You can order a small starter supply of ingredients before commencing the course or early on in your studies. Then you have the basics to practice with and can order a greater variety or more specific ingredients while you are studying the course and have discovered more ingredients and decided on the products you wish to make.
Soap making ingredients are very easy to find both in online and 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
When you enroll in the course, you will have access to a comprehensive global supplier in the Formulating 101 section of the Natural Cosmetic Formulation Club, where the course is hosted.
This list covers specialist cosmetic ingredient suppliers in Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the UK, Africa, the US, and Canada. You can download this list and store it on your device for future reference.
A shorter supplier list is available on our website here: https://www.schoolofnaturalskincare.com/recipes-info/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.
You can find out more abou the course here: https://www.schoolofnaturalskincare.com/certificate-in-cold-process-soap-making/