DIY Soap

Homemade Soap Making for Beginners

Gaia Rodale

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© 2014

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Table of Contents

Introduction

DIY Soap 101

Soap Making Basics

Benefits of Making Your Own Soap

Soap Making Methods

Before You Get Started

Terms, Tools, and Equipment

Soap Making Terminology

Soap making equipment & tools

Pros and Cons of the Pour and Melt Method

Melt and Pour Soap Recipes

Magical Minty Soap

Citrus Moisturizing Soap

Luxe Facial Beauty Bar

Step by Step – Cold Process Soap

Pros and Cons of the Cold Process Method

Cold Process Soap Recipes

Basic Beginner’s Cold Press Soap

Crazy for Coffee Cold Press Soap

Carrot Top Bath Bar

Step by Step – Hot Process Soap

Pros and Cons of the Cold Process Method

Why Doesn’t Hot Process Soap Have to Cure?

Hot Process Soap Recipes

Step by Step – Make Your Own Lye

Make Your Own Soap Molds

Wooden Box

Cardboard Carton

Cardboard Canister

Cardboard Box Mold

Candy Molds, Jell-O Molds, Popsicle Molds

Conclusion

Check out some of Gaia’s other books!!

Introduction

I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading, “Sustainable Living & Homestead Survival Series - DIY: Homemade Soap Making for Beginners.”

The art of soap making is one of those time-honored skills that our great-grandparents had that is quickly slipping from our collective consciousness.  Luckily, homesteaders like you and like me are taking the time to preserve our history by learning these old skills.

For homesteading families, making homemade soap just makes good sense.  Most of the ingredients are likely already produced on the homestead, which can mean a real cost savings over the course of a year.  While our ancestors made soap from necessity, many of us choose to make our own soap because it allows us to tightly control the ingredients and limit the chemical exposure to our family and our land.

Making soap isn’t hard it just takes a basic understanding of how the ingredients go together to produce the soap molecules that make it possible to clean everything in our homes including ourselves.  This guide provides you with all the information you need to start making your own soap tomorrow. 

From explaining how soap works and how soap is made from lye and oil to offering some easy beginner recipes for making bar soap, this guide gives you the foundational understanding and beginner basics to get your soap making off the ground.  Before you know it you will be creating your own soap recipes and wowing your friends and family with your luxurious homemade soap.

Happy Homesteading!

Gaia Rodale

DIY Soap 101

People have been washing clothes, washing dishes, and washing bodies for millennia using soap that they made themselves.  Luckily, the art of making soap isn’t one of the skills we have lost due to modern conveniences.  Many people continue to use simple, natural ingredients to make their own soap products today.  For homesteading families, making your own soap boosts self-sufficiency, positively impacts your environment, saves money, and is a fun way to express your creativity.

Making homemade soap is a relatively easy process that almost anyone can do.  Once you understand the basic principles of soap making and the different methods used to make soap, you can create custom recipes filled with your favorite ingredients.  When you make your own soap, you can tailor the ingredients to meet the specific needs of your family, which can be important for anyone with allergies or sensitivities.

Soap Making Basics

There are three main ingredients in every kind of homemade soap – lye, water, and oil or some other fat.  Lye is the liquid that results when wood ash is mixed with water and “leached.”  The process of leaching the ashes creates the strong alkaline solution known as lye.  Lye is also known as sodium hydroxide.  Lye is used in some commercial food preservation as well as in producing soap.

Technically, there are two forms of lye, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.  Sodium hydroxide is used to make solid soap, and potassium hydroxide is used to make liquid soaps.  Although both of these solutions are referred to as “lye,” they are not interchangeable in soap making recipes.  For this reason, it is always important to know which kind of lye you need and to obtain the right kind for the type of soap you are making.

In order to understand how you can combine a caustic solution that comes from wood ash, water, and oil or some other fat and end up with something that will clean your body and your clothes, you need to understand how soap works.   A soap molecule has two ends.  One end likes to grab grease and dirt, and the other end likes to attach to water.  So, when you run soap molecules over some surface, like your skin, they grab up all the dirt and oil while the water washes them away.

Now let’s look at what happens with these three ingredients that turn caustic lye and fatty oil into smooth, creamy soap that you can use on your skin.  Basically, when you mix fats like olive oil or tallow with dissolved lye at a certain temperature it causes a chemical reaction called saponification.  The results of this reaction are soap, glycerin, and other byproducts. 

At this point, the quality of your soap will vary greatly based on the ingredients you used and the accuracy of your measurements.  You can remove the glycerin so you have basic, harsh lye soap and stop there.  It is functional and will do the job, but it doesn’t smell great and won’t do anything other than clean what it is supposed to clean.  However, by adding some additional ingredients like essential oils, more glycerin, and a pretty color, you transform that harsh but hardy lye soap into a luxurious soap that anyone would love to use.

Benefits of Making Your Own Soap

You control the ingredients.  This means you can make soap for washing everything in your household, including the members of your family; soap that doesn’t contain any extraneous chemicals, additives, preservatives, or other ingredients you don’t want your family exposed to.

It will save you money, especially if you use wood from your own land to make your own lye.  Soap and the cleaning products, shampoos, and body washes it is made from are expensive.  For frugal homesteaders, you can have the luxury of high-end soap without the cost.

Being able to make your own soap makes you more self-reliant.  It is one less thing you have to get from the grocery store.  For those homesteaders who raise their own livestock and grow their own herbs, soap making may be one of the things they can do completely self-sufficiently by producing all the necessary ingredients themselves.

Homemade soap makes great gifts, and when you use herbs and essential oils to create sweet smelling high end soap, you can give a really nice gift at a very low cost. 

Soap Making Methods

There are four primary ways of making homemade soap.

Melt and Pour – Uses pre-made blocks of soap that can be purchased from craft stores to create custom scented, colored bars of soap. 

Cold Process – Uses lye and oil to make soap from scratch, the most common way of making homemade soap

Hot Process – Uses lye and oil in a Crockpot to make soap from scratch

Before You Get Started

Despite how easy it is, there are some things you need to understand about the soap making process before you jump in with both feet.  For starters, making soap can be dangerous.  If that leaves you feeling taken aback, that is a good thing.  Soap making can be fun and is a great way to save money and increase your self-sufficiency, but it isn’t something you should undertake lightly. 

The primary danger in homemade soap making is the lye.  Lye is very caustic and will cause chemical burns if you get it on your skin.  It also produces some potent fumes.  For this reason, you must always wear eye protection and a respirator unless you are doing your soap making outside.  With proper ventilation you can skip the respirator.  You also need gloves to protect your skin.    Make sure you understand the precautions you need to take and that you always wear the appropriate protective gear when making soap at home.

Terms, Tools, and Equipment

Soap Making Terminology

If you are new to soap making, you are going to see some words that are unfamiliar.  You might also see some words that you think you know but that have a different meaning when used in this context.  Here are the most important terms you need to know to begin making your own soap.

Alkali - A base with a PH that is greater than 7. Both Sodium Hydroxide (lye) and Potassium Hydroxide are alkalis.

Anhydrous – A substance that doesn’t contain any water.

Antioxidant – A substance that helps to prevent or slow oxidation in other substances, used in soap making to help prevent spoilage.

Carrier Oil – Any plant-based oil that is mixed with an essential oil to dilute it and make it safe for use on skin.

Castile Soap – A soap with a high percentage of olive oil. 

Caustic Potash – Another name for Potassium Hydroxide.

Caustic Soda – Another name for Sodium Hydroxide (lye).

Cold Process – The most common way of making homemade soap that requires only the oils to be heated. 

Cosmetic Grade – A product that is approved for use in cosmetics.

Cure – The final stage in the soap making process when saponification completes and the soap becomes safe to use.  Most homemade soap is cured for 4-6 weeks.

Decoction – The process of extracting botanical matter by boiling it in water.

Discount – Lye – In this context, the term means using less lye than is actually requires for full saponification.  Some recipes, called lye discounted recipes, use a smaller amount of lye to ensure no free lye remains after curing and to increase the oil content of the finished soap so that it has more moisturizing abilities.   Recipes can discount lye anywhere from 5%-20%.

Discount – Water – In this context, this terms means using less water than what would be considered the safe standard.  The reason someone might choose to discount water in their soap would be to create harder bars in a shorter time frame, although it does not speed up the curing process.  Discounting water runs the risk of having your soap seize up.

Dreaded Orange Spot (DOS) – A sign of spoilage in soaps that have a high oil content.

Embeds – Pieces of hardened bar soap that are embedded into another soap.

Essential Oil – A volatile oil extracted from a plant that can provide scent, flavor, or herbal remedy.

Exfoliant – An ingredient that can be added to soap to exfoliate the skin during use.

Fatty Acids – These compounds are used in soap to produce lather and other characteristics.  Most commonly used in soap making are Lauric acid, Myristic acid, Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Ricinoleic acid and Linolenic acid.

Gel Stage – The stage that soap achieves after it is mixed to trace, poured in molds, and heats enough to become translucent.

Glycerin – The clear, thick byproduct of saponification.  While the glycerin in commercial soaps is usually removed, handmade soaps generally do not remove it. 

Glycerin Soap – A soap made using a modified hot process that also includes alcohol and sugar.  Glycerin soap is usually transparent.

Hot Process – A soap making method that uses heat to speed up saponification. 

Infusion – The process of extracting botanical material by steeping it in water or oil.

Lard – Fat rendered from pigs.

Litmus paper – A test strip used to measure pH.

Lye – Sodium Hydroxide

pH – The measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, any substance with a pH of 7.0 or greater is alkaline and a base, any with a pH of less than 7.0 is acidic and an acid.  A pH of 7.0 is neutral.

Potassium Hydroxide – Also called Caustic Potash, this is the alkali (base) used to make liquid soap.

Refined Oils – Any fat or oil that has had all the impurities filtered out.

Rendering – The process of heating and melting beef fat to remove all impurities.

SAP Value – This is the number of milligrams of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide that is required to saponify 1 gram of fat.

Saponification – The chemical reaction between the lye and the fat that makes soap.

Seize – The rapid solidification of soap before it has been moved to the molds.  Generally caused by too much fat, wax, fragrance, essential oil, or too little water.

Sodium Hydroxide - Another name for Caustic Soda, the alkali (base) used in bar soap.

Superfatted – When excess oils are left unsaponified in the soap to enhance its moisturizing qualities.

Tallow – The fatty tissue of animals like horses, cows, and sheep.  Also called suet.

Trace – The point in the soap making process when the lye and fat have combined to create a thick compound with the consistency of pudding.  Soap has reached trace when a dollop dropped on a hardening bar isn’t immediately swallowed but leaves a trail or a trace. 

Soap making equipment & tools

Luckily, making soap doesn’t require a lot of special equipment.  In fact, you may already have everything you need right in your kitchen.  Here are the basic tools and equipment you will need to make your first batch of homemade soap.

Digital Scale that is accurate to 1/10th of an ounce

Safety goggles and rubber gloves

A heat-resistant plastic or stainless steel pitcher with a lid for use in mixing the lye solution.

A large spoon, which can be stainless steel or plastic, to stir the lye

A stainless steel pot with a lid that can hold 8-12 quarts

A glass bowl that can hold 2-3 quarts

A thermometer for use in measuring the temperature of liquids

Stainless steel measuring spoons for essential oils, fragrance, and colorants

A couple stainless steel spoons for mixing ingredients

A immersion blender

A soap mold

A rubber spatula

That’s it – that’s all you need to get started!  As you become more familiar with the soap making process and begin making your own recipes, you may find other things you need to use.  My recommendation is that you designate any of the items above that you will be using to make soap as “soap only” receptacles and utensils.  

Step by Step – Melt and Pour Soaps

The melt and pour method of soap making is the easiest and safest way to make homemade soap.  However, what you gain in ease and safety, you lose in customization.   The best analogy is to think about making soap like making a cake.  Using the melt and pour method is like using a boxed cake mix where all you need to add is eggs and milk as opposed to making the cake from scratch.

Your primary ingredients in melt and pour soap making are pre-made blocks of soap that come unscented and uncolored.  They are essentially the base of the soap.  You can purchase these blocks at most craft and hobby stores and from online soap supply companies.  You can add fragrance and color to melt and pour soap but you don’t have as much control over the ingredients as you do with the other soap making methods.

Pros and Cons of the Pour and Melt Method

Pro – Quick, easy, inexpensive way to make your own soap

Pro – Doesn’t have to do anything with lye

Pro – Very few ingredients

Pro – No need to cure as the base is already cured

Pro – Great for first timers

Con – You don’t control your ingredients

Con – Not as “natural” as the other methods, make sure to check the base for any added chemicals

Con – If you don’t have a good base you won’t have good soap

So, with that understanding, let’s get started!

To make melt and pour soap you will need the following:

Equipment

Microwave or double boiler

A bowl or Pyrex container that can go in the microwave

A cutting board

A knife

A spoon or whisk

Small glass or ceramic bowl

Measuring spoons

A mold

A scale

Small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol

Ingredients

Melt and pour soap base

Fragrance, colorant, or other additives, as desired

Step 1: Gather all your ingredients together on a clean workspace with easy access to your microwave or stove.   The following assumes you are using the microwave oven to melt the soap base.  You can use a double boiler for the same result.

Step 2: Place the microwave safe bowl on the scale and zero the scale out.  This makes it possible to weigh just the soap base even though it is in the bowl. 

Step 3: Cut the soap base into small chunks and add to the bowl until you have the amount your mold will hold.

Step 4: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Step 5: Place the bowl in the microwave and heat the soap base in 1 minute increments, stopping to take it out and stir it before heating it for another minute.   Repeat the process until all chunks of soap base are gone, and it is completely melted.

Step 6: Place the small glass bowl on the scale and zero it out.

Step 7: Measure out the amount of fragrance or essential oil you need into the bowl.  Generally, you will want about .4 of an ounce of fragrance for 1 pound of soap. 

Step 8: Stir the fragrance into the melted soap slowly and gently.

Step 9: If you want to add color, add it now.  When making soap, only use soap-safe colorants.  Different colorants will require different amounts, but a good place to start is about 10 drops of colorant per pound.  You can adjust if you want a darker color.

Step 10: Stir slowly and gently.  Overzealous stirring will result in bubbles in the soap.

Step 11: Pour the soap base into the molds carefully.  The more carefully you can pour the base into the mold the better.  You don’t want it splashing on the sides or developing bubbles.

Step 12: Check molds for bubbles and lightly spray the top of any mold with bubbles with rubbing alcohol to get rid of the bubbles.

Step 13: Cover the mold with plastic wrap, and carefully move it to a safe place where it can sit for a few hours.

Step 14: The molded soap will take several hours to harden up enough to remove it from the molds. 

Step 15: Pop the soap out of the molds, and trim any imperfections with a knife. 

Step 16: Start using your soap!

Melt and Pour Soap Recipes

Magical Minty Soap

This recipe makes lovely bars of white soap with green tendrils swirling through the white and the magical scent of mint wafting from the bar.  It is perfect for crisp winter mornings and makes a lovely gift over the holidays.

Ingredients

White Soap Base, enough to fill your final mold plus 4 ounces

Green soap-safe colorant

Mint essential oil

Extra Equipment

Mandolin

3-4 oz basic soap mold

Mold for final soap

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above with the following exceptions.

You will actually be making one 4 ounce bar of green soap first which requires 4 ounces of the white soap base and green colorant.  When it is time to add the colorant, add green colorant a drop at a time until you get a shade of green that you love.  While many people go for a light mint green shade, feel free to go as green as you want!

Once the green bar is molded and cooled, remove it from the mold, and use the mandolin to turn the green soap into long slices and swirls.  Arrange the swirls of green soap in the final mold you will be using.  Then make the white soap base per the basic instructions, adding the mint essential oil at the right stage.  Pour the white base over the swirls of green in the final mold. 

Citrus Moisturizing Soap

This citrus-scented soap has added Shea butter to help moisturize skin in addition to cleansing. 

Ingredients

Transparent Soap Base, enough to fill the mold you plan to use

Yellow soap-safe colorant

10 drops Grapefruit essential oil

10 drops Tangerine essential oil

1 tbsp Shea butter

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above with the following exceptions.

Melt the Shea butter at the same time you are melting the soap base, but melt them separately.  When it is time to incorporate the additives, add the colorant first, then the essential oils, and finally the Shea butter.  Continue stirring the soap and Shea butter right up until you are ready to put it in the mold to keep it from separating.  Move the soap to the molds as soon as it begins to set up on the spoon.

Luxe Facial Beauty Bar

Packed with luxurious oils and the healing power of Vitamin E, this beauty bar is like heaven on your face.

Ingredients

Rosehip soap base, enough to fill half the volume of the mold you plan to use

Jojoba soap base, enough to fill half the volume of the mold you plan to use

Pink colorant, optional

15 drops Rose essential oil

1 teaspoon of avocado oil

2 tsp Moroccan red clay

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above with the following exceptions.

Mix the clay and the avocado oil together, and then add that to the soap after it has been mixed and is beginning to cool and set.  This will help keep the clay and oils suspended in the soap base while the soap sets up.

Step by Step – Cold Process Soap

If you love the idea of making your soap from scratch and think it is important to know every ingredient that is going into your soap, using the cold process method is right for you.  While it is more labor intensive and requires more equipment and ingredients, you have complete control over everything that goes into it and more freedom to create your own concoctions.

The challenge with the cold process method is that it requires you to handle and use lye.  As a reminder, lye is very caustic and will cause chemical burns if it gets on your skin or in your eyes.  It also creates hazardous fumes.  It is imperative that you wear the proper protective gear, including a respirator, and work in a well ventilated area whenever you are working with lye. 

Pros and Cons of the Cold Process Method

Pro – Complete control of ingredients

Pro – Freedom to create the soap you want

Con – Requires you to work with lye solution, which is dangerous

Con – CP soap has to cure for 4 to 6 weeks

So, with that understanding, let’s get started.

To make soap with the cold process method you will need the following:

Equipment

Digital Scale that is accurate to 1/10th of an ounce

Safety goggles, respirator or mask, and rubber gloves

A heat-resistant plastic or stainless steel pitcher with a lid for use in mixing the lye solution

A large spoon to stir the lye, can be stainless steel or plastic

A stainless steel pot with a lid that can hold 8-12 quarts, called your soap pot

A glass bowl that can hold 2-3 quarts

Stainless steel measuring spoons for essential oils, fragrance, and colorants

A couple of stainless steel spoons for mixing ingredients

An immersion blender

A soap mold

A rubber spatula

Ingredients

Distilled water

Lye

Oils

Fragrance, colorant, or other additives, as desired

Step 1: Gather all your ingredients together on a clean workspace.

Step 2: Place the container you will be using to make your lye solution on the scale and zero it out.

Step 3: Measure out the right amount of distilled water required for the lye solution according to your recipe.

Step 4: Place a glass jar or plastic container onto the scale, and zero the scale out. 

Step 5: Shake the amount of lye called for in your recipe out into the jar or bowl.  Make sure no stray flakes of lye go anywhere but into the bowl.

Step 6: Slowly add the lye to the pitcher of water, stirring gently to combine.  Be careful not to splash or spill any out while adding it to the water.  Always add the lye to the water; never add the water to the lye!

Step 7: Continue stirring gently until all the lye is dissolved.  While you are stirring, the lye solution may begin to get hot, to bubble and even seem like it is boiling.  These are all natural reactions and not a cause for concern.

Step 8: Once the lye is completely dissolved, put the lid on the pitcher and mark the outside “Danger: Lye Solution.”  Set it aside somewhere that it can cool.  It may be very hot, over 200 degrees, which is a factor you need to consider when deciding where to put it to cool.  

Step 9: Place your soap pot on the scale and zero it out.

Step 10: Following your recipe precisely, add the exact amount of each of the oils to the pot directly.  Zero out the scale between each oil to ensure you have added the right amount.

Step 11: Use the scale to weigh out any colorant, essential oil, or fragrance that will be used and set aside.

Step 12: Slowly begin adding the lye solution to the soap pot.  When the oils come in contact with the lye, they will cloud up.

Step 13: Use your immersion blender like a spoon without turning it on to stir the lye solution into the oils. 

Step 14: Once all the lye solution has been added, set the pitcher than contained the lye solution aside (still in a safe place).

Step 15: Now that saponification has begun, you need to move quickly but safely to finish the recipe before the soap seizes up.  While stirring the mixture with the immersion blender, use short bursts to combine the lye solution and the oil.  Turn the blender on for 3-5 seconds; turn it off, stir, repeat.  Continue until all the lye solution and oils are combined.   You can do this by hand, but it is likely to take an hour or more to achieve trace which can usually be achieved in under a minute with a immersion blender.

Step 16: Once the mixture is completely blended, add your essential oils or fragrances and stir with the immersion blender (don’t turn it on).

Step 17: If your recipe calls for any other additive like spices, exfoliants, flowers or other botanicals, or moisturizing oils, add them now, and stir gently to combine.

Step 18: If you are adding colorant, it comes next.  Before adding it, turn the immersion blender on, and blend the mixture briefly to ensure the other additives are well combined.

Step 19: There are many different techniques you can use to get different color effects in the soap if you don’t want it to be one solid color.  Add colorant to the soap pot as required to get the desired effect.

Step 20: Pour the soap into the mold.  If needed, use a spatula to spread the soap out in the mold.  Tap the mold lightly on the counter to remove any air bubbles. 

Step 21: Place the mold somewhere warm and safe where the soap can set-up overnight.

Step 22: While still wearing your protective gear, wash all utensils and containers with hot soapy water.   Be aware that lye can still be found on these items, which is why it is so important to continue to be safe by wearing gloves and eye protection during clean-up.

Step 23: The soap should have hardened enough in 24 hours to be removed from the mold.  Remove the soap from the mold and set it aside somewhere that it can cure undisturbed for the 4-6 week curing timeframe. 

Step 24: After 4-6 weeks, your soap is ready to use!

Cold Process Soap Recipes

Basic Beginner’s Cold Press Soap

This basic cold press recipe is a great way for anyone to get started with the cold process method and it features a wonderful lavender scent.

Ingredients

8 oz. distilled water

3.1 oz. lye

6.5 oz. palm oil

6.5 oz. coconut oil

7.5 oz. refined olive oil

1.3 oz. castor oil

1 oz. of lavender essential oil

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above.

Crazy for Coffee Cold Press Soap

This basic cold press recipe will wake you up in the morning and get your day started right!

Ingredients

9 oz. distilled water

3.7 oz. lye

8 oz. palm oil

8 oz. coconut oil

8 oz. refined olive oil

2 oz. castor oil

1.2 oz. coffee fragrance oil

2 tbs. of already brewed coffee grounds

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above.  The coffee grounds should be added right after the essential oil/fragrance oil is added.

Carrot Top Bath Bar

Ingredients

3.5 oz lye

1 Cup fresh Carrots

Distilled water

2 oz. sweet almond oil

4 oz. canola oil

8 oz. coconut oil

2 oz. palm kernel oil

8 oz. Hydrogenated Soybean oil

Citrus fragrance oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

To make this soap, follow the basic instructions above with the following exceptions.

When prepping to make the lye solution, start by chopping up and boiling 1 cup of carrots.  Boil until soft, and then add enough water to make the whole volume of carrots and water equal 9 ounces.  Add the lye directly to this mixture.  

When combining the oils, do not add the olive oil as it will be added at the end of the process for superfatting.

When the soap is at trace, add the olive oil, and at heavy trace, move the mixture to the molds.

Only let this soap set for about 18 hours before cutting it or it may be too hard to cut into bars.

Step by Step – Hot Process Soap

Although the cold process method is the most use most frequently, some people prefer using the hot process method for specific kinds of soap.  While some people believe that hot process soap doesn’t need to cure and can be used right away, it is a safer bet to let it cure for a couple of weeks in order to be on the safe side. 

Pros and Cons of the Cold Process Method

Pro – Complete control of ingredients

Pro – Freedom to create the soap you want

Pro – Doesn’t require curing like cold process

Con – Requires you to work with lye solution, which is dangerous

Con – Requires more time and effort than cold process

Because there are very few differences between the hot and cold process when making soap, I am only outlining where the processes differ here since most of the equipment, ingredients, and instructions are the same as for making cold process soap.

You will need a Crockpot for the hot process method.

When it comes time to melt the oils, add all the oils, hard and soft, to the Crockpot and turn it on high.   Once the oils are all melted, you can add the lye solution and continue as per the instructions for the cold process method. 

With the hot process method you don’t add your additives until later in the process (see below).

When you achieve trace, put the lid on the crockpot, and let it set for about 20-25 minutes.  Over that time, the soap mixture will get very thick.  Leave the lid on until the oils begin to separate.  When that happens, stir the soap again to recombine and continue stirring until the mixture gains the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Then turn off the Crockpot.  Stir for an additional minute and then add any fragrance or essential oils.  You can also add colorant at this time.

Once your additives are in, put the soap mixture in the prepared molds and let it sit for about 12 hours.   Remove the soap from the mold and cut it into bars.  Although it is technically ready to use at this point, it is a good idea to let it sit and finish drying for a few days before using it. 

Why Doesn’t Hot Process Soap Have to Cure?

The biggest difference between the hot and cold process methods is that saponification happens completely during the hot process method which is why the sap doesn’t have to go through a curing process.  In cold process soap, saponification continues after the soap has been removed from the mold and cut into bars.  The curing process is the final stages of saponification that renders the lye no longer caustic. 

Hot Process Soap Recipes

Because the hot and cold soap processes are so similar, you can use the same recipes for both methods.  The only caveat to that is that you don’t ever want to discount the water in a hot process recipe because the longer cooking process will result in more loss to evaporation. 

Step by Step – Make Your Own Lye

In order to maximize your cost savings or if you just want to make everything from scratch, you can make your own lye.  Because of the dangers lye presents, I am reiterating and expanding on the safety precautions here. 

Lye is caustic and will cause chemical burns.  Whenever you are working with lye you must wear rubber gloves, eye protection, and a respirator.  Long sleeves are also recommended to protect the arms from spills and splashes.

Do not inhale the lye dust when you are mixing it into liquids.  Use an exhaust hood or mix the lye outside.

Lye is also caustic to inanimate things like countertops and some utensils. 

Never work with lye while wearing jewelry as lye is corrosive to metal. 

If you accidentally get lye on your skin, flush the area immediately with white vinegar, and then wash with soap and water. 

If you get lye in your eye(s), you must go directly to the emergency room.

When combining lye and water, also add the lye to the water. 

Any container or utensil that is used with lye must be designated for soap making purposes only.  Do not reuse utensils or containers for food after they have been used to hold or mix lye.

Never heat lye or lye solutions on the stove or in the oven.

Now that those warning are out of the way, let’s run through the process of making lye.

These instructions will produce potassium hydroxide which is the form of lye usually used in liquid soaps.  This form of lye can be made from wood ashes at home and can be used in solid soaps as long as the fat used is animal fat like tallow or lard.

You will need:

A wooden barrel like those used by brewers

A 3-inch long cork

At least 2-3 gallons of soft water or distilled water (rainwater or water from a dehumidifier)

Step 1: Drill a hole about 2 inches from the bottom of the barrel.  The hole should be the same size as the cork which will need to fit in and block the hole after it is drilled.

Step 2: Create a brick base for the barrel to stand on so that it remains level, undisturbed and up out of any run-off.  Placing the barrel up off the ground will also make it easier to drain off the lye once it is ready.

Step 3: Cover the bottom of the barrel with fist sized rocks. 

Step 4: Cover the rocks with 6 inches of straw, hay, or grass.

Step 5: Gather up hardwood branches and logs, preferably from oak or ash, and burn them down to ash in a clean fire pit, fireplace, or woodstove.

Step 6: Once the ashes have completely cooled, put them in the barrel.

Step 7: Soak the ashes with water.

Step 8: Put a bowl under the cork hole, and remove the cork. 

Step 9: Pour the soft water into the barrel until you see it begin to flow out of the cork hole.

Step 10: Replace the cork, and pour the remaining soft water in the barrel.

Step 11: Let the lye mixture soak for at least three days. 

Step 12: Add more ashes and leach the mixture by draining all the water out, replacing the cork and then pouring the drained water back in.

Step 13: Check to see if the lye is ready by dropping a raw egg into the barrel.  If it floats with at least a quarter-size area of the shell above the water, the lye is ready.  If it doesn’t, it needs more time.

Step 14: If the egg test fails, add more ashes and releach one more time.  Keep following this process until the egg indicates the lye is ready.

Step 15: Once the lye is ready for use, drain it into glass containers with tight-fitting lids, and store it somewhere cool and dark until you are ready to use it.

Make Your Own Soap Molds

While you are likely to find several good soap molds at the local craft store, don’t let the molds you can find commercially stifle your creativity.  There is no limit to the shapes of soap you can make when you let your imagination take over.  To demonstrate how easy it is to make your own molds, here are some quick and easy DIY soap mold ideas.

Wooden Box

A simple wooden box takes a couple pieces of wood, a few screws, and the ability to use a mitre box to cut the edges properly.  With these few supplies and a little skill, you can have a base rectangular soap mold that can be used and reused for almost any kind of soap.

Cardboard Carton

You can also make a great long square mold with a ½ gallon milk carton.  Simply clean the inside well, and cut off one of the sides.  A mold of this size will hold about 2-3 pounds of soap.  When it is time to remove the soap from the milk, you can simply tear the cardboard away.

Cardboard Canister

A leftover cardboard canister like the ones used for Pringles or the larger ones used for oatmeal can also make great soap molds.  These molds will give you a nice circular bar, or you can cut each bar in half to make half circle soaps.  If the inside is coated, you won’t need to line your mold.  If it isn’t, make sure you line the mold with freezer paper to ensure the soap doesn’t stick to the cardboard.

Cardboard Box Mold

You can actually use any cardboard box that suits your needs for size and shape.   Since many cardboard boxes will not have coated walls, make sure you line this kind of mold with freezer paper before pouring in the soap.   Additionally, depending on how sturdy the box is, you may want to reinforce the outside corners with tape to brace them so they will hold up to the weight of the soap.

Candy Molds, Jell-O Molds, Popsicle Molds

This should really be ‘just about anything that will hold liquid’ molds because you really can use just about anything for a soap mold as long as it will hold the liquefied soap.  Candy and Jell-O molds are great for making small decorative type soap like the kind your Mom used to have in the guest bathroom. 

Once you start making your own soap, you will be amazed at how many cool, interesting things you find that will make great soap molds. 

Conclusion

I hope you found the DIY Homemade Soap guide helpful and that it provided you with the foundation you need to start making your own soap.

Making your own soap allows you to save money, increase your self-sufficiency, and create every kind of soap your family needs without the harsh and harmful chemicals found in commercial soaps of all kinds.  It is an easy skill that has a place on many modern homesteads.

This guide provided you with the know-how you need to start making your own soap from scratch using things you may already be producing on your homestead.  After reading this guide you know:

Why soap cleans things

How lye and fat combine to create soap molecules

How to make melt and pour soap

How to make cold process soap

How to make hot process soap

How to make your own lye

How to handle lye appropriately

Beginning with an explanation of soap basics before providing step by step instructions for two different methods of making soap, this book provides you with the in-depth information you need to start safely and inexpensively making your own homemade soap.

Happy Homesteading!

Gaia

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