Soap making ingredients are very easy to find both online and in brick-and-mortar stores.
Here's a list of ingredients you can buy to get you started, then as you progress through the course and learn about different ingredients you may wish to buy more:
- Sodium hydroxide
- Purified/deionized water
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Palm oil (sustainably sourced) Optional
- Castor oil
- Shea butter
- Sunflower oil
As part of the course, you receive a comprehensive global supplier list featuring hundreds of cosmetic suppliers all around the world where you can buy your ingredients. A shorter supplier list is available on our website here: https://www.schoolofnaturalskincare.com/recommended-suppliers/
Soap can be made with some basic kitchen/lab equipment. Module 1: Soap Making Theory takes you through all the equipment you’ll need and important safety considerations.
Here is a list of the equipment that you should consider using:
- Protective equipment (clothing, goggles, mask/respirator, heavy-duty gloves).
- Heating equipment to melt butters eg bowls and saucepans to create a double boiler.
- Containers/ beaker/bowls for weighing and mixing. You will need heat-resistant and chemical-resistant containers to make your lye solution in, to melt the oils and to mix the soap in. Materials suitable for soap making are glass (eg Pyrex bowls, laboratory beakers), stainless steel and polypropylene plastic (common kitchen mixing bowls). Avoid all contact with aluminum.
- A thermometer. Inexpensive glass lab thermometers are sufficient, or you may like to invest in an infrared thermometer.
- A stick blender (hand-held immersion blender).
- Scales, ideally digital scales that measure to 0.1g.
- Silicone spoon and spatula
- Stainless steel spoons and whisk
- Soap making molds, for example silicone molds or wooden loaf molds. A soap cutter is useful for cutting soap loaves into your desired bar size.