Is soap-based face wash good?

Soap base refers to the raw material for making soap, which is generally made from chemical substances and demolded. It contains fragrance and some raw materials for making soap. However, you cannot use soap base to wash your face. Since soap base contains certain irritants, washing your face will easily cause some damage to the skin. It will also easily cause the skin to become tight or dry. You can use facial cleanser to wash it.

Is soap-based face wash good?

It is best not to use handmade soap made from soap base to wash your face, as it will harm your facial skin. After use, your facial skin will feel tight and dehydrated.

Soap base is made by soap manufacturers who add salt during the soap making process to separate glycerin, alkali liquid, and water from the soap base to form a 100% soap base. The soap base is then pressed into a beautiful shape by a machine before being sold. Although such soap can be used immediately, it lacks the glycerin in cold-process soap, so it is slightly tight after washing.

Soap base

Soap base is a simple basic raw material for making soap.

Soap base is formed by soap manufacturers adding salt during the soap-making process to separate glycerin, alkali liquid, and water from the soap base, thus forming a soap base for 100% soap. The soap base is then pressed into beautiful shapes by machines before being sold.

Handmade Soap

Process of making handmade soap with soap base

Handmade soap made from soap base

The characteristic of transparent soap is that it can be changed in many ways. Although handmade soap made by the cold process can also be changed in many ways, it is not as good as transparent soap base, which creates amazing effects through rich color changes, additives and essential oils, and often makes people love it. Moreover, its production process is relatively simple, even children can operate it, and it is very suitable for DIY.

Cut soap base

Take out the soap base, visually estimate the amount of handmade soap to be made, and cut it with a knife at the appropriate place. Afterwards, cut the soap base into small pieces in any shape you like, such as dices, strips, shreds, etc. The purpose of cutting it into small pieces is to speed up melting, so the smaller it is cut, the faster it melts. No matter how you cut it, it is recommended that each piece is the same size so that when heated, some parts of the soap base will not be overheated while other parts are not yet melted.

Heat to melt the soap base

Transparent soap base will begin to melt at temperatures above 45°C. It is usually melted by heating in a water bath or in a microwave. The purpose of heating in a water bath is to prevent the soap base from burning. If you want to heat it directly, you must turn the heat down to a very low level, and be careful to prevent it from burning at any time! When heating in a water bath, just use a low heat, and the water temperature does not need to be too high. If you see the water start to bubble or even boil, it means the water temperature is too high, and you must quickly turn down the heat or temporarily turn it off. Try not to stir the soap while it's heating, as this will create a lot of unnecessary bubbles. If you use color blocks or titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide) to adjust the color, you need to heat them at the same time as the soap base. As for the amount to add, it depends on personal preference and experience (generally speaking, just a little bit is enough).

Add additives

When making functional handmade soap, additives are often required, which can be added to the soap solution at this time.

Color Correction

Use color liquid to adjust the color. The concentration of the color liquid is very high, so adding one drop at a time is enough. Stir it evenly. If you feel the color is not dark enough, add another drop. Be careful not to squeeze out many drops at a time, as this will easily make the color too dark. Once the color is too dark, you can only use a lot of soap base to re-melt it to lighten the color. There are three common colors of color liquid: red, yellow, and blue. Other colors can be mixed from these three colors, for example: red + yellow → orange, yellow + blue → green, blue + red → purple. In addition, light blue is more difficult to adjust because the soap base is slightly yellow. Even if you only add a little blue liquid, it will still look a bit blue-green. If the transparent soap base you bought is very transparent and not at all yellowish, then your soap base may be made with surfactants and is not pure soap. If you use color blocks to color, the coloring is done when melting the soap base. If you want to make colorless or white soap, you don't need to add color liquid and this step can be omitted.

Fragrance

The scent of handmade soap is usually created by adding fragrance or essential oils. Essential oils are more expensive, their scent fades quickly, and the scent of some essential oils changes when added to soap, but essential oils are therapeutic. Essence is cheaper and has a longer-lasting scent, but it has no therapeutic effect. When adjusting the scent, if the soap liquid is still very hot, you must wait until the temperature drops a little before adding essential oils or essences. This is especially true for those who use essential oils, because essential oils evaporate quickly at high temperatures, so it would be a waste to add essential oils when the soap liquid is very hot. Some essential oils or fragrances will slightly change the color of the soap after being added to it. You can swap the previous step with this one and adjust the color after adjusting the fragrance. The amount of essence or essential oil added is about 0.5% to 2% of the soap liquid. Half a cup of soap liquid in a small steel cup has about 100CC, so you can add 10 drops to 40 drops of essence or essential oil (1CC is about 20 drops). The amount of essence or essential oil to drop varies according to the type and personal preference. If you like a stronger scent, add more; if you like a lighter scent, add less. Generally speaking, these scents will not remain on the skin after taking a shower. If you want to make natural unscented soap, you can skip this step. It is recommended not to add fragrance to soaps used on sensitive skin, and it is best not to add pigments, as these things may cause some irritation to the skin.