My children are interested in making their own soap. I bought one basic piece of white soap and I have cocoa powder. I plan to melt and mix them slowly. Am I doing this right?
(I don’t know if their interest holds up, so I don’t want to buy shea butter, oils, tools, colors… and all that stuff, yet. I’m just looking for the easiest way possible.)
Hobby stores and websites have melt and pour soap that you can melt in a mixing bowl, add fragrance and color, then pour it into a mold and let cool. The beauty bars you can often buy at the store (dove, irish spring, etc.) are made with detergents, and don’t often react well to trying to melt them, the stuff made to be melting has extra glycerin to help it melt down and harden without getting nasty.
Brambleberry is where I buy my soap supplies. They also have guides and youtube tutorials/Q&A vids. https://www.brambleberry.com/
Making soap is fun! The easiest thing would be some melt and pour, and fragrance oils and a cheap bowl and loaf pan from Walmart or the dollar store.