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Have you been in one of those specialty stores that sell specially made soaps? These don't only look really good, they also smell good. Some have excellent designs such as donuts, flowers and cakes. Or you see simpler yet still great designs in hotel bathrooms when you go on a vacation. These soaps may seem hard to make, but once you get to know how soap is made, you will realize how easy it is and that you can also make soap like those right at your own home.

The main process of making soap is called saponification. It is done by mixing fats and lye in water and these two ingredients will undergo a reaction that will result in the formation of soap. With only these two ingredients, you will already be able to make the basic type of soap.

There are two ways of how saponification can be done. The first is through the hot process, which involves heating of the lye and water solution, then continued heating upon addition of the fats. This is used when the exact concentration of the lye cannot be determined, especially when lye that was used is impure.

The second method of saponification is through the cold process. This process will not require heating of the fats and lye mixture, instead it relies on the heat produced by mixing lye in water. The catch in this method is that you have to follow the exact amounts of each ingredient or you will not be able to produce a good type of soap. You will need pure lye in order to achieve the desired results.

The first step in making those specially made soaps is by mastering how to make the basic soaps. You can try different fats and see the difference in the final product. Once you have already mastered making basic soaps, you can then move on to using more ingredients to design your soap.

In designing your soap, you will need additional ingredients such as dyes and fragrant oils to add to the appeal of your soap. You might also want to use different molds and cutting knives so that you may shape your soap in any way that you please. You can even combine several soaps so that you will be able to come up with a bigger soap with a much better design. Think of how you make designs out of clay when you were younger.

But soap making is not all fun and games. You must also be careful as lye is a very corrosive substance. It also emits dangerous fumes when immersed in water. This is why you should take precautions such as wearing gloves and face masks in order to protect yourself from its harmful effects.

Don't be intimidated or amazed with those soaps that you see on stores. One day, with patience and a lot of practice, you will be able to start making soaps like those. You might even make soap that is better than those sold in stores and you may want to sell your creations.