7 - How to make soap: tutorial

0 - Why and how to make your own soap?
1 - How: the saponification process

2 - Using caustic soda: safety precautions

3 - Using caustic soda: the online calculators

4 - Superfatting your soap

5 - Oil and other ingredients you may use in a soap

6 - How to make soap: equipment

7 - How to make soap: tutorial 

1 - Choose your oils, build a recipe and calculate online the amount of lye required.

2 - Weigh:

• your oils, all in the same container. If you happen to put a bit too much of some oils, just recalculate the amount of lye online.

• the water in a glass/Pyrex jar

• the caustic soda with your gloves on.

3 - Now that's the tricky part. You have to pour theCAUSTIC SODA INTO THE WATER, not the other way around. Stir continuously with a stainless steel spoon while you do so. You may have to scrape the caustic soda out of the container. The liquid will get cloudy and very warm; don't breathe the emanations, it will make you cough.

If you didn't stir enough while pouring, the lye may form a compact mass at the bottom of the container. Try to break it (carefully!) into smaller pieces, stir a little and wait. It will eventually entirely dissolve.

You may read on other websites that both the oil and the lye solution have to be at a precise temperature. I personally use very few vegetal butters or "solid oils" so I don't need to warm my oil up and use it at room temperature. Regarding my lye solution, I just wait 10-15 minutes for it to get colder - and transparent. I don't use a thermometer and there is probably a temperature difference between oil and lye solution but I make perfectly fine soaps this way.

NB: if you use ice cubes instead or with liquid water, the solution won't get that warm.

4 - While you're waiting for the solution to cool down, you may prepare your mold (grease it if it’s not throwable or silicone made), weigh your superfat oil and other additional ingredients, spend some time on my blog, and so on ;).

5 - After at least 10 minutes, when the liquid has got colder and transparent, pour the lye solution into the oil.

5 - After at least 10 minutes, when the liquid has got colder and transparent, pour the lye solution into the oil.

Thick trace already; this is a small batch.

6 - Start blending with the hand blender (and don't lift it while it’s turned on). You must blend until you reach "the trace". The trace is when a drop of fresh soap takes a few seconds to disappear. Some oils take longer to reach this stage, like olive oil for example. But it should not take more than 5 minutes. In every case, alternate periods with the blender on and hand stirring (so your blender doesn't die in the process).

Soda ashes

Once you've reach the trace, add your superfat oil (if you chose the second method), colors and scents.

7 - Pour into the mold and cover (with a simple piece of paper just put on it, no need to use throwable plastic wrap) so as to prevent a thin layer of "soda ash" to appear on the top of your soap. It's not dangerous at all, just a little unesthetic.

8 - Cleaning up. You can either wash the equipment straight away, first with vinegar and then with dish liquid or, and that's what I do, wait for a few days. Make sure it's in a safe place. I wait for a few days: soap dough has transformed into soap. It's easier to clean. I put my container in the sink and let them fill with water (when I wash my hands for example). I even reuse this soap water to wash dishes. 


Throw also the old newspaper (make sure nothing - soda pearls for example - fall from it). Wrap the throwable things you used in it and throw them in the trash (in a closed separate bags if you have kids).

9 - The next step consists of... waiting and waiting again. First, you have to wait 24-40 hours before unmolding the soap, and cutting it. If it's a little difficult/too soft to unmold, put it in the freezer for some time.

After that you have to wait at least 4 weeks before using the newborn soap (= curing period). Firstly, it's a way to ensure that the saponification is complete; the process may go on a few days after the soap has hardened. 

Secondly, the older soap gets, the longer it takes to melt. You could actually use it after two weeks but it would melt very very fast. Some people also say soap gets softer when older, and I’ve been positively surprised by a soap that was producing more bubbles after five months!

10 - Test your soap's pH (no more than 10!) or tongue-test it (if no electric zing, it is safe to use).

11 - Use it, offer it, and make more soap again!

Vanilla soap

 If you are not sure about something, please ask!