How to Make Homemade Soap

Markets are crammed with immense variety of soaps, but what if you can make them at home. Isn’t it great? Yes, you can easily make bathing soap at home. All you require is little patience seeing that soap takes time to cool down. Since you will be handling chemicals, so be careful and make sure to wear rubber gloves and safety goggles. It’s recommended to make this soap at some airy place, may be outside. For colors and scents, you can always make variations as you feel like. Here check out the instructions for making homemade soap.

Things Required

Soap Coloring
Rubber Gloves
Crisco Shortenings
Candy Thermometer
Measuring Cups And Spoons
Mixing Spoons
Plastic Bowls
Rubber Spatulas
Stainless Steel Stockpots
Stirring Spoons
Mitre Boxes
Safety Goggles
Lye
Soap Fragrance
Soap Molds
Colored Crayons
Thick Bath Towels
Coconut Oil
Distilled Waters
Non-virgin Olive Oil
Vegetable Oils
Fragrant Essential Oils

Instructions

Take a plastic or glass bowl, and dissolve lye (12 oz.) in soft water (32 oz.). Ensure to add the lye in the water, not vice versa. Pour the lye slowly and steadily, and stir it continuously with a plastic spoon. Now, keep the mixture away and let cool.
Take a stainless steel pot, and melt coconut oil (24 oz.) and solid vegetable shortening (38 oz.) in it. Add olive oil (25 oz.) and any other fragrance oils, you want to put, to the mixture. Let the oils cool down.
Now, smear the soap mold with Crisco. Once both the oil and lye mixtures get to room temperature combine them slowly whilst adding the lye to the oils. Stir the mixture slowly, but continuously.
Pour the soap into the pot seldom. Once the soap starts taking shape shortly before sinking into the rest of the mixture, it’s time to add whatever extras you want.
Get the mixture in a cup, and stir all your botanicals, grains and coloring in it. Pour this into the original mixture. Its time to pour the soap into the mold.
Consequently, wrap the mold in a towel, and leave it untouched for 18 hours. Thereafter, unwrap the mold, and allow the soap to sit for another 12 hours.
After the mentioned time, wiggle the mold and try to loosen the sides. To get the soap, turn the mold over onto a counter. Using knife cut the soap into bars. Miter box can also be used to get perfectly square corners.
After three to four weeks (time for curing), you can use your homemade bathing soap.

Tips

Use cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, liquid chlorophyll, turmeric, paprika, and titanium dioxide to get brown, pink-peach, light green, yellow, peach, and white color respectively.
To scent the soap (4-lb.), use 1 oz. of essential oil.
Ground cloves, grated orange, lemon peel or ginger, are great to try different smells.
For making rose soap, use rose water rather than regular water.
Oatmeal (8 oz.) can be used to make soap for improved complexion.
To get gritty texture, add 4 oz. of cornmeal.
For dry skin, add 1/2 oz. of geranium oil to the soap.
For problem skin, use tea tree oil (1/2 oz.) in soap.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Home & Living'