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Once you*ve mastered the basics of soap making, it's fun to create your own recipes.

First, you have to decide what method of soap making you*re going to make. Are you going to use the cold process method (with lye), the rebatched/handmilled method or the melt and pour method?

Next, what kind of soap do you want to make? For example, prettily molded hand soap or moisturizing soap to use in the bath or shower?

Are you going to superfat your soap? Superfatting is when you add additional fatty oils after saponification to make a richer, creamier soap. There are all kinds of different oils you can use in superfatting, including shea butter and cocoa butter.

What color do you want your soap? What do you want your soap to smell like? What shape and size mold do you want to use? These are important questions to consider.

Do you want to include additives such as oatmeal, flower petals or glitter?

Once you*ve carefully crafted your own recipe and written instructions, have all the ingredients and equipment necessary, it's time to start making your soap.

Now don*t forget you have to allow time for the soap to set and cure. If you*re making cold process soap, this take two weeks. On the other hand, making soap using the melt and pour method only takes a few hours to set, even less if you put it in the refrigerator!

If you plan on giving your soap to friends and family, they*re sure to be impressed by the fact that you made the soap yourself, using your own recipe! If you know they like a specific scent, shapes or colors, you can tailor make the soap to their liking, eg, making lavender seashells for someone who likes seashells and lavender fragrance.

It's really satisfying to make soap using your own recipe. Once you*ve mastered the art of soap making, or even enjoying the process of mastering it, you may find it hard to stop!