What Is The Simplest Method Of Making Soap?

Soap is a cleansing and lubricating product made from a chemical reaction called saponification between an acid (such as vegetable oil) and an alkali (such as sodium hydroxide). Evidence suggests soap-like materials were first produced in ancient Babylon around 2800 BC and the ancient Egyptians developed soap from animal and vegetable oils as early as 1500 BC. The English began making soap during the 12th century and commercial soap making began in the American colonies in 1600. While soapmaking was originally a manual process, most soaps today are made commercially on a large scale.

The basic process of making soap involves mixing fats (oil/butter) and alkali (lye) together with water, allowing the mixture to saponify and create soap, and then pouring it into molds to setup. Additional ingredients like essential oils, herbs, colors, etc can be added for aesthetics and skin benefits. The soap then cures and hardens until it is ready for use.

Sources:

https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/understanding-products/why-clean/soaps-detergents-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap

Ingredients

The main ingredients needed to make soap are oils/fats, lye, and water. You can also add essential oils or other ingredients for scent and properties, but they are optional.

For oils and fats, you need to use oils that will react with the lye to make soap. Common oils used are olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, avocado oil, sunflower oil, etc. It’s best to use a blend of different oils to get the desired qualities in your finished soap. Coconut oil makes a hard bar while olive oil is moisturizing.
Soap Making Ingredients – Complete Profiles

Lye is sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. It is a caustic chemical that reacts with the oils to turn them into soap. You must calculate the right amount of lye to use for your oil amounts. Too much can make the soap harsh.

For water, you can use distilled, filtered, bottled or tap water. You need an equal amount of water as lye. The water helps dissolve the lye.

Essential oils like lavender, eucalyptus, orange, etc. can be added at the end for scent. Use 0.5-1 ounce of essential oils per pound of soap.

Equipment Needed

The equipment needed for making soap is relatively simple and most items can be found in a typical kitchen. The key pieces of equipment needed are:

• Stainless steel pot – This will be used to melt the oils and mix the lye-water solution. Stainless steel does not react with the lye solutions used in soap making.
• Wooden spoon – Use a long wooden spoon for mixing the lye-water solution and stirring the soap batter. Wood is durable and won’t be damaged by the lye solution.
• Glass measuring cups – Accurately measuring the amounts of oils, water, and lye is crucial in soap making. Use glass over plastic to avoid reactions with the lye solutions.
• Stick blender – A stick blender makes quick work of blending the lye-water and oils together into an emulsified soap batter. Choose one with a stainless steel shaft.
• Molds – Simple molds like silicone loaf pans or wood mold frames allow you to pour the soap batter and shape it. Avoid aluminum molds which can react with the lye solutions.

Other helpful items are rubber gloves, eye protection, digital scales, thermometers, and soap cutting tools. But the key pieces of equipment for making basic soap are stainless steel pots, wood spoons, glass measuring tools, a stick blender, and basic molds.

Safety Precautions

When making soap, it’s crucial to handle lye safely. Lye can cause severe burns when it comes into contact with skin and eyes. Proper protective gear like goggles, gloves, and masks should always be worn (Lye Safety).

Work in a well-ventilated area to avoid breathing in lye fumes. Open windows or use an exhaust fan to keep the fumes from accumulating. Only make soap in well-ventilated locations.

Wear gloves and long sleeves to prevent skin contact with lye. Choose gloves made from neoprene or nitrile, which resist corrosion from lye. Avoid contact with eyes by wearing protective goggles or a face shield.

Have vinegar on hand to neutralize any accidental lye spills or splashes. Vinegar helps neutralize and minimize burns. Wash any exposed skin immediately with plenty of water and vinegar.

Never add water to lye, as it can cause violent splattering. Always add lye to water slowly and stir constantly. Follow all directions carefully and avoid distractions to prevent accidents when working with lye.

Calculating Oil and Lye Amounts

One of the most important steps in soapmaking is properly calculating the amount of oils and lye needed to make soap. This requires using a lye calculator. There are a few good options for lye calculators online such as Brambleberry’s Lye Calculator, The Sage’s Lye Calculator, and the Soap Guild’s Lye Calculator. These tools allow you to input the amounts and types of oils in your recipe and will calculate the exact amount of lye needed for saponification.

The lye calculator takes into account the Saponification values of each oil. Saponification is the chemical reaction between the oils (triglycerides) and lye that produces soap. Each oil has a different Saponification value based on its fatty acid composition. The calculator uses these values to determine how much lye is required to fully saponify the oils into soap.

When using a lye calculator, you can also choose your desired “superfat.” The superfat is the percentage of oils that are left unsaponified in your final soap recipe. A 5% superfat means that 5% of the oils won’t react with the lye, leaving them intact to provide extra moisturizing properties. Superfatting from 3-5% is common for bar soaps.

Mixing the Lye-Water Solution

When making cold process soap, it’s crucial to always add the lye to the water rather than the other way around. Adding water to lye can cause violent splattering and is extremely dangerous. Here are the steps for properly mixing the lye-water solution:[https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/cold-process-soap-lye-water-solution-516815](https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/cold-process-soap-lye-water-solution-516815)

First, measure out the distilled water in a heat-safe container made of stainless steel or plastic. Never use glass containers. Next, slowly and carefully add the lye flakes or beads to the water while stirring constantly with a stainless steel or plastic spoon. The mixture will quickly heat up, so continuing stirring until all the lye has fully dissolved. Avoid breathing in the fumes by working in a well-ventilated area.

Allow the lye-water solution to cool down to around 100-120°F before using it in the next step. This is an exothermic chemical reaction, so proper safety gear like goggles, gloves, and a mask should always be worn. With the right precautions, mixing lye and water to create the soap-making lye solution is a straightforward process.

Melting the Oils

Before combining the lye-water and oils, it’s crucial to melt the oils completely. The ideal oil melting temperatures are:

• Olive Oil: 90-100°F
• Coconut Oil: 75-85°F
• Palm Oil: 95-105°F
• Shea Butter: 120-140°F

Hard oils like coconut oil, palm oil, or shea butter can be challenging to melt. One tip is to chop the oils into small pieces before melting to increase the surface area exposed to heat. You can place the chopped oils in a glass or stainless steel bowl in a pan of hot water to create a double boiler for gentle melting. Avoid overheating the oils, as this can negatively impact the quality. Stir frequently and use a thermometer to monitor the temperature.

According to glycerin melt and pour soap expert The Cape Coop, “Melt coconut oil first since it has the lowest melting point, followed by palm and olive oils. The melted oils can then be combined in one container and heated together at 95-100°F until fully liquid” (Source). Take care not to overheat or scorch the oils when melting.

Combining the Lye-Water and Oils

Once both the lye-water and oils have cooled to around 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s time to combine them. This process is called trace. When making soap, you want to add the lye-water to the oils. Pour the lye-water solution into the melted oils in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly. Use a stick blender to blend the mixture, which helps bring it to trace faster. According to the Soap Making Forum, combining the lye and oils immediately can lead to partial gel and result in “volcanoes” forming as the soap cures [1]. Tracing usually takes 5-10 minutes. You’ll know the mixture has reached trace when it leaves a trail on the surface when drizzled.

Once the soap has traced, you can add essential oils or fragrance if desired. Stir to fully incorporate. According to Rock Creek Soaps, fragrances and additives are best added at thin trace so they don’t end up sinking to the bottom of the soap mold [2]. Avoid blending too long or bringing the mixture to a very thick trace at this point.

Pouring into Molds

When pouring soap into molds, you first need to decide what type of mold material to use. The most common are silicone, wood, or plastic like PVC or polypropylene. Silicone molds allow you to easily release the finished soaps and provide more flexibility. They also hold heat well for gel phase. Wood molds give a rustic look and are inexpensive but may require lining to prevent the lye from interacting with the wood. Plastic molds like PVC pipe are affordable, durable and work well for larger slab style molds. Polypropylene provides easy release and insulation for gel phase, but avoid touching the soap until it’s fully cooled (cite exact_sources).

The next consideration is at what trace to pour the soap into the mold. A thin trace around emulsion is best for intricate swirling effects or complex designs. But a thicker trace like a pudding consistency makes it easier to support additives like dried flowers or exfoliants. Pouring at a medium trace allows time to fill all the molds before it fully sets up (cite exact_sources).

Finally, insulating the molds during gel phase will produce a harder bar of soap. You can wrap molds in towels to retain heat. For wood molds, you can also line them with insulation like cardboard before pouring. Plastic molds provide their own insulation. Getting the soap to gel gives it a smoother texture and harder cure.

Curing the Soap

After pouring the soap into molds, it is time to let it cure before using it. Proper curing is important for the soap to reach its full potential. According to Creamy Vibrance, curing allows the soap to harden completely and for excess moisture to evaporate.

Curing time can take 4-6 weeks. Most soap makers let the soap cure for 1-2 weeks before cutting it into bars. Then the bars are left to cure for another 3-4 weeks. This allows time for the bars to harden and the chemical reaction to complete.

During curing, it’s best to store the soap in a well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight. Many soap makers use wooden curing racks that allow air flow on all sides of the bars. Lining the racks with parchment paper makes it easy to remove the cured bars. According to Lovely Greens, the paper also absorbs humidity from the bars.

Proper curing ultimately results in hard, long-lasting bars of soap with a smooth texture. Trying to use soap too soon can result in a sticky texture and poor lather.