Making a Beginner Soap
Nothing fancy, just a basic cold-process soap. This recipe uses the three most common soaping oils for a simple balanced bar.
Equipment
- Safety gear
Ingredients
- 10 ounces coconut oil
- 10 ounces olive oil
- 10 ounces palm oil
- 4.38 ounces lye
- 10 ounces water
- 3 tablespoons fragrance oil optional
- colorant or mica optional
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. While the lye solution is cooling, measure out the oils butter 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.
- Check temperatures. 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 mold and mix-ins. Prepare your mold and measure out any fragrance or color you will be adding. (For the best blending of colors, mix some color into a few drops of melted oils.
- Stick blend to trace. Pour the water and lye solution into the pot with the melted oils. Blend with a stick blender until a thin trace is reached. The soap batter will noticeably 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 into mold. Immediately pour the soap batter into the mold. Smooth out the top with a spoon or spatula. Allow to cure at room temperature, uncovered for 24 hours.
- Unmold and cut. After 24 hours of curing, unmold and cut into bars. Allow to cure at least 3 weeks in a well-ventilated place.
Notes
I don't recommend getting fancy with your first soap recipe. A fragrance and maybe a simple color is okay. But no crazy designs, and don't expect perfection.