingredients include:
- Glycerin, Fat or Oil, sometimes both;
- Essential oils;
- Liquid, mostly water;
- Lye.
Making Your Own Handmade Cosmetics
In case you want to create your own handmade cosmetics, soaps are very easy to make. You need to get the bases and mix them in a combination that would best suit you. You can get the ratios from any soap-making website on the internet.
Curing The Handmade Soaps
Before you use your soap as a part of your skin care routine, or gift or sell them, you need to rest them or ‘cure’ them. This is basically the stage to let the excess water content evaporate. The soap is kept in an area where it can be exposed to the air for around 4-6 weeks, depending on the oils and water content of your recipe.Â
For cold process natural handmade soaps, four weeks is a good enough time. In case the sope has primarily olive oil in it, then you should wait six weeks because it takes olive oil a longer time to saponify (turn into soap).
In hot process natural handmade soaps, the water evaporates to an extent during the cooking process. These need to be cured for 1-3 weeks only, more if the olive oil content is high.
This process ensures that the soap is mild, solid, would have a nice lather, and most importantly last long.
Storing Handmade Soap
Once cured, the soaps are ready to be packaged and stored until they are used. Mostly they are wrapped in paper or in a box. Some experts believe it is better to keep the soap in open-air. However, this would make the scent of the soap fade faster.Â
You can keep them in a large box, such as a shoebox, and store them in a cool, dry place. Do not wrap them in plastic as the remaining water content would make the soap sticky. You can also use a sealed container, but make sure to put in a packet of silica gel with it.Â
Use it as a regular part of your skin care for your face as well as the body. You can make other handmade cosmetics as well, such as moisturizer, cleanser, lip balm. Natural products will help your skin feel young, beautiful, and get rid of the various side effects of using chemicals.