Soap Making
A Third Age Crafts feature
by our Interests, Hobbies & Pastimes Editor

Soap Making is one of the most popular of all the crafts. Why? Well everyone needs soap for one thing. But there’s far more too it than that.

Today, with inexpensive Soap Making kits, easy access to even cheaper raw materials from craft suppliers, and the fact that we as a nation are keen to get back to basics in these uncertain times, all help make Soap Making one of the most popular of all hobbies.

Add in the fact that today’s soaps can look good enough to eat, coming in more shapes, sizes and scents than you could possibly want for, and it’s easy to see why Soap Making as a hobby has taken such a hold.

Soap Making Kits:
The cheapest and simplest way to see if the craft of Soap Making is for you is to buy a Soap Making kit. That way you get all the materials you need in the exact quantities required, and if for some reason you decide that Soap Making is not for you after all, well you haven’t spent much money in finding that out, there’s no unneccessary waste or expenditure and, if nothing else, you’ve got a load of hand made soaps made with natural ingredients that you can use and enjoy!

A Soap Making Kit such as House of Crafts Handmade Soap Kit contains a comprehensive range of materials and natural ingredients to make a delightful selection of individual handmade soaps. Contents include soap compound, fragrance, marigold petals, cut lemon grass, irish moss, 3 soap moulds, pipette and full instructions.

Soap Making Books:
The Handmade Soap Book by Melinda Coss shows you how to create your own soaps and bathtime luxuries using only natural ingredients and very little specialist equipment. Create the perfect gift for family and friends, kids and grown-ups. This book features a huge range of exotic and tempting ingredients, such as peach, peppermint, ylang ylang, cinnamon and chocolate, and includes recipes for shampoo bars, body splashes and bath creams. The simple, sumptuous and easy-to-follow recipes and luscious photography will tempt and inspire all.

Melinda Coss runs The Handmade Soap Company in West Wales. Her soaps are sold at the exclusive L’Atelier du Savon in the Marais district of Paris and she also supplies some of the most prestigious hotels and stores in London. A regular contributor to magazines, she has also appeared on television and is the author of a wide range of craft book.

One independent reviewer of this excellent book said of it: “A good friend bought this book for me as a gift. If only he knew what he’d started. I made my first batch, followed it with another and another and now I have my own skincare business. The book is attractively set out. The recipes are easy to follow and the photography is very pleasing on the eye. There are tried and tested recipes a useful saponification chart and a handy troubleshooting guide in the event of any mishaps. If you want to make soap from scratch then this is the book for you!”

For those in their Third Age who would like to learn Soap Making, Soap Making Courses are available in most areas.