Download How To Make Bar Soap

Always add lye to liquids, and not the other way around, or it may have a volcano effect and make a mess. When mixing lye into water or another liquid, it gets very hot fast, and strong fumes will develop for a few moments.

I know that all of these safety warnings make lye sound pretty scary! Keep in mind, though, that soap is made every day by many people without incident. If you can safely handle bleach, another potentially harmful chemical, you should be able to handle lye with the same amount of competence.

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Stir in any extra ingredients, such as essential oils, oatmeal, honey and such, then pour the soap batter into the prepared mold. At this stage, the soap is still caustic, so be sure to have your gloves on while handling it.

You can bypass the need for lining your mold in the first place by buying silicone molds or wooden ones with silicone liners. While they have the advantage of being nonstick, they often hold in moisture longer, so your soaps may have to sit in them a few extra days before they can be unmolded.

Soap often can be unmolded 24 to 48 hours after being poured into the mold. It should be completely cool and feel solid when pressed. Some silicone molds or very deep ones will hold in moisture longer, so they may take several extra days before the soap is firm enough to unmold easily.

Essential oils can be added to soap for natural fragrance, although it does take a fairly significant amount, around 2 tablespoons (30 ml) per batch, to create a noticeable, long-lasting scent. (Use half as much for a lighter scent.)

About a year or so ago I got interested in making my own soap. I did some research and read a few guides but I never actually got around to making any. This has reminded me of that and now I am going to make it my goal this year to start making my own soap. This was really helpful information and now I am making a list of the materials and supplies that I need.

Hi Ashley, I have just begun to make Balm of Gilead products (very basic stuff) but I am interested in expanding to other scents. So far I have just used an olive oil base and have yet to try other oils. What I am wondering is: can you infuse Lilac blossoms or other items like herbs in olive oil or other oils using the same methods?

I normally have very dry skin on my hands as I do a lot of woodworking and the Balm of Gilead works very well in this application but I would like to expand my product for my wife and other ladies. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Dave

It definitely matters what kind of oil you use for several reasons. First of all, different oils have different saponification values and therefore require different amounts of lye to make soap. You can use one of the online lye calculators to determine the correct amount of lye. The other thing to consider is that different oils bring different qualities to the soap. So if you are swapping out one oil for another you want to be aware of those qualities and be sure that you are swapping it out with an oil that has similar qualities. If you are interested in learning more you can check out Jan Berry at thenerdyfarmwife.com She has great articles, books and courses that will help you.

Temperature is a subjective, personal preference that varies between soap-makers. Some will only mix at higher temperatures than I list here, while others let everything sit overnight and mix the next morning at room temperature. Both ways are fine to use!

Working quickly, pour the soap into your prepared mold, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon if needed. Pick up the mold and give it a few sharp raps on the table or counter surface to help get rid of any little air bubbles that may have formed.

Jan Berry is a writer, herbalist, soapmaker, and bestselling author of The Big Book of Homemade Products, Simple & Natural Soapmaking, and Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her family and a menagerie of animals, where she enjoys brainstorming creative things to make with the flowers and weeds that grow around her. You can also find her writing about gardening and foraging over at her family's website: UnrulyGardening.com!

I put off soap making for a year because I was afraid of working with lye. If you follow the directions and take precautions there is nothing to it. I make soap all the time now. Wish I had done it years ago. Try it, you will be fine.

Enjoyed the post!

Making soap is on my to do list this year.

I have talked about it for yearas and decided this is the year for doing!

I have a few goats I milk so plan on making goats milk soap.

Thanks again for the good read. Definately going to make a copy :)

made soap for the 1st time used a silacone mold, let set for 24 hours covered, used 24oz coconut oil, 24 oz olive oil, 15ml of each lemon, lime and tea tree oil 16oz of distilled water, 7.7 oz of lye when i cut it it cracked was not able to get a nice even cut bar. What do you think I did wrong?????

I am so sorry it has taken so long for me to reply. I just wanted to say thank you so much for the info. I tried a second batch and it turned out great. I have been using my soap for about a month now. I also cut my batch in half just in case. I will definitely be making more. Thanks again for your help and also for responding back to my question so fast. :0)

The great thing about homemade soaps is that they still have the glycerine (the part that really moisturizes your skin) in them so they are extra beneficial for your skin. Most big soap makers will separate out the glycerine and sell it for profit. The reason that some people still think lye soap is irritating to the skin goes back to a few generations ago when people made it without properly measuring the lye to oil ratio so the resulting batches were often too heavy on the lye, so harsh. Modern day soap makers do not have that issue, which is exactly why I make our own soap for own super sensitive skin. :)

I have been reading everything within my reach to prepare for my soap making chapters of life. Thank you for for sharing your knowledge. Inspiration from your name, my own skin troubles and cleanliness provoke me to take the next step to start sooner than later. Thanks thenerdyfarmwife!

What I used to do, was to put everything in the dishwasher once I poured the mixture into the molds. Eventually, my dishwasher stopped draining correctly, so we got another one. That one shortly broke too. Turned out that I had clogged the pipes with the soap mixture and had to get a plumber in to fix everything. He told me to NEVER put raw soap in my dishwasher/sink again!

I remember reading an article many years ago about a plant called the Yucca or yew something like that anyway but that the fluid from the plant makes a great liquid soap and many native Americans used it as a shampoo back in the day. Still trying to find something more about that so I can make the soaps and shampoos.

Hi Katie! What recipe did you use? I can look at it and see what the water looks like. For my first few batches of soap, I poured my untraced mixture into molds only to have the caustic soap ooze out EVERYWHERE. Was quite a mess! I do hope yours set up for you though! You might also want to read this about stick blenders versus electric mixers for stirring soap:

Hey I am new at this soap making. I am so nervous with getting started but I have everything I need. When people say use the lye calculator to create your recipe. I was wondering how to you create a recipe and know what kind of oils to use and oz of each. It might be a silly questions but being new at this I have no clue. Thanks!!!

Hello,

My husband and I have decided to try soap making as a hobby together after falling in love with homemade soaps. I think your site it WONDERFUL and we plan to follow many of your recipes. One that we will be trying first is the Oatmeal & Honey Soap. I have your ingredients list, but was wondering what size mold this amount would be suitable for. I am worried to but too small of a mold and then have too much soap for it.

Thank you! Your site I spires me ;)

When I first started making soap (using hot process) I was putting crushed up herb leaves as an additive, but it never turned out smelling like at all like the herb. I was wondering if I used cold process with crushed up herb leaves if it would smell like it, or how I would go about making herbal soap (without using essential oil) to make it smell like the herbs. Help!

Jan, I have been making cold processed soap for about a year now and that is the only kind I use anymore. I add dried herbs to mine as well as essential oils. Also for molds I find the silicon molds at thrift stores and use them and they work great the soap pops right out and you can find all kinds of shapes. I have 3 mifin pans and 2 bread loaves that I use.

I made exactly 3/5s of the ingredients in the garden mint soap recipe. So for a 3 lb batch. And instead of manga butter I used shea and instead of avocado and castor oil I used sunflower and sweet almond (those were what I had). and I put all of the ingredients into a Lye calculator to readjust the lye with the different ingredients to about 5.4 oz.

The instructions are great. I would love to have the opportunity to print the instructions so I can have them close-by when making soap. Do you offer a printable version? Maybe without photos even. Much thanks!

Hi Alopl!

Yes, you can make a recipe with those 3 oils.

I really like the percentages you have listed! :)

It will make a bastille style soap that will be very gentle. Because of the higher olive oil, it might start off on the softer side, but you can let it cure for at least 6 weeks or longer to firm up more.

Bastille soaps improve as they age too.

Hi. I m new to soap making. N m about to make my first batch. I wanted to know since my oils are in liquid form already do I still need to heat them? N the only oil that I may need to melt is palm oli. So what do I do? Only heat the palm oil n mix with others or heat all olis? Kindly help. e24fc04721