How To Make Homemade Soap - The Cold process

Once you know how to make soap, you'll realize that the total cost to make several months worth of bars is far cheaper than buying the chemical-cocktails from the store. The initial cost of making your own soap can seem like a bit more than you would normally spend, but many people forget that they can usually make enough from these homemade soap recipes to last for quite a while.

Out of all the methods used to make homemade soap, Melt and Pour (MP) soap is probably the simplest of all. But while there are many different ways to make soap, one of the purest methods is the Cold Process. Lets have a look at the process then move on to some homemade soap recipes.

Let's make homemade soap

Cold Process

Please also be aware that lye can be extremely dangerous if it gets ingested or on the skin, if you do get any on your skin rinse with vinegar and not water So...... Please take extra precautions when working with Lye!

1. Important - Anything you use when making homemade soap should be used ONLY for soap making.



2. Gather the ingredients from one of our homemade soap recipes.



3. Prepare a mold for your soap. If you don't have a specific soap mold, then any good size container will do. Plastic, glass, wood, ceramic or cardboard all lined with freezer paper or plastic wrap will make suitable molds. Silicone, the flexible rubber type cake pans also make excellent soap molds and don't need to be lined with anything. However you do need to support the bottom of the silicon mold by standing it on something until your soap has hardened.
   
   
   
   Avoid using any metal molds unless you can be sure they are stainless steel. The best way to line your mold when using freezer paper is to cut two strips, one to go across the width box and the other going across the length leaving the corners bare and with enough length to fold the freezer paper over the edges secure with tape.



4. You will need to measure your ingredients carefully, as when you make homemade soap it needs the right mixture to complete the saponification process.



5. Put on some safety glasses and gloves, then begin to add the lye to the distilled water, do this SLOWLY and stir well. The water will start to heat when it reacts with the lye, it will need to cool until it reaches 110f (43c).














6. Slowly heat your oils to around 110F (43C) then set it aside whilst maintaining the temperature of the oil.



7. Once your lye has cooled, start adding the lye to the oil, do this SLOWLY, and remember that you should always add lye to other materials, not the other way around, pouring a liquid into lye crystals can cause it to splash and can burn your skin. Please also choose a well ventilated area when working with lye.




8. Using a stick blender begin carefully stirring your mixture with a stick blender for several minutes, slowly at first without switching the blender on. Then give your mixture a few short 3 second burst, stirring between each burst until the mixture thickens slightly and becomes a little gluggy looking. This is called "trace" and it's a sign that your soap is turning out the right way. Don't mix for too long after you notice your soap thickening this way. By hand this will take a little longer, maybe up to an hour longer but with consistent slow even stirring you will eventually reach the trace stage.
   
   By dipping your spatula or spoon into the mixture and dribbling a small amount back into the mix. It should leave a light "trace" behind (like a small mound of soap that takes a few seconds to blend back within the mixture.) This is when you know you've reached the "trace" stage. And now is the time to add any extras e.g...Fragrance, colour or texture into your soap recipe.



9. Pour your soap into the mold and smooth out using a spatula. If your mold doesn't have a lid, then place a piece of cardboard over the top of it, and wrap an old towel around the whole thing to keep the heat in. Allow your soap to set for 24 hours in a warm place until the soap has hardened.Don't be to alarmed if you take a quick peek at your soap and it looks translucent, this is called the gel stage and is perfectly natural.




10. When the homemade soap has hardened, remove from the mold and cut it into blocks, the soap will still be caustic at this point so I would recommend still handling the soap with gloves for the first 48 hours.



11. Cover/line a cooling rack, tray or box with a cloth, and Stand the soap blocks up right without touching each other so the air can circulate, then Store in a dry place for 3 to 4 weeks before using. And always test your soap on your hands before using on your face.

Possible problems when you make homemade soap

If your soap does not harden or just hasn't turned out quite as well as you expected it to, or maybe you forgot to add something. Then you may be able to rebatch it by melting it down and adding any missing, or miss calculated ingredients.

If your batch is to lye heavy, making it very brittle and crumbly or if your lye and oils have separated (you will notice a layer of liquid on the top or underneath the soap) I would encourage you to discard it.

Note: some soap-making stores have removed lye crystals from visible sale on the shelves as it was being used for alternate purposes by less-desirable elements. You may need to ask at the counter for lye and present identification.

We hope you enjoyed learning how to make homemade soap. Now click here for some Homemade Soap Recipes