Every oil brings its own properties to a bar of soap, and finding the perfect soap recipe is all about balancing those properties. This recipe does it, with a blend of hard and soft oils for a long-lasting bar, plus castor oil for lots of big bubbles and moisture. This might have more oils than beginner soap recipes, but that’s okay. The process is exactly the same. It’s just a matter of opening a couple more bottles and measuring them. I know you have it in you.
If you’ve never made soap before, you can start with this recipe, but I’d recommend something a little bit simpler if you’re feeling nervous. At the very least, please read this blog post, which goes over the science and safety of soap making. It’s not hard, but there are rules, and you do need to know them.
what You’ll Need
Stocking a soap-making “pantry”, so to speak, is a little bit of an investment, but you can make recipes out of this for years. Most recipes are going to use the same things over and over, and the equipment will always be the same. If you’d like to start out with a single-oil recipe, try homemade Castile soap, which is 100% olive oil.
Equipment
Yes, a scale is an absolute must, as is a stick blender. I’m sorry!
Ingredients
- 5.83 ounces lye (Make sure the bottle says 100% Sodium Hydroxide—do not use generic drain cleaners)
- 10 to 15 ounces water (Distilled water is best; tap water contains minerals that can create “soap scum” or odd colors)
- 11 ounces coconut oil
- 9 ounces palm oil (If you prefer not to use palm oil, you cannot just leave it out or swap it directly; you must run the new recipe through a soap calculator to get the safe lye amount. I have a popular soap recipe here that is palm-free.)
- 2 ounces mango butter
- 9 ounces olive oil
- 4 ounces castor oil
- 4 ounces avocado oil
- 2 ounces sweet almond oil
- 3 tablespoons fragrance oil (Make sure it is rated skin-safe for soap making)
- 2 teaspoons sodium lactate (Optional; this is a salt solution that makes the bar harder and easier to unmold)
- Mica or colorant (Optional)
Instructions
Remember:
The worst thing you can do when making soap is be really nervous or be in a rush. Stay calm, work slowly, and everything will be fine.
Step One: Measure Water and Lye
First measure your lye and water separately using a digital scale, then carefully combine them. Pour your water into a cup you don’t care much about, then add the lye to the water, stir it until it dissolves, and set it somewhere safe.
This is the most dangerous part of soap making because you now have a cup that looks like water but can blind someone, burn their skin, or become fatal if they drink it. Make sure everyone in your house understands not to mess with this cup and that it’s out of the way where it can’t accidentally be knocked over.
Step two: Measure, Melt, and Cool the Oils
Melt them on your stovetop, bringing the temperature up to around 140. Technically, these should be measured out separately and then added to one pot. I tend to just add them all at the same time, zeroing out the scale in between each oil.
Now everything needs to cool to about 110 to 120 degrees. It will take a few hours. Check with a thermometer.
If you’re using sodium lactate, add it now to the cooled lye water.
Step Three: Blend to Trace
Once your temperatures are right, it is time to combine. Pour the lye water into the pot of oils and stick blend.
Important: Before you do this, make sure any color and fragrance you want to add are ready to go, and that your mold is prepared. Things will move very quickly and you don’t want your soap batter hardening in the pot.
Until everything is combined and you have reached a thin “trace”. This means your soap had thickened up JUST a little. If you were to drizzle a bit of soap on top, it would stay instead of sinking in.
Step Four: Add color and fragrance if you’d like
Add color and fragrance and stir by hand or slowly with the stick blender.
Then pour everything into your prepared mold.
Step Five: Cure
Let the soap cure in a warm, draft-free place (such a turned-off oven that has been warmed to 140 degrees, then turned off), or wrapped in quilts.
The next morning or afternoon you take it out and cut it into bars. Let it cure for 3-5 weeks before using in the shower
Storage Instructions
Once fully cured, homemade soap should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated spot. I like to put it in shoe boxes in the closet with layers of newspaper in between the bars.
FAQs
A 10-inch silicone mold. It’s my favorite for most soaps.
If your soap is too soft, it might need more time to cure. Adding sodium lactate or using oils with higher stearic acid content can also help create a harder bar.
It is a pink mica from Nurture Soap. You can find it here.
Yes, absolutely. I’d recommend using sodium lactate since it can be a bit soft when unmolding it.
This is a 100% personal preference (except for the fact that florals are more difficult to work with). My personal favorites are Comfort and Joy from Nurture Soap and Mango Mango from Brambleberry.
Yes! I used to swirl it all the time before I got too lazy.
You sure can. You’ll need the following percentages:
Coconut Oil: 26.83%
Mango Butter: 4.88%
Olive Oil: 21.95%
Palm Oil: 21.95%
Sweet Almond Oil: 4.88%
Enter them into a soap calculator with the desired size of your batch and it will give you the correct amounts.
The gel phase is a part of the saponification process where the soap heats up and becomes translucent. This can help create a smoother, more uniform bar.
Yes, essential oils can be used as a natural alternative to fragrance oils. Just be sure to use skin-safe essential oils and follow recommended usage rates. The usage rates will be listed in ounces per pound of soap-making oils, and you will need to do a little math.
Printable Recipe
Big Bubbles Cold Process Soap
Equipment
- Safety equipment (gloves, goggles, apron)
Ingredients
- 11 ounces coconut oil
- 9 ounces olive oil
- 9 ounces palm oil
- 2 ounces sweet almond oil
- 4 ounces castor oil
- 4 ounces avocado oil
- 2 ounces mango butter
- 5.83 ounces lye
- 10-15 ounces water
- 3 tablespoons fragrance oil for a strong scent, vary this to your preferences
- 2 teaspoons sodium lactate optional, for a harder bar
- colorant or mica optional
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Instructions
- Make lye water. Using a digital scale, measure out the lye and water in separate glass containers. Combine them by adding the lye to the water. (Remember: snow floats on the lake.). Stir until the lye dissolves. The temperature will shoot up. Place this in a safe place to cool.
- Melt oils and butters. While the lye solution is cooling, measure out the oils and butters and combine them in a large stainless pot. Melt them over low heat and heat them up to 130-140 degrees. Set them aside to cool.
- Let cool. After 2 hours, check the temperature of both solutions. They should be around 110 degrees. (A range of 100-120 is fine.). If not, allow them to cool longer.
- Prep for mixing. Prepare your mold and measure out any fragrance or color you will be adding. (For best blending of colors, mix some color into a few drops of melted oils.). If using sodium lactate, add it to the lye water at this time.
- Blend to trace. Pour the water and lye solution into the pot with the melted oils. Blend with a stick blender until thin trace is reached. The soap batter will noticeable thicken and a trail of soap will sit on top of the liquid rather than immediately sinking in. (This will take about 1 minute.). Add the color and fragrance and stir by hand.
- Pour in mold. Immediately pour the soap batter into the mold. Place in a turned-off oven or wrap with blankets to insulate the soap.
- Cut bars and let cure. After 24 hours of curing, unmold and cut into bars. The bars may seem slightly soft but will harden considerably during the curing process. Allow to cure at least 3 weeks in a well-ventilated place.
Video
Notes
I am very new to soapmaking. I have found your website so awesome, with easy to understand and make recipes. I have made this soap and it turned out great. I altered the batch to fit my molds through SoapCalc. I am wondering if this soap would be alright to felt. (I am just teaching myself this as well). I look forward to your response. I have also made the Man’s soap for my son-in-law. As per his request, no fragrance. I have felted them for him. Will certainly make both recipes again!
Excellent indeed. I will definitely try it.
Hey Hillary, thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it. I hope you have fun making the soap, it’s such a rewarding process! Let me know how it turns out or if you have any questions along the way.
Hi, I was wondering what other oil or butter I can substitute for palm oil.
I have made soap before using your recipe and it was great but my palm oil is out of date now.
Hey Kate,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! If you’re out of palm oil, you can substitute it with lard, shea butter, or cocoa butter. Lard is the closest match, but shea or cocoa butter will work too—they might just make the bar a little harder. Be sure to run the new recipe through a soap calculator to adjust the lye amount. Let me know how it turns out!:)
i made this years ago. it s the best soap i ever made.
Hi Katie,
I’ve been making this recipe for years, and my family really enjoys. Olive oil is getting so expensive, and I understand lard can be a good substitute. My question is can you use the same amount of lard to replace the olive oil, or do you have to change the amount?
Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Blessings,
Michelle
Hi Katie,
We’ve been making this soap regularly for years and we love it. I’m sure you’ve noticed the price of olive oil going up, and I understand that lard is a good substitute for olive. Can you use 9 ounces of lard in place of the olive oil in this recipe or do you have to change the amount? Thanks for your help and for the wonderful recipe.
Blessings,
Michelle
hey Michelle! it should be a good substitute in terms of keeping the same properties, BUT run it through a lye calculator to be sure the amount of lye doesn’t change. BTW… you can buy olive oil specifically for soap that is NOT food grade and is much cheaper.
Wonderful recipe with some wriggle room to get creative. Easy to follow instructions.
Could you substitute goat milk for the water equally? Thanks.
yes that is just fine 🙂
I followed everything to a t but I only blended for about 12 seconds and it started to harden I made individual bars and by the last bar you had to push it into the form. 24 hours later there were large spots of oil on top and as I removed them from the mold my fingers stung from the lye. I can’t figure out what went wrong the temperature was 112
hi jamie, 12 seconds is definitely not enough time for everythig to come to trace. you may have used a fragrance that made the soap difficult to work with and hardened before it was really blended.
Absolutely wonderful!! Was so pleased with the results! Thank you for sharing.
I’m curious about your water ingredient as 10-15 ounces. don’t you need an exact amount? thanks!
hey stef! you don’t need an exact amount, water is the ONE thing that’s flexible in a soap recipe. less water will give ou a bar that cures/. drys out faster, but also traces quickly, giving you less time to pour, etc. its up to you :). i use around 12 🙂
My soap turned out yellow but I need a batch of white. What should I do?
Add titanium dioxide as your colorant 🙂
This recipe looks OK, however, it is a common misconception that the “cleansing” number on a soap calculator tells how well the soap cleans. All soap cleans…the cleansing number actually tells you how much oil is stripped from your skin. The lower the cleansing number, the more moisturizing the soap will be. I always keep my cleansing number below 10, and prefer it to be <3.
Just food for thought 🙂
I am fairly new at soap making. I have tried 4 recipes to date and this is by far my favorite recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi there I’m new to soap making and I was wondering how to incorporate duck fat into this recipe. Any advice is greatly appreciated
hey kim, i’ve never worked with it but if you look up tallow soap making it might point you in the right direction. oncce you get a sense of the basic process there, I have a post on how to make your own soap recipes and you can use a lye calculator to get exact measurements. hope this helps 🙂