how to make homemade soap bars for beginners

How To Make Homemade Soap Bars For Beginners?

With just some tools (many of which are old friends in the kitchen), and armed with an understanding of how it all comes together, homemade soap really doesn't feel that much more ambitious than some of the more adventurous baking projects I've embarked on over the years, like baking bread-and the results are well worth it. Much like freshly baked goodies, they can also fill your home with delicious scents. Once you have a base recipe down, you can also play with shapes, colors, scents, and additives to customize each batch, and make them your own.

What you'll need:

Ingredients:
16 ounces coconut oil
14 ounces palm oil, preferably from a responsible source (alternatives to palm oil can be found here.)
21 ounces olive oil, any you can find
19 ounces distilled water
sodium hydroxide (lye), a 2-pound container of which will make about 4 batches of soap
7 teaspoons essential oil or fragrance oil (optional)

Tools:
Large heat-safe vessel such as an enamelware soup pot*
Measuring cup or small bowl*
Heat-safe vessel, ideally with a handle, such as a heavy glass pitcher*
Silicone spatula or other stirring utensil*
Instant-read thermometer*
Immersion blender*
Scale that can measure in grams and ounces
Soap mold or a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan*
Plastic wrap (if using a baking pan)
Waxed paper or parchment paper
Teaspoon and additional measuring cup (if using fragrance)
Old towel or blanket
Sharp, thin knife
Rubber gloves
Safety goggles

How to make soap at home:

1; Mix the Lye Solution Put on safety gear like gloves and goggles. In a well-ventilated area, carefully weigh out 201g of sodium hydroxide (lye) and 19oz of distilled water separately. Slowly pour the lye into the water while stirring - never the other way around. This will heat up and produce fumes, so work quickly. Allow the lye solution to cool completely, around 30-90 minutes.

2; Prep Mold & Measure Fragrance Line a soap mold with parchment paper. Gather any essential oils or fragrance oils you'll be using - about 1-2 tsp per pound of soap batch.

3; Melt Oils Melt the solid oils like coconut or palm until liquid. Weigh out and blend all the soap oils together in a pot. The oil mixture needs to be 80-100°F.

4; Blend When both the lye solution and oils are 80-100°F, slowly pour the lye into the oils while blending with a stick blender. Keep blending for 3-5 minutes until it thickens to a pudding-like traceability. Stir in fragrance if using.

Mold & Insulate
5; Pour the raw soap batter into the lined mold. Cover and insulate by wrapping in a towel. Allow to sit for 24 hours untouched.

6; Cut & Cure After 24 hours, unmold the solid loaf and cut into bars using a sharp knife. Allow bars to cure for 4-6 weeks to harden and finish saponifying.

Send Inquiry