What ignited this idea for me to visit a soap making workshop was simply because I have always fancied the art of soap making. I recall watching videos produced by Lush on how they make their popular and newest soap bars and being absolutely fascinated by them. I marvelled at the colours, scents and even designs of the soap and everyday I wondered whether I should dabble in soap-making just for the sake of aesthetics. So, I went to Soap Art to get my bubbles on!
Tucked away in a multipurpose building in Kovan, the centre itself is impossible to miss and gives out a very homey atmosphere. Other than Covid-19, the store owners and trainers believe that for every workshop should be meticulously guided on a one-on-one basis, so it truly felt like we had private lessons from them. Our trainers, April and Thomas are passionate, kind and patient individuals which made the entire session breezeful and enriching.
Now, for the actual soap making process:
Upon arrival, we were guided to our seats where the tools and ingredients were laid out for us. After a very short briefing, we were immediately instructed step-by-step on what we should do next, followed by a simple explanation on why such steps are necessary. The best part about this workshop and more particularly, Soap Art, is that the ingredients that they use for their soaps are all natural and chemical free — making it generally safe for all skin types even sensitive and dry skin. Spoiler alert: The soaps work well on my skin (tried and tested)!
After a messy and fun process of chopping the base up into small and even sizes, we were told to melt them over a double boiler and the reasoning behind this was definitely interesting for me. Melting them down didn’t take long especially when you cut them into small even pieces. It generally took about 10 to 15 minutes and it also didn’t require much stirring. So, yes, you can leave them unattended. The only trouble we had with this was making sure that they didn’t stick to the sides of the cylinder.
While waiting for the base to melt into an even and silky texture, our trainors presented us with the moulds, colours and essential oils for us to choose. For mould wise, we weren’t limited to only one option so that definitely took our attention away from waiting for the soap to melt as we both chose the perfect combinations for our bar soaps. Once everything is melted, we excitedly mixed in the colours and essential oils and stirred them in. April even shared with us some tips to note of before we started pouring our soaps into the moulds.
This step of pouring the melted soap into moulds is probably the most challenging compared to the rest. As simple and straightforward as it looks, the soap hardened very quickly, making it challenging to say the least. By the end of one tray or even one big mould, the soap would already start to harden and have an uneven texture (hence, the spills). To overcome this, we simply had to melt down the soap again before pouring them into the different moulds. Pouring the base in isn’t the only course of action, we also had to ensure the tiniest corners are filled so we had to use our spoons to push the base in between.
Now, for the wait. April informed us that we roughly needed to wait around 10 to 15 minutes for the soap to harden out in the open and one way we can check whether it’s ready is by touching it. The rest is history. We took out the soaps from the moulds and immediately, we were so thrilled with our end results. We also managed to get a strong whiff from our soaps (because we preferred them that way, you can add less for a milder scent) and all that’s left was to wrap them.
Wrapping was quite a tedious process, but April and Thomas were more than willing to help us out so once everything was individually wrapped, we packed them into our bags and that was pretty much a wrap! The entire workshop promised to take a full hour and a half of your time and they have kept to their promise — definitely ensuring that every minute is your money’s worth. April and Thomas were very delightful trainors as well. They constantly kept us occupied and entertained in the midst of the wait. All in all, it was a very therapeutic experience which I highly recommend people to try out and if you’re visiting them on a monthly basis, you can get 10% off for your following workshops! So, I guess I know where to head to next month!
Address: 183 Jalan Pelikat #01-70, The Promenade @ Pelikat Singapore 537643
Opening hours: Subject to workshop availability
Contact: 6610 9293
