Word of Warning: I will preface this post by saying I am DEFINITELY not a soap making expert. I did the most basic recipe I could find, and there’s still a lot I want to learn about different techniques and what not. I was also a little worried the whole time that I’d blow up the house or melt my skin off… So, if you choose to make soap because of this awesome post, do some research first and don’t sue me if you blow up something. End of dramatic warning.
To continue my DIY, handmade, ‘Mary Helen is a nestin’ ‘ series, it’s time for me to share the magic of soap making with you. There are endless possibilities when it comes to making soap. From the oils and liquids you use, to the methods, molds, scents, etc etc. You could likely make a different batch each time for the rest of your soap using life. There are also quite a few reasons to make soap–you like to craft/DIY, you care about what goes into the products you use, you want to save a buck or two, you’ve got some time to kill and are dying to try out a caustic chemical creation. Whatever your reason, soap making is an old and beautiful tradition.
To begin, you need to decide if you want to go with a cold-process soap or a hot process soap. I chose hot process because it doesn’t take nearly as long to cure. We all know I’m not the most patient person. So once you figure out the process you want to use, it’s time to decide what you want in your soap. The original way of making soap is using lye; however, because this is a dangerous chemical, some people choose to use Melt and Pour bases or rebatch soap instead of working directly with the lye. I chose to go for the original and try the lye. I was able to find it at Lowe’s in the plumbing aisle with the drain cleaners. (This sounds so pleasant for your soap doesn’t it…) I got the Roebic Crystal Drain Opener. Whatever you get make sure it says 100% lye, and maybe even double check the manufacturer’s website to be safe.

After you hunt down some lye, there are some other supplies you will need for this recipe– a scale, a crockpot, a stick blender, and heat proof bowls, vinegar, and spoons (along with your soap’s ingredients–see below.)

Ok so now that all that messy and boring stuff is out of the way, time to determine what is going in this lovely soap. I went super simple. The whole point of this is to simplify my life and use ingredients I have on hand so this recipe has only 5 ingredients–Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Lye, Water, and Lavender Essential Oils.
For this batch I used (make sure to notice the weighted vs. fluid ounces)
*26 weighted oz Olive Oil
*6 weighted oz Coconut Oil
*12 fluid oz Water
*4.375 weighted oz Lye***
*15-20 drops Lavender Essential Oil
***When making soap with lye, ALWAYS run the measurements through a lye calculator. I used this one and went with between 5-6% extra fat. This is the amount of fat that is in excess of the amount needed to react with the lye. This process is called super-fatting and by doing it you’re making sure there’s not lye that is left unreacted. I wouldn’t recommend going lower than 5%. You can go higher and the soap will be softer due to the extra fat.
THE PROCESS
1.

Weigh out your oils. (Be sure to zero out your bowl!)
2.

Add them to your crockpot set on Low. Let them melt and give them a good stir.
3.
It’s lye time baby! Wherever you decide to do this step, make sure there is good ventilation as lye can give off some fumes when added to the water. I chose to do it outside to be extra safe. I also wore gloves and safety goggles because Nate was convinced I was going to make a bomb. Measure out your lye and water separately. Then–AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT–add the lye TO the water. If you pour water into the lye, it will create a volcano-like eruption. And unlike your 4th grade science experiment with baking soda and vinegar, this will seriously burn you. Mix the lye and water solution until dissolved. Be careful because this reaction will also create a lot of heat so you’ll want to use your heat-proof bowl for this. (To clean anything that comes in contact with the lye, use a water, soap, vinegar mixture to neutralize the reaction.)
4.
Once your oils are melted and the lye mixture is dissolved, carefully pour the lye mixture into the crockpot. Then procede to mix it with a stick blender for the next 5-10ish minutes. Make sure to pulse your stick blender and take some short breaks otherwise you’ll burn out the motor. You’ll want to blend it until it reaches the consistency of thick pudding and is a lot lighter in color. I’m assuming you could do this part by hand without a stick blender and just constant stirring, however I have a feeling it will take you a long, long time. (I could have sworn I took a picture of this, but apparently I did not.)
5.

At this point you are ready to set it and forget it. Leave the crockpot on Low and set the timer for 30 mins. After 30 minutes it should start to look hard on the sides and liquid in the middle.

Continue to check on it every 5-10 minutes (depending on how quickly it’s progressing)

until the entire thing looks solid (also missed a picture of the final state before stirring…)
6.

Turn the crockpot off and mix in the essential oil.
7.

Pour into your mold.
I just used a tupperware container. I didn’t use any wax/parchment paper but I may next time as it would make it easier to remove (I’d coat the paper with some coconut oil first.)
8.

Leave the soap to rest in the mold overnight.
The next morning my soap was still soft enough to cut into bars but firm enough to get out of the mold. After cutting into bars, let to soap harden for at least another 24-48 hours. If you wanted you could use the soap right away, but the longer you let it harden, the longer the soap will last. I plan to let mine sit out for about 2 weeks considering I still have some castile soap left. (Damian’s toilet paper roll octopus is keeping an eye on them for me!)

After that, I’ll just wrap them in wax paper and store them away. You can leave yours out as long as you’d like though!
So that’s soap making. It’s not nearly as hard as I thought. I’m excited to look up some more recipes, and read my new book from the library (The Soapmaker’s Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch.) However, I don’t know if I’ll need to make soap anytime soon, as I’ve got a lot now
Happy Soap Making! Share your favorite recipe with me if you’ve made some before! I’m already starting a list!!
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