Natural Homemade Soap

The beauty of making your own soap is that you can make it with the ingredients that you choose and the fragrances that you like. Homemade all-natural soap gently works in harmony with your skin making it perfect. Use it at home or give it as a gift to your beloved ones! Relax, learn a new practical skill, and let your creativity run loose at the same.

Before you begin: don’t forget to wear protective gear (eye goggles, gloves, long-sleeved tops, and pants) when working with lye.

Materials:

Solid oils (I use coconut oil)

Liquid oils (like olive or canola oil)

Herbs (Important note: All herbal material must be dried. Lavender is popular, as well as chamomile. I love lemongrass and oakmoss, though not together).

Kitchen scale

Distilled water

Heat-resistant glass pitcher

Lye

Quart canning jar

Thermometer

Immersion blender

Soap mold

Directions

Step 1

Cover your work area with newspaper. Put your gloves and other protective wear on. Measure your water into the quart canning jar. Have a spoon ready. Choose your oils. Measurements will vary depending on the oils you pick, so find a good formula online and base your measurements on that.

Step 2

Measure the distilled water into a glass pitcher and weigh the lye in a separate container, using a kitchen scale for precision. In a well-ventilated area, pour the lye into the water and stir until dissolved. Caution: The solution will heat up and produce fumes, so stand back while stirring and take care not to inhale the fumes. Allow the lye solution to rest and cool while you prepare the oils.

Step 3

Using a microwave or a double-boiler, melt the solid oils. Measure and mix them with the liquid oils in the quart canning jar. When the lye solution has cooled to about the same temperature, pour the lye into the oils. Add your herbs and other additions at this point. Stir thoroughly to combine. Add color or fragrance if desired.

Tip: Stir in the color first, as some fragrances can cause the mixture to harden quickly.

Step 4

Pour the mixture into the mold and tap it on the counter a few times to break up any air bubbles. Let the soap sit for 24–36 hours. When it’s hard enough to cut, remove the soap from the mold and slice it into bars. Let the soap cure four to six weeks before using.

Tip: To prevent soda ash (a harmless chemical that forms and creates an ashy appearance on the soap), spray soap surface with rubbing alcohol shortly after the soap has hardened slightly in the mold.

When you’re done making soap, always clean your equipment that has been exposed to lye. You can neutralize the lye with white vinegar, then wash the equipment well as you normally would.

Well, now that you know how to make soap, I hope you’ll go make some and share with me your experience! I promise you’ll love your homemade soap. 

Enjoy!