softening vs natural process

softening and natural process both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
softening	Yes	Yes	No	No
natural process	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, natural process is a hypernym of softening; that is, natural process is a word with a broader meaning than softening:

softening: the process of becoming softer
natural process: a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)

Other hypernyms of softening include action, activity, natural action.

softening (noun)	natural process (noun)
the process of becoming softer	a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings)

softening (adjective)	natural process (adjective)
having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin