When making soap, using distilled water is very important. Distilled water is free of unknown metals, particles, chlorine, dirt, etc. Tap water is an uncertain thing and can greatly affect the outcome and pH of your soap, as well as introduce soil.
You will need a soap mold. However, when you’re just starting out, it is not necessary to purchase anything fancy. You can use a cardboard box, a washed-out milk carton, a Pringles container, a fancy alcohol box—I’ve even used a recycled plastic peach protector from the grocer. Get creative, but just be certain whatever you use is non-reactive. If you choose to use cardboard or wood, you’ll need to line it with freezer paper before starting your soap.
Please read the following all the way through before starting.
Soapmaking is not as hard as you may think; it’s just like baking, only there are more dangerous chemicals used than yeast or eggs. Yes, you will be using lye; soap cannot be created without it. At the end of the process, the lye will not be active. It simply creates the soap out of oils and water.
Just like baking, making soap is a chemical process created when heat is added. In the case of soap, the heat naturally occurs when lye mixes with a water and that lye water is mixed with oil.
The following recipe is straightforward with all items being found in your local grocery and hardware store. You may want to hit up your local co-op for essential oils if you want scent. However, scent is entirely optional and doesn’t count in the overall oil percentage.
Makes 20 ounces
Supplies:
1 non-reactive heat-proof bowl for water
1 non-reactive bowl for weighing out lye
1 non-reactive spoon
Pre-lined square soap mold (use freezer paper and tape the edges down if need be)
1 non-reactive saucepan for weighing and melting oils in and later mixing soap in
1 stick blender
1 spray bottle containing 99% isopropyl alcohol or 190-proof alcohol
A positive, happy attitude
Ingredients:
6.6 oz distilled water
2.9 oz sodium hydroxide lye
8 oz olive oil
8 oz coconut oil
4 oz castor oil
Method:
SAFETY CHECK!
Then, in separate containers, weigh out your water and lye in heat-proof, nonreactive bowls. Take these outside to a well-ventilated, safe area and add your lye to your water, mixing thoroughly with a nonreactive spoon. Set in a safe spot to cool.
Meanwhile, weigh out your oils and warm over medium heat until thoroughly melted. Remove from heat, add essential oils for scent if desired (up to 14 ml (560 drops) of essential oil). I always go much lighter on the scent, using about 100 drops of essential oil, but if you like it very fragrant, go more toward using the full 14 milliliters. Check that your lye and oil temperatures are both around 100°F to 110°F, and then blend your lye/water into your oil mixture. Mix these thoroughly with a stick blender. Mix until you have reached trace, and then mix a little longer, just to be certain. Pour your soap into a pre-lined soap mold.
At this point get out your alcohol spritzer and spritz the tops of your soap to keep soda ash from forming. Set aside in a safe spot to harden for 12 to 24 hours. After this time, remove your soap from the mold, peel off the freezer paper, and cut your soap! This is always my absolute favorite part of the soapmaking process because although you may know what you’re aiming for, you never quite know what you’ll end up with until that first slice!
A note on cutting soap: You can use a knife or a fancy soap cutter. Either one will work fine! I always slice off my front end and rear end of the soap and use these as scraps myself, not as part of the actual soap I gift or sell.
A note on soaping temperatures: The hotter your lye and oils are when mixing together, the hotter your soap bar will be. If you intend to gel your soap, this is ideal. However, if you don’t want your soap to go through the gel stage, you will want to blend your soap at a lower temp. It is ideal for your lye mix and oil mix to be within 10 degrees of each other. For most recipes in this book, we will soap at a lower temp between 100°F and 110°F.
