Many of us start off our soap making adventure using one kind of kit or the other. The first year I made soap, I perused the internet to try to find the best kits to make soap so I would not have to end up buying huge quantiies of oil or other ingredients that I may never use again. Plus, if I decided that I did not care to ever make soap again the investment I would have made would not break me financially.

On the other side of that scenario, is the fact that many folks who buy soap kits decide to keep making soap and still others turn it into a business.

So, what do you want in a natural soap kit?
Well, I buy kits from folks who have experience making the product themselves. And I try to buy kits that have all the ingredients needed to make the product as well as thorough instructions. Kits sold normally contains enough base oils, lye and fragrance or essential oil to last through one batch or several batches of soap. In addition, to all the above listed items, some of the best kits also come with a sturdy wooden mold.

Where to order soap kits?
Here is my list of the best soap kits for the beginner soap maker:

USA
1. Ye Old Soap Shoppe has been selling their old-fashioned soap making kits for years. Ye Old Soap Shoppe soapmaking supply store and soap boutique is located in the fashionably artsy San Diego Ave in San Diego, California. Their kit contains everything you need to make 28 - 4 ounce bars of herbal soap. Included in the kit is an instructional DVD, a custom ponderosa pine wooden soap mold, gloves, sodium hydroxide and the soap shop's exclusive, pre-measured all-vegetable based oils of coconut, palm and olive oil, one full ounce of essential oil or fragrance oil and dried herbs Ye Old Soap Shoppe.

Canada
1. Cranberry Lane carries some of the most researched and customer specific kits ever. Cranberry Lane's whole purpose is to supply some of the most innovative and beautifully presented kits and ingredients for those wanting to start a hobby creating personal care items or for those hoping to start a business. One of their best selling kits is the natural soapmaking kit. This kit contains enough ingredients to make two batches of 16 bars of soap each weighing 80 grams(2.82 Oz.). Included in the kit are thorough instructions, blended vegetable oil, lye, a mould(mold), thermometer, gloves, plus a mixture of botanical additives or clays, & essential oils. Lye is shipped with the kit only for orders shipped within Canada. Orders for customers in the United States do not include lyeCranberryLane.