Soap making completely from scratch has certain dangers, mainly because of the ingredients you work with. This article aims to look at these dangers and at ways to alleviate or completely obviate them.
Soap is made with lye, without exception. “Lye-less” soaps are either completely synthetic 'soaps' or else “remilled” soaps we'll learn more about those in a moment. Lye is a dangerous substance to work with. However, the necessity of working with lye should not put the making of soap outside the reach of any cautious, sensible adult. (Soap making is not, however, a good craft for children.)
When creating soap entirely from scratch, there are several steps which can be taken to minimize the dangers of working with lye. Wear long pants and long sleeved shirts to keep lye from touching your skin, and keep vinegar on hand to pour onto any burns if lye should accidentally manage to touch skin. Wearing a mask helps, as well. You don't want to breathe the fumes.
Are you still not comfortable working with lye? In that case, try making hand milled or “remilled” soap. This kind of soap is made out of a natural, unscented soap. You shave and melt the soap, then add your own ingredients, such as scents. The good thing about making hand milled soap is that at no point do you come into contact with the raw lye. There is still lye in the soap, but it has already been processed, and is safe to the touch.
Many kits for creating soap are hand milled. Often, they provide you with either the bar soap, which you then shave down, or else a package of pre-shaved soap for your convenience. Some few start from scratch and use raw lye as part of the process. Whenever working with this kind, be sure to follow all included safety instructions to the letter. Never assume that you can skimp on safety when working with raw lye!
With that said, soap making, if done carefully and properly, need not be dangerous–and it is certainly fun!#5 words
You can learn more about Soap Making at http://www.officialsource.info/Soap_Making/