Soap - it has the ability to produce strong, lasting emotions in us, and this depends on its peculiar scent... charming aroma, or color. I clearly remember when my child was very young and loved a special soap bar with a little ducky inside she would get it out at every bath time. I easily remember the cool invigorating feeling of washing with sea-spray scented soap, or the luxurious feel of scrubbing with vanilla soap. I remember these things easily - soap scent easily brings such memories back.

Nowadays, richly scented soaps aren't cheap, and we can't always afford the ones we want. Often, we have to settle for commercially made soaps with only a hint of fragrance.

But what if I told you that you could make your own homemade soap? That you could choose any fragrance you wanted, and even put herbs, flowers or other things inside the soap? Would you be intrigued? Would you be willing to give it a try?

There are hundreds of great homemade soap recipes and we'll start with a very basic one. It's important to remember that sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right, but once you've got the process down, homemade soap making is easy and fun!

Here's the recipe, followed by a link that will help you find all the supplies and additional info you need.

Basic Recipe For Homemade Soap

Ingredients:

Lye solution
Animal fat
Cool water
Scents, herbs or anything you want to add to the soap

Things you will need:

2 quart jar
Large pot (at least 12 quarts)
Candy thermometer
Wooden spoon
Soap molds
Rubber gloves
Something to cover soap at the end of the process, such as a towel, Styrofoam or Cardboard

The first thing you will have to do is make the lye solution ready for use. You do this by pouring 2 1/2 cups of cold water into an enamelled pot. Next, you should slowly add 13 ounces of the lye, being sure to stir continuously with the wooden spoon. The water will heat up the lye, and it will have to be cooled before you can go to the next step. If you want to cool it quickly, place the pot in some cool water. After the lye has cooled, you should pour it into the 2 quart jar.

Next, you need to prepare the animal fat. To do so, put 6 pounds of it in a pan, and heat on low until it melts. Once all of it is melted, remove it from the heat and cool. It's important to remember that one of the biggest problems people face when making homemade soap is trying to rush the process and not allowing the lye or animal fat to cool. If you rush it, the process may not be a success.

The lye and fat need to be between 95-98 degrees for the next step (use the candy thermometer to measure the temperature). You may have to place them in basins of either hot or cold water to get the temperatures just right.

Once they're right, stir the fat (it's probably hardened a little), and then slowly add the lye, stirring the entire time. The substance will turn opaque and brown, but then after stirring for some time, will begin to lighten. Once that happens, and it is the consistency of sour cream, you are ready for the next step.

Now for the fun part! Add your scents or whatever else you want to the mixture, and then pour it into the soap molds. Place them in a warm location, and use something (the towel, Styrofoam or cardboard) to insulate it by placing it over the top. Wait twenty-four hours, and then remove the soap from its molds.

You're almost done! Now you should set your soap in an area where there are plenty of breezes, and allow it to sit there for 2-4 weeks. Waiting is the hardest part, but it will allow your soap to set properly.