Soap Recipes

Basic Soaps

Basic Hand Soap
* 1/2 oz or 14gm lye
* 1/4 cup cold water
* 1/2 cup lukewarm fat
* 1 T. lemon juice (optional)

In a plastic container, gently stir lye into cold water with wooden spoon.
Slowly add lukewarm fat.
Continue to stir until slightly thickened.
Add lemon juice, stirring to mix thoroughly.
Pour mixture into plastic moulds.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 24 hours.
Remove soap from moulds and allow to air-dry for 14 days.
Yield: 1 - 2 medium bars.

Basic Perfumed Hand Soap
(This recipe makes nice soap)
* 5 cups rain or soft water
* 1/2 cup powdered borax
* 11.6 oz. lye
* 11 cups fat (lye calculated for lard. See lye to fat table.)

Add at trace...
* 1 oz. strawberry dye
* 2 oz. lanolin
* 3 oz. glycerin
* 3 T finely ground oatmeal
* 4 tsp. aromatic Rose Geranium

Follow basic directions.

Soap from Home made Fat Drippings
* 3 quarts fat drippings
* 12.7 oz. lye
* 4 1/2 quarts cold rain or soft water
* 3 tsp. borax
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 T. sugar
* 1/4 cup ammonia

Thoroughly clean fats by boiling in equal amount of water.
Place kettle in a cold place to firm fat.
Cut fat from kettle sides.
Pour off water and waste.
Scrape off excess wastes from bottom of lard cake.
Clean kettle and replace lard cakes, melt over low heat.
Dissolve lye in 1 quart cold water and let stand until cool, then add melted fat slowly.
Stir constantly.
Mix other ingredients together and add to first mixture.
Stir until the mixture is thick and honey coloured.
Pour into pan lined with a clean white cloth.
Before soap becomes hard, mark pieces into cakes or form into balls.
When hard, store to allow further air-drying.

Basic Granulated Laundry Soap
* 2 1/2 quarts rain water
* 2 quarts grease, strained, melted and hot
* 1 can lye (probably 1 lb.)
* 3 T borax

Mix water, borax, and lye. Add strained grease slowly. Remove from heat and leave in pot. Stir often during the first day. Allow two weeks to cure, stirring occasionally.

Laundry Soap: Recipe II
* 5 lbs. grease
* 1/2 cup ammonia
* 1 oz. sassafras oil
* 3 quarts rain water
* 1/2 cup borax
* 1 can lye (probably 1 lb.)
* 1/2 cup coal oil

Melt lye in cold water. Dissolve borax and add lye to mixture. Melt grease and add ammonia, then coal oil. Add to lye mixture. Stir until mixture congeals then put into milk cartons or leave in enamel pan. Cut into bars 24-48 hours later.

Basic Shampoo
* 1 bar basic soap
* 4 quarts rain water
* 2 slightly beaten eggs
* 1 tsp. powdered borax
* 1 oz. bay rum

Dissolve soap in boiling water. Let cool. Add eggs, borax and bay rum. Stir to mix thoroughly.

These recipes were adapted from the book Making the Best of Basics, written by James Talmage Stevens, published 1975-1977 by Peton Corporation.

 

Herbal soap :

You can replace the water in soap recipes with herbal tea, but to be honest, most of the properties (colour and fragrance) are lost. The best way to use herbs in soap is to add dry, finely powdered herbs to the fats before adding the lye/water. Use anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup dried herbs to 1 lb soap. Restrict coarsely-ground herbs to about 1 or 2 tablespoons per lb soap because they contribute a coarseness to the soap that sometimes makes it uncomfortable during use.

The nicest way to add properties of herbs to soap is the addition of pure essential oils. Over time, soap can develop a "lye-fat" odor, which essential oil prevents. Use anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons essential oil per lb soap (depending on the strength of the oil).

Colour is an illusive thing as far as soap is concerned. Natural colours can be obtained by adding 2 tablespoons red clay, Calendula petals, or yellow palm oil.

Superfatting soap

The following recipes result in soap with very little excess fat.
This soap leaves skin perfectly clean and smooth feeling.
Some people like excess fat in recipes.
To superfat soap, I recommend 2 to 4 tablespoons additional fat, such as castor oil.
Castor oil is emollient and contributes to soap lather.
To superfat with other fats, you can subtract about .2 oz weight lye from one lb batches of soap recipes which allows excess fat to remain.

 

Homemade Soap Recipes :

Ounces (oz) are determined by weight unless otherwise stated.

This is the only recipe I've discovered that remains scent-free without adding fragrance to the recipe. This soap is a bit too harsh for bath soap, but great for cleaning, washing dishes, delicate laundry, etc. Great lather and no fragrance.

Ingredients:
16 oz coconut oil
2.8 oz lye
1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)

Fat and lye/water temperature about 120 degrees F
Estimated tracing time: 1 1/2 hours
Time in moulds: 48 hours
Age: 3 weeks

Soap II -- Pure Soap Mink Oil Shampoo

Ingredients:
* 16 oz weight coconut oil
* 1/2 cup mink oil or (4 T. Castor oil)
* 2.9 oz lye
* 1 cup water (8 fluid oz.)
* Oil room temperature.

Mix and use lye when the water turns clear.
Put all ingredients in the blender.

Follow the instructions for "Blender Soap"
Don't let this soap trace.
Process until the mixture is smooth (no oil streaks) and pour it into moulds.
Leave in moulds 2 days.
Freeze soap 3 hours to release it from the moulds.
Age 3 weeks.

Soap III

Ingredients:
* 6 oz coconut oil
* 6 oz olive oil
* 5 oz vegetable shortening
* 2.6 oz lye
* 1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)

Fat and lye/water temperature about 120 degrees F
Time in moulds: 48 hours. Age: 4 weeks

Soap IV

* 9 oz vegetable shortening
* 4 oz coconut oil
* 3 oz lard
* 2.4 oz lye
* 3/4 cup water (6 fluid ounces)

Fat and lye/water temperature about 120 degrees F
Time in moulds: 24 hours. Age: 3 weeks

A traditional and blender soap combination. The fats are expensive, but milk allows for about 12 bars, vs. only 6 bars of the same recipe without milk.

Ingredients:
8 oz weight cocoa butter
5 oz weight palm oil
3 oz weight castor oil
2.2 oz weight lye (sodium hydroxide)
1 cup cold milk (I used 2% right from the frig)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon essential oil (I added 2 chamomile tea bags and 2 jasmine tea bags, dry)

Fats: 100 degree range
Lye/water/milk combination: 125 degree range

Dissolve the lye in the water.
Add all ingredients to the blender.
Process about 30 seconds, or until the mixture looks smooth and a uniform colour.
It will not trace.
Pour it into the moulds

Soap VI & VII

Ingredients:
* 16 oz lard or beef tallow
* 2.2 oz lye
* 3/4 cup water (6 fluid ounces)

Estimated tracing 45 minutes.
Fat and lye/water temperature about 120 degrees F.
Time in moulds: 24 hours.
Age: 3 weeks

Soap VIII -- Beeswax Castile

Ingredients:
* 16 oz weight olive oil
* 1 oz beeswax
* 1 oz palm oil
* 2.1 oz lye
* 1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)
* (melt the beeswax with the fats)

Fat and lye/water temperature about 150 degrees F.

Tracing time: about 12 minutes FAST! (This is not a good blender soap candidate!)
Time in moulds: 48 hours.
Place the soap in a freezer for 3 hours, then remove it from the mould.

 

 

Cold Process Soap for One 12 oz Can of Lye

Recipe by James Hershberger

Ingredients:

* 1 can (12 oz or 340 grams) 100% lye
* 21 1/2 oz (605 gms) ice cold or part frozen distilled water
* 5 lbs, 7 1/3 oz (2.48 kg) lard or all vegetable shortening

Equipment:

* 1 ea, 1-2 quart Pyrex or oven ware bowl
* 1 ea, 4-6 quart plastic bowl or stainless or cast iron pot
* 1 ea, plastic, wooden or stainless big spoon
* 1 ea, shallow cardboard box lined with plastic trash bag
* Rubber gloves
* Canning pot (for water bath if you use plastic reaction bowl)

Instructions:
Prepare the lye water by freezing 1/2 of the water into ice cubes. Put the ice cubes and the rest of the water into the 1 to 2 quart bowl. Using the stirring spoon (known to soap makers as the "crutch"), pour lye slowly into the ice and water, stirring until the lye is all dissolved. Take great care with the lye, it is very caustic and will burn the skin and eyes! Any splatters must be washed off immediately with lots of water!

Cover the solution to keep out air and allow to cool (or warm up ) to about 85 degrees F.

Melt the fat in the 4-6 quart bowl or pot. Don't use aluminum or galvanized bowls! Plastic ware can be heated in the water bath.

When the fat is melted, cool it down to 95 degrees F. Prepare the box with it’s plastic trash bag lining, so the fresh liquid soap can't leak out.

When all is ready, begin to stir the liquid fat in a clockwise direction while pouring the lye water into it in a thin steam (pencil size or thinner) until it is all added. Crutch (stir) the mix vigorously, using “S” pattern or use a hand blender alternating with a circular pattern until the mix begins to cool and thicken.

At this point do NOT stop or the mix may separate!

First the soap will be murky, then creamy, then like heavy cream and finally, like hot cooked pudding and will show traces when you dribble a stream from the crutch onto the surface. This process can take from 10 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature, weather and purity of your ingredients. Stir vigorously but patiently! With hand blender stir time is cut to 1/10 of the regular time.

When your "trace" does not sink back into the surface, the soap is ready to pour into the lined box. Wear rubber gloves and treat the raw soap like you treated the lye water. Wash off all splatters immediately. Have 10% vinegar and water and a sponge to neutralize splatters.

After 3-5 hours the soap may be cut into bars with a table knife, NOT a sharp knife. Allow the soap to cure in the box for about a week before breaking it up and handling it, and another month before using it.

The old farm ladies carefully "tasted" the fresh soap with the tip of their tongues for the sharp bite of unreacted lye, as I do today.

The soap from this recipe makes a bath and facial soap, and if you want old fashioned "Grandma’s Lye Soap," use less fat; about 5 lbs 5 oz instead of the original amount called for in the recipe. Allow this soap to mature in open air for six months.

Should you wish to colour your soap you may stir in about 20 gms children’s powder tempura paint when the mix reaches the heavy cream stage. Perfumed soap may be made by adding 60 gms (about 2 oz) of essential oil or perfume just before the soap is thick enough to pour. Sometimes I will wait for the unscented soap to cure, and then wrap the soap in muslin, anoint a cloth with perfume and wrap it with the soap in aluminum foil. Set it aside for about six weeks until the perfume has penetrated to the core of the bar.

To re-form the bar into a new shape, place some bars into a ziplock bag and warm them up by immersing the closed bag of soap in hot (120degF ) water for 30 minutes. The soap should be soft enough to cut, make into balls or even press into moulds. It sets when it has cooled and rested for an hour or so.