Natural Soap Making for Beginners
A course by Marta Tarallo, Soap Maker
Learn how to make your own botanical soap from scratch using all-natural ingredients, dyes, and scents
Making your own soap is a simple way to freshen up your daily life, whether you want to reduce waste or explore a new creative hobby. Marta Tarallo is a soap maker with a passion for empowering others by teaching them her craft. This mission led her to launch the Bottega Zero Waste project and write a book on the subject: Botanical Soaps. She has also collaborated with brands like Mastercard, Ren, and Eileen Fisher.
In this online course, Marta teaches you how to make botanical soap from scratch using all-natural ingredients. Learn to prepare your own unique recipe and customize your creations by playing with textures, colors, and scents. Shape your ideas into sustainable products to use at home or share with the world.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 30 downloads
What's included in this course?
Meet your teacher for the course, Marta Tarallo. Hear about how she turned her passion into a full-time career and the influences that inspire her fragrant creations.
Explore the basic concepts behind this ancient craft and the materials involved. After covering important safety measures, look at different decoration options and start thinking about your design.
Next, Marta teaches you how to make a precise recipe, as well as prepare the lye solution and measure out the oils. Then combine the ingredients, stir in your desired additives, and pour the mixture into a mold before adding texture and decorations. Remove the soap once it’s ready and learn how to cut and cure it for use.
Finally, Marta shares some tips on how to avoid common mistakes and care for your equipment. Wrap up by learning how to create an attractive label and packaging for your botanical bars.
- 98% positive reviews (318)
- 19,527 students
- 18 lessons (3h 29m)
- 30 additional resources (10 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, Spanish (Latam), French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Indonesian · Romanian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Make a natural bar of soap infused with your choice of colors and scents.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
Anyone interested in making their own botanical soap.
Requirements and materials
No prior knowledge is necessary.
In terms of materials, you need olive, coconut, and essential oils, sodium hydroxide, colored clay, a quality scale, safety equipment, some kitchen utensils, and a mold.
Reviews
Marta Tarallo
A course by Marta Tarallo
Originally from Italy, Marta Tarallo is a London-based soap maker and the founder of Bottega Zero Waste. After studying Chinese art and language, she spent several years working in a high-end auction house before she found her true calling in the simplicity of soap making. She decided to teach herself and shared her journey online, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers along the way.
Thanks to her success on social media, Marta has collaborated with brands such as Mastercard, Ren, and Eileen Fisher, and had her work featured in publications like Handmade Beauty and Home. She has also written a book about her craft, Botanical Soaps, which has been translated into three languages and sold worldwide. She is currently devoted full-time to her brand, empowering others to lead a zero-waste lifestyle by teaching them how to make their own organic bathroom and skincare products.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
The Theory of Soap Making
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The Basics of Soap Making
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Materials, Ingredients, and Tools 1
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Materials, Ingredients, and Tools 2
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Safety Measures
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Techniques for Customisation 1
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Techniques for Customisation 2
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The Design
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U3
Making the Soap
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Preparing the Recipe
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Safety and Lye Preparation
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Melting and Measuring
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Adding Lye to Oils and Pouring It Into Moulds
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Texturing and Decorating
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Unmoulding and Curing
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U4
Best Practices and Final Touches
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Tips for Tool Maintenance
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Troubleshooting
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Making a Label for the Soap
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FP
Final project
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Natural Soap Making for Beginners
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers all foundational soap making techniques, safety practices, and essential concepts needed to get started confidently.
You’ll need basic materials like oils, lye (sodium hydroxide), distilled water, safety gear (goggles, gloves), a stick blender, molds, scales, and a thermometer. The course provides a detailed list and guidance on sourcing these items.
You’ll learn cold process soap making, safe lye handling, recipe formulation, using natural additives, troubleshooting, sustainable packaging, and batch documentation for both hobby and business use.
Batch tracking allows you to document recipes, ingredients, and outcomes for each batch, making it easier to replicate successes, troubleshoot problems, and ensure product consistency and safety.
Yes, the course covers zero waste principles, including eco-friendly packaging ideas and sustainable ingredient choices for both soap and haircare products.
The course teaches you to use saponification values and tools like SoapCalc to accurately calculate lye and oil ratios for safe and effective soap making.
You’ll learn essential safety measures such as wearing goggles and gloves, working in a ventilated area, and proper procedures for mixing and storing lye to prevent accidents.
Super good and easy to understand
Beautiful and Infromative Natural soap making course. Right now, I am learning this course to teach the rural womens in Pokhara Nepal and create the jobs locally for womens in our community. Thank you
Está muito bem explicado e fácil de aprender
very easy going step by step process explained well .will continue this endeavour in soap making.
Corso ben fatto e molto dettagliato. Mi trovo un po male come il calcolatore di ricetta ma perchè sono alle prime armi. L'insegnante comunque spiega tutto benissimo nei minimi particolari. Un corso veramente completo