I wanted to make soap for years before I finally made my first bar. I had read books and online sites and everything I could get my hands on about making soap. Still there was a fear of making soap. I travelled two hours one way to a friends house and got her to show me how to make soap. I left there more confused then before. I finally decided to just do it. Soap has been made by people for centuries. It's believed that the first "soap" was an accident so how hard or dangerous could it really be?
Now I don't want you to think that you can't hurt yourself making soap because you can. You are working with lye which can burn you. When you get your soap mixed it can still burn you. The key is in being careful, protecting yourself properly and always checking and double checking your formulas. There are free online soap calculators that are available for our use. ALWAYS run new formulas through the calculator and if you make changes go back to the calculator and do it again. You will absolutely need a soap notebook to write your formulas in and to make notes when you make a new batch.
Now, first for the safety lecture. Wear long sleeves and long pants. Make sure sleeves are not loose and in the way. Wear shoes (not sandals). Wear goggles, rubber gloves and a mask when working with the lye and the actual soap mixing and pouring. Keep your work surface cleared of junk. Don't have pets and children underfoot or standing close where they can accidently get splashed. Got it? Good. Then you should be perfectly safe and protected. It might seem like overkill but the fumes can burn your eyes and throat and the liquid can burn your skin or eyes. It's not going to happen but if you spilled lye you would have protection. As an added protection I always keep a gallon if white vinegar close by in case of splashes and spills because the vinegar will neutralize the lye. Make it a habit and you will remember it. Otherwise you will be running around unnecessarily if you need the vinegar.
You don't need a bunch of special supplies when you make soap. You can buy most of them used or you can gather them from your old kitchen tools. Your mold can be made from just about anything that won't react with the lye. Don't use a metal mold. For your first batch I would recommend a simple mold. Later, you can make or buy other molds if you like. My first molds were a wooden box and some cardboard pringles cans. I have a friend who uses the square container from baby wipes or a cardboard shoe box. You can use a Rubbermaid container or a silicone baking pan as well. If you choose a cardboard, plastic or wooden box then you will need to line the mold. The easiest way is to use a plastic trash bag. Slide the cardboard box into the bag and tuck the bag down into all the corners being sure to smooth out any wrinkles or creases. Tape the bag on the outsides of the box to keep it stationary. You can also line molds with butchers paper or the rubber craft foam which is what I use. The craft foam is reusable and can just be washed and dried between uses. I cover my mold and insulate when I make soap. I'm not sure that others do that but its what I've always done and will continue to do so you will need a thin board or something like it to cover your mold.
For actually making your soap you will need a digital kitchen or postal scale. There is no getting around that. They have really come down in price and you should be able to get one fairly cheap. The scale can be used for weighing many things so think of it as an investment. It needs to be able to run on batteries or electric. That way you will have a scale when there is no electricity if you have rechargeable batteries and a solar charger. It is also portable and can be used outside. I also recommend you get an electric hand stick blender. If you can't afford a blender it is not absolutely necessary because you can stir by hand. It just takes longer by hand.
So you have a mold, a scale and a blender or spoon (plastic, stainless or wooden because other metals will react to the lye). All you need now are some containers for measuring and mixing in, maybe a stainless steel pot, some plastic wrap and a rubber spatula. A few old towels or a small blanket too.
The formula/recipe that I will give you is just a practice recipe so that you get the understanding of making soap. It has hard and soft oils in it. It is very basic and everything can be purchased at the grocery store. Lye can usually be purchased at some grocery stores, ace hardware, lowes, tractor supply or online. Look for it or ask for it in the plumbing section. It is granular and should be pure lye/ sodium hydroxide. A one pound container at my local IGA is $2.49. You should get about 4 batches of this formula from one container.
There are other formulas out there and eventually you will want to try them. You will also probably want to add things like scent or color which is fine. I only use essential oils and herbs in my soaps but other people use fragrence oils and other colors. Those choices are yours to make later. For now, you will make an unscented and uncolored soap.
Here is the formula which will make about two pounds of soap or approximately eight four ounce bars:
2.5 ounces of castor oil
15 oz olive oil
7.5 ounces coconut oil
9.5 ounces water
3.54 ounces of lye
That's it. Water, oil and lye. Something to understand is that the ounces are in weights not by volume. Use a scale not measuring cups. Oils in the store are sold by volume not by weight so when it says 16 oz olive oil on the bottle it is a little less then 16 oz by weight. Make sure you have enough of each oil before starting. You can use extra virgin or the yellow olive oil. The greener the olive oil is the yellower your soap will be. The lighter olive oil makes a whiter soap which also "traces" faster. For your first batch of soap I wouldn't use the most expensive ingredients. Remember this is still the learning phase.
Now that you have everything assembled, you are ready to make soap. Read the directions all the way through before you start and its a good idea to print them out for your notebook so you have them in front of you. I measure and mix my lye outside. You will need a bowl with a lid and a place to work and leave the bowl undisturbed while it cools. Don't leave it where pets can knock it over. Take a pitcher of water, your sealed container of lye, your scale, a spoon, a plastic bowl with a lid. I use the cheap plastic disposable rubbermaid bowls. They last a long time and when they wear out I just throw them out. Do not use metal with soap making unless it is stainless steel. . You will also need a smaller bowl or plastic cup for measuring the lye. I use the clear punch size Dixie cups. Lye can have static so if you wipe the inside and rim of your cup and spoon with a dryer sheet it will help to keep those lye grains from jumping around and sticking to the cup. Also covering the whole top of the scale with a loose sheet of plastic wrap it will protect the scale from drips and spills. Make sure to wear your safety gear.
Now place your scale on your outside surface and turn it on. Place your large bowl on the scale and set it to tare. Weigh out your 9.5 ounces of water and set it aside. Now put the smaller container on the scale. Set it to tare and slowly weigh out the 3.54 ounces of lye. Move the scale aside. Slowly pour the lye into the water while you stir with the spoon in the other hand. Never pour water into lye. It is lye into the water ALWAYS. Do it slow and continue stirring. There will be fumes and the water will heat up as it reacts with the lye. This is why I do this outside. Some people do it under an exhaust fan but I prefer to do it outside. Continue stirring until the water is clear and you can tell that the lye is mixed in. Now you have your lye solution but it is hot. You can feel the heat with your hand on the side of the bowl. I cover the bowl loosely and leave it there while I go inside and measure my oils. Make sure that nothing can bother the bowl. If you rinse the lye cup and your spoon the water will neutralize any little particles and it can be reused again.
When you're inside you can measure your oils. You have two kinds of oils hard and soft. Set the oils before you and as you weigh them move them aside. Also check them off as you weigh them. It is easy to get distracted and forget an oil and your soap will be lye heavy and crumbly if you do. I weigh my soft oils into one container and hard oils in a different container. You can and should weigh out the oils in individual containers when you are learning. The hard oils will need to be melted. The soft, liquid oils don't have to be melted. I use a $1 car wash bucket for mixing my soap. You can use something like that or even a stainless steel pot. If you are going to mix everything in a small bucket then go ahead and use it to measure your soft oils into. If you are going to use a steel pot then I would measure the oils into plastic bowls. So assuming you are mixing in the bucket place it on your scale and set it to tare. Measure the 15 oz of olive oil into the bucket. Set the bucket aside and measure the 2.5 oz of castor oil into a plastic cup remembering to set the scale to tare after placing the cup on it. Now sit the castor oil with the olive oil. You now need to measure and then melt the hard oils, in this case 7.5 oz of coconut oil. I often just melt my hard oil in the microwave and so measure the oil into a Rubbermaid bowl. If you want to melt your oils on the stove then you will want to use a stainless steel pot. Measure it into the pot or into a bowl and transfer to the pot. You don't want to heat the oil too much. It just needs to be completely melted. Now that the hard oil/coconut is measured and melted you can combine all your oils. If your olive oil is in your bucket then stir in the castor oil and the melted coconut oil and stir to combine. Use a rubber spatula to get all the oil into your container. The room temperature oils will cool the warmer hard oils. If you want to make your soap in the stainless pot then mix all your oils into the pot with the warm oils after you remove it from the stove.
Now you have two containers one with all your oils and one with your lye solution. Bring the lye solution inside. It should be much cooler. It can even be mixed the day before, covered tightly and saved until you are ready to combine it with the oils the next day. I do not take the temperatures of the oils or the lye solution. I work with room temperature ingredients and when I feel the side of the containers it should feel comfortable to the touch and both should feel about the same temperature. Many soapers use thermometers. I don't. Do what makes you feel Safest and most comfortable. I assure you though that you can make soap without a thermometer and its way less stressful for me not to worry about temperatures.
Now that both your containers are ready and at about the same temperature you will add your lye to your oils. This will start your soap reaction and if you took off all your safety gear for measuring and warming the oils, now you will need them again. Your mixture will heat up as you stir and mix your lye solution in. I use a spatula at first just to get everything stirred together. Slowly pour the lye solution into the bucket with the oils stirring as you do so. Make sure to add all your lye solution. Set the lye container aside where it will be safe until you can rinse it. Continue to stir your soap. You will feel it heating up as you stir. It is caustic at this point so don't splash it around. Now you can just stir with the spoon or you can use the hand blender if you have one. The hand blender makes the process go faster but it does the same thing. Don't go buzzing around with the blender as you can burn it up and make your soap thicken too fast. Submerge the blender and use bursts with the blender alternated with just stirring with the blender off. In a few minutes you will notice that the spoon or blender leaves a trail as you stir. If you lift the blender it will leave drops on the surface of the soap for a few seconds before they disappear. That means you are now at light trace. (This would be where you could add things like essential oils, herbs or colorants if you were using them) If you continued to stir/blend it would thicken to pudding. If you see light trace then you can pour your soap or you can go a little further and pour it a little thicker if you are unsure. Don't let it get too thick or it will be harder to pour.
Remove the stick blender and scrape off as much soap as you can. Set the blender in some warm water in one of the bowls which you have already dirtied. Pour and scrape the soap mixture into your mold. Set aside the empty bucket. Pick up the mold and bang it a couple of times on the counter. You don't want soap all over but you want to settle the soap so that you don't have gaps and air bubbles. I cover the top of the soap with plastic wrap which prevents ash (A powdery looking salt deposit) from forming. Just tear off a piece large enough to cover the surface of the soap. Gently spread it so it touches the entire soap surface. Now cover the mold with a board or heavy cardboard and wrap it in an old towel to insulate it. You don't have to wrap the bottom. Just put the towel around and over the mold of soap. It will need to sit like that at least overnight as it gels and hardens to soap.
For clean up while you have your gloves on, you can rinse the lye solution bowl really well and then wash it. All the oily bowls can also be washed. I leave the containers and tools with soap mixture on them until the soap is finished saponifying. Then when you wash them they will make their own suds and they won't be caustic. Just put everything together in a large pan or the bucket and sit it out of the way for two days before washing. It is soap at that time but it can dry your hands so wear your gloves when you wash those pieces.
In the morning, if your soap is cooled down then you can remove it from the mold and cut it into bars. You can cut it with a knife, a krinkle cutter or a large putty knife and mitre box. Set the bars on a wire rack to cure for about a month to six weeks. As it cures, the soap gets milder and the water evaporates out. The longer it cures the harder the bar will become. In a few days it is actually safe to use but it will be softer and melt away faster. If you can't wait then you can go ahead and use a bar while the other bars cure.
That is all there is to making basic soap. The more batches you make and the more comfortable you get, you can start experimenting with different oils, scents and additives. It's fun to make soap and many people go on to sell soap. Just remember, you won't likely get rich selling soap and there are regulations to research before you do. Making one or ten batches doesn't make you anywhere near proficient enough to sell soap to other people because you can make a mistake and seriously damage someone's skin. Make sure you really understand everything there is about soap making before you decide to sell. In the meantime, you get to practice a skill that will be valuable for survival. Soap is important in so many ways but especially in combatting illness and disease. You can buy commercial soap or you can learn to make your own from basic products.
If you have questions then you are welcome to ask them here or on the blogs yahoo group site. On the group site there are other soapers who can also help answer questions. I am glad to answer them here as well because I know it is difficult to say everything in one blog post about making soap. I will not make up individual recipes/formulas though. There are plenty of those online when you are ready for them and each person really does need to learn to work with the soap calculator.
Have fun and keep learning every day.
Southern Wood Elf