I really enjoy making my own soap at home. It gives me the freedom to experiment with different recipes and scents to suit my taste. However, my husband wasn’t too keen on the floral scents I typically used, so I decided to make a soap with a more masculine fragrance just for him. He ended up loving it and has been using my homemade soap ever since.
This is a cold process soap recipe, but if you prefer the hot process method, it should work just fine for that as well. The key ingredient in soap-making is lye, which is essential for the chemical reaction known as saponification that turns oils or fats into soap. While working with lye can be intimidating at first and requires careful handling, following safety guidelines can make it manageable. With a properly calculated recipe, no lye will remain in the finished soap.
When I make soap, I always take safety precautions. It’s important to respect the process and ensure everything is done safely. There are so many possibilities when creating a soap recipe. For my husband’s soap, I wanted something that was firm, moisturizing, and had a lot of lather. Here’s what I used:
– Tallow: This makes for a hard bar with excellent cleansing properties. It’s a staple in many commercial soaps and can be rendered at home. If you prefer a vegetable-based soap, palm oil is a good substitute, but remember to adjust the lye calculations accordingly.
– Olive Oil: A classic choice that makes a softer bar initially, though it hardens over time. It’s very moisturizing but doesn’t produce a lot of lather.
– Coconut Oil: Provides a fluffy lather but can be drying, so it’s best to limit it to about 30% of the total oils.
– Castor Oil: I often use this in conjunction with coconut oil as it helps stabilize the lather. Keep it to around 10% to avoid a slippery feel.
– Beeswax: Contributes to the soap’s hardness.
– Essential Oils: These give the soap its scent. For a manly aroma, I used a combination of orange, patchouli, cinnamon, and clove essential oils. Patchouli helps the scent last longer, and I used just a small amount of cinnamon and clove, as these can accelerate the soap’s setting process.
I like to have a separate set of supplies dedicated to soap-making, though you can use your kitchen tools as long as they are thoroughly cleaned afterward. What scents do the men in your life prefer? Have you tried making soap specifically for them?
