Handcrafted Soap

Some useful terms to know when shopping for soap.
Wikipedia Luxury Soap Making Information
The following terms are from the soapmaking section of Wikipedia.
Cold Process is a method of making soap (saponification) which does not require use an external heat source to force the saponification process to begin. (Heat is often still applied in order to melt fats or oils that are solid at room temperature and to speed the reaction.) For this reason, this process is often used by soapers, or home soapmakers. Lye, either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, is mixed with an appropriate amount of fats and/or oils to start the saponification process that leads to soap.
Hot process is a traditional method of making soap, still used by some soapmakers.

In the hot process, fats and oils are boiled in a lye solution (either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). After saponification has occurred, the soap is precipitated from the solution by adding salt, after which the liquid component was drained.

Melt and pour is a process often used by soapmakers. The process differs from the cold process or hot process in that no actual soap is made; a ready-made soap base acquired in commerce is melted and poured into individual moulds, tray molds, or blocks which can then be sliced. Additional ingredients such as fragrances, colourings, and moisturizers may be added.
Rebatching, or hand milling, is a soapmaking technique used by hobbyists and artisan soapmakers. The commercial equivalent is French milling.

In rebatching, commercially purchased or previously made soap (a soap base) is shredded or diced finely and mixed with a liquid, into which the soap shreds begin to dissolve. It is then heated at a fairly low temperature until the mass is more or less homogenous. When it becomes translucent and reaches a thick, gel-liked consistency, it is spooned or piped into molds and allowed to harden.