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Herbal soap is being used by a lot of people because of its supposed healthier properties compared to normal soap. Herbal soap contains the added beneficial effects of the specific plant that is incorporated within the soap. It is usually a lot milder on the skin as well and fewer irritations will occur.

You don't have to go stores that specifically sell these herbal soaps just so that you could use one. Specialty stores usually have overpriced soaps because of the special properties of their soap. Some of their soaps may have herbal properties which cannot be found in normal soap so they can add to the price of their soaps. Other may also have beautiful designs which also bring up the price of the soap.

In reality, these soaps are very easy and cheap to make so you don't have to buy in these stores just to get the special soaps that you want. You can easily make herbal soaps or soaps that have beautiful designs in them right at your own home. Soap making is an excellent way to spend your free time and even small children can take this up as a hobby.

The first thing that you need to do is to procure the ingredients that you will need to make soap. The basic ingredients that you will need are caustic soda, cooking oil or any other type of oil, and some herbal leaves of your choice. Coloring dyes may also be used to add to the color of your soap.

As for the tools that you need, you have to have a pail, some mixing tools, some cups, a mortar and pestle, a cooking pot, some molds, a chopping board, a knife, cheesecloth, gloves and a face mask. These last two are needed for you own protection as caustic soda can cause skin and lung irritations when it comes into contact with these surfaces.

The first thing you need to do is prepare your herbal mixture. The leaves need to be washed thoroughly and chop up enough that will fill 1 glass. Boil these leaves in 2 glasses of water for 15 minutes and then strain it afterwards. Set this aside and let it cool.

The next step is to measure 1 cup of caustic soda and 3 cups of your herbal mixture. These needs to be mixed within a bucket stirred continuously until all of the caustic soda has been dissolved. Next add 5 cups of oil and continue stirring until the consistency become similar to that of condensed milk. Coloring dye may also be added while stirring. The mixture must then be placed into molds and allowed to cool for several hours. Once this has hardened, the soaps still need to be aged for one month before they will be ready to use.

The steps needed to make soap are really very easy and it will not take a very long time to make. The ingredients are also very cheap and easy to find. In making your own soap, you have the liberty of choosing what herbal leaves you prefer so that you may take full advantage of its healing effects. You can also try to mix and match different leaves and oils and come up with your own personalized soap.