Last week we covered some of the basic ingredients for making a batch of soap from scratch. This week I'm going to introduce you to some of the things you can add to personalize your soap so that it is right for your style and needs.

Here are a few things you could add:  

Essential Oils
Essential oils are plant based substances that can add healing benefits to your skin care products, as well as add wonderful scents. Not every essential oil is good for topical use though, so you need to do your research to find out which ones to use in making soap for the skin. Some essential oils are very expensive (we're talking a few hundred dollars for just a few ounces) like rose and sandalwood, so you might be restricted to affordable scents.

Fragrance Oils
Fragrance oils are produced from chemical sources, and have a lot more options than essential oils. They are also usually cheaper than essential oils. The downside to fragrances is that many people are allergic or too sensitive to use chemically fragranced products, so you limit your customer base by using these.

Clays
Clays are known for helping with detoxifying and exfoliating when added to soap. There are many different kinds of clays to have fun trying, and they'll add interesting colors to your soaps too.

Dyes
I'm not very familiar with using dyes in soap, but I do know that there are natural ingredients that will add color to your soaps, and then there are unnatural dyes you can use to color your soap. There are colorants, pigments, micas, herbs, roots, spices and clays that can add unnatural and natural colors. This website has great descriptions on each of these elements, so go check it out and LEARN!

Superfatting Oils
The term superfatting refers to adding small amounts of oils at the end of the soap making process to add a moisturizing quality to the soap. These oils are different from the base oils, and get suspended in the soap so you get the benefits they offer. There is a whole array of oils and butters to use: shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil, to name only a few.

Herbs and Extra Nutrients 
You can add herbs and flower petals, spices, ground nuts, ground coffee, pumice, sugar, oatmeal, honey, etc. Use your imagination!

Personalizing your soaps is a lot of fun. Give yourself plenty of room for trial and error, because each batch is a clean slate for new possibilities, and you'll have some batches that will need a bit of tweaking to get it just right. You don't need to spend a lot of money on all the fun ingredients. Just start looking around your kitchen and pantry for items (like oatmeal, spices, and honey), and expand from there.

This week, start gathering ideas for what you'd like to add to personalize your soaps, and feel free to bounce some of your ideas off of me! I'd love to hear about your creativity.