Soap Making Chemistry - What You Should Know

Soap Making Chemistry - What You Should KnowFor those of you who are new to soap making, you may be surprised at some of the steps that are involved. In this article I'm going to give you some details about soap making chemistry. By the time you're finished reading this article, you should have a good understanding of the science behind the soap making process.Soap is basically liquid petroleum jelly and is one of the most common materials used in soaps today. This liquid soap mixture is made by reacting other components with one another to create various types of products. One of the main ingredients of soap is lye, which is a mineral compound derived from coal tar. Lye can also be added to water and slowly heated until it becomes an emulsifier, which allows it to stick to the fatty molecules within the skin. When this emulsified compound dries, it forms soap.Other ingredients are often combined with lye to form alkali compounds, which act as foaming agents and cause water to flow m ore freely into the wash. It also acts as a thinner, reducing the weight of the liquid by approximately ten percent. Many times, the base ingredients are carbon dioxide and lye, or a combination of these two elements. Lye is usually one of the first substances used in soap making and is the most common of the two.Oils and fragrances are also commonly added to soap, and these add fragrance to the product. Fragrances include dyes, colorants, fragrances and essential oils. In order to increase the drying properties of the liquid, colorants are added to it as well.The final step of soap making is to make lye soap, which is made by mixing lye with another substance like sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. In order to do this, a large amount of water is added to the lye mixture, and this liquid is allowed to slowly boil. Once the temperature reaches a certain point, the liquid is allowed to cool, and then the balance of the water and lye is removed from the mixture.As I mentioned ear lier, soap making involves the use of different types of ingredients. The ingredients themselves come from many different sources, and they are often mixed together in different ways. Some ingredients include lye, and others are natural substances that have been added to improve the properties of the original ingredients.A good amount of information on soap making can be found in soap making chemistry books. These books explain some of the basic aspects of soap making and include thorough descriptions of the different ingredients that are commonly used. If you want to know more about soap making, look for a book that covers soap making chemistry. You'll be glad you did.