Not many people realize that it is possible to make a batch of home made soap in the middle of December and have it completely cured and ready to give to friends and relatives as a gorgeous, natural, creative, luxury gift, by Christmas.
Even if it is the week before Christmas, it is still possible to have the ingredients purchased, the soap made and ready in time using the hot process.
But don't think for one moment that it only applies to Christmas, this is equally true for any occasion where time is fast running out while you are scratching your head trying to think of something appropriate and a natural home made craft gift would be ideal.
Better still, all of the equipment required to make soap can be found in most kitchens.
Hot process soap making is just as luxurious and natural as the cold process, which is favored by most home crafters, because it uses the same ingredients.
The actual preparation may take a little longer than cold process soap making, but your soap is ready to use the following day, so all you need to do then is think of a creative way to wrap the soap bars in time for the holidays.
It is a well known limitation for the cold process, that lighter fragrances can sometimes be absorbed during the curing period by the chemical changes which occur as the soap cures.
The lye used to convert the fats to soap can have a similar effect on essential oils and fragrance oils added to scent the soap batch.
This can be a major drawback if you are on a tight timescale...
to say nothing of the cost of additional scent necessary to re-batch the soap.
With hot process soap making, the curing is completed by cooking the mixture.
Fragrances and dyes are added at the point when the soap is completely cured, this means there is no chance that these expensive ingredients will be absorbed at all.
In addition to this you also have the opportunity to add further conditioning oils after the soap is cured, an additional 5% of Jojoba Oil can make the soap very beneficial to the skin and adds that touch of sheer luxury to an otherwise normal bar of soap.
Using the hot process means that you can create soap very quickly and are in complete control of the outcome, if there are only a few days left until Christmas, you really don't have time for any mistakes.