How Soap is Made

Basic Soap Making Process

There are four ways to make soap at home: (1) Hot Process Method (Crock Pot Method); (2) Cold Process Method; (3) Cold Process Oven Process (CPOP) method; and (4) Melt and Pour Method.

1. Hot Process Method is also known as the Crock-Pot Method.

This easy homemade soap recipe uses the hot process method. You will need a crock pot to cook your soap until the oil and lye are fully combined, or saponified (if you want to use the fancy technical term). When your oil and lye are fully combined, you will have soap. The heat from the crock pot quickens the soap-making process. That’s why the curing/drying time for hot process soap, including this easy homemade soap, is only a few days. Three to four days of curing or drying time are necessary to make your soap harder and longer-lasting.

2. Cold Process Method doesn’t use a crockpot. Without heat from a crockpot, cold process soap takes at least 4 to 6 weeks to cure/dry. The basic steps of the cold process method: Combine oil and lye solution; Pour oil and lye mixture into a soap mold; Cover soap mold with towels or blankets; Wait a day before uncovering and unmolding the soap; Leave the cold process soap alone for at least 4 weeks to cure/dry.

3. Cold Process Oven Process Method (CPOP) is a hybrid method. This method uses the oven to kickstart the soap drying/curing process. This method usually involves a shorter drying/curing time.

4. Melt and Pour Method (M&P) doesn’t involve making soap from scratch. You don’t need to work with lye. Instead, you start with ready-to-use soap and make modifications to it. The melt and pour method is very similar to the rebatching or hand-milled method.

Traditionally, handmade soap is made in one of two ways. Either Hot-Process or Cold Process Method, both end with the same result. The method we use at Cocoluxe Soapery is Cold Process. With this process, Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) is mixed with water, then blended together with oils (plant-based). Fragrance oils are also added for their wonderful scents and skin-loving properties. The mixture is put into a mold and goes through a process called Saponification. This process takes about 24 hours. Once this step is completed, the soap is removed from the mold, cut into bars, and placed on a rack to further cure for an additional 4 to 6 weeks. While it is a long process, the end results are worth it.