Homemade Soap – a delicious recipe with tallow, lard, coconut oil, water, lye. Easy to follow and perfect for any occasion.
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NOTE: The combination of lye and water is caustic.
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It will burn the skin and may cause blindness if it enters the eye.
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Safety goggles and protective gloves are recommended for all and are wholeheartedly encouraged for the novice soapmaker.
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Please do not allow children or handicapped adults into your work area.
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Lye into water can often bubble up; do not look into the pan when adding lye to the water.
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Read the safety precautions on the lye container prior to starting on your soap making.
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Allow two hours for the process and make sure that you have time if it takes a little longer.
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Prepare your soap mold(s) by coating them with an oil or baking spray.
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I like to use small, plastic, individual serving size containers so that I don't have to cut the soap.
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Look at your containers and hold them to see if your soap will be the right size.
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This recipe will make enough soap to fill about 10 eight ounce containers.
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The containers don't need lids.
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Pour the water into a stainless steel or speckle ware pan.
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Do not use aluminum or glass as the lye can pit your pan and ruin your soap.
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Standing back from the pan, add the lye to the water.
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This should cause a chemical reaction whereby the water heats.
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Let this cool to about 100F.
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In another (the deeper) stainless or speckle pan combine the lard, tallow and oil.
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Warm them on low until they are at about 100F.
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When both pans are at 100F-110F, slowly pour the lye water into the fat, stirring constantly.
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Use a wood spoon or stainless steel spoon for stirring.
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As you stir, you will see the mixture go from a dark color to a light color.
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This is the visual proof that the oil and water are mixing.
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After you've mixed it by hand for a few minutes, you may use your electric mixer to continue mixing.
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Wear your safety goggles and gloves as the soap is very caustic and will burn skin.
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If your pan isn't that deep, you might need to cover it with plastic wrap and put a hole in the center for your mixer to prevent splatter.
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Every now and again, run your spatula along the edge of the pan to incorporate all of the soap into the mixture.
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Again, keep children out of the area.
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You are now watching for 'trace'.
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Trace is when you can see your path in the pot.
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More specifically, it is when you take a spoonful of soap and pour it on top of the soap, it sits there for a few seconds before blending into the mixture.
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This can take from 30 to 90 minutes to achieve, sometimes a bit longer.
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At trace you may add (10-20 drops of) essential oils for fragrance, if you wish, but blend it in quickly.
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As soon as you are at trace, and after the optional oils are added, pour the soap into your molds.
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Work quickly.
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Make sure that the soap is level in the molds as it has a tendency to puddle up in the middle.
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Put all of your molds into a wood crate or sturdy cardboard box.
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(If you plan on making several batches over the next few weeks, put a note in the box stating the date that you made the soap.).
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Wrap a blanket or two around the box to keep the heat inside.
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Put the box in an out of the way place where children and pets can't get into it.
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An electric oven or a gas oven with an electronic ignition is a good place.
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(Will a pilot light melt your plastic containers?
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If so, crack the oven door open.
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).
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After 2-4 days you may unmold your soap.
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If, after a week, they present a challenge to unmold, put them in the freezer for a few hours.
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Return them to the box, leaving room so that air may circulate around them.
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Make certain that children and pets won't disturb them as they are still caustic.
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Wash your hands after handling the soap so that you don't transfer any lye.
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Your soap is still considered 'green' or uncured.
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Let the soap cure for at least four weeks prior to use.
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The harder the soap feels, the more it has cured.
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After four weeks it is safe to use.
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It will just dissolve quicker than a soap that has cured longer.
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A NOTE ABOUT OILS: I've used fragrance oils in soap.
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Fragrance oils are artificial.
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The label must state that they are safe for use on the body.
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Not all candle scents are safe to use in soap, so read your labels.
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Fragrance oils, because they are artificial, often will change the appearance of your soap, causing you to lose control over the look of the finished product.
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Because of that, I highly recommend that, if you want a scent, you use essential oils.
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Yes, they are expensive.
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Different oils from different companies will hold up differently in each batch of soap.
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It will take experimentation for you to really perfect the scent in your soaps, but your family and friends will love to receive your experiments as gifts.
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A NOTE ABOUT COLOR: Do not try food coloring or clothing dye to tint your soap.
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At trace, you may pull out a portion of soap and add some cocoa powder to it for a tint.
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You may purchase soap tint at your local craft or hobby store.
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Your water could be tinted from fresh fruits or vegetables and strained prior to the soap making.
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You may experiment in a number of ways to see what you prefer and what you don't at all like.
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A NOTE ABOUT EXPERIMENTATION: Keep notes on everything that you do.
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I'd seriously recommend sending yourself an email with your recipe and notes for each batch of soap since I've gone through the heartbreak of a waterlogged notebook and a virus-laden computer containing my soap notes.
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You can print and compile your emails if you like, and if your book gets ruined, do it again!
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Happy soapmaking!
* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.
No additional tips available.
No specific allergen information. Please check the ingredient list for possible allergens.
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Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe makes 4 servings. You can adjust the portion size directly on this page.
You need 5 ingredients. The key ingredients include: 24 ounces tallow, 8 ounces lard, 8 ounces coconut oil, 15 ounces water, and more.
Yes, Homemade Soap falls under the General category and is a great choice for this type of meal.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Reheat gently before serving.