Homemade Lye Soap Recipe: How to Make Lye Soap

Making soap is considered to be an art, though not many people take the effort of making their own soap. However, in olden days, when there were no soap manufacturing companies, this was the only way of obtaining soap. During those times, soaps were made by using pig meat and lye. First the meat was cooked until it turned into lard. Then lye was added to the lard and cooked again for a long time in a large kettle which was kept directly above the fire, till it became hard. The thing that was a necessity during those times, is now considered as a work of art. Here, you can find how to make lye soap and the important benefits of making homemade lye soap.

Advantages of Homemade Lye Soup
Most of the commercial soaps do not contain glycerin which helps the skin retain moisture. So the use of such soaps can make your skin dry and itchy. However, this would not happen if you use homemade soap. When lye and fat are combined, a chemical process called saponification occurs, which releases glycerin as a byproduct. Other than this, you would also receive the satisfaction of making something on your own and also the products used to make soap would be far more inexpensive than buying soap.

What is Lye?
Lye is one of the main ingredient for making soap. It is a harsh and corrosive solution made of sodium or potassium hydroxide. It is said to be a dangerous chemical solution, and so should be handled with utmost care. If lye is exposed to the skin, it can lead to skin irritation and also cause harm to the eyes and throat. So, while making lye soap, you have to cover your hands with rubber gloves and your eyes with protection glasses. One must also store lye away from the reach of children. It is also important to follow the instructions written behind the lye box carefully, to avoid dangerous incidents. The most popular lye brand is Lewis Red Devil.

Lye Soap Recipe
Making lye soap is a little difficult process and it is likely that you may have to face failure initially. But, if you have patience and try it again, you will surely be rewarded. Here is a a recipe for lye soap that can be made at home.

Lye Soap Ingredients

• 340 grams or 1 can Red Devil lye
• 7 1/3 or 5 lbs lard
• 605 grams or 21½ oz ice cold water

Equipment Required

• 4-6 quart cast iron or stainless iron pot or a plastic bowl
• 1 shallow cardboard box which is lined with plastic thrash bag
• 1-2 quart oven ware bowl
• Rubber gloves
• 1 stainless, plastic or wooden spoon

Directions

1. Take ice cold water in the 1 or 2 quart bowl. Freezing half of the water into ice cubes would also be a great idea. Once this is ready, add the lye slowly while continuously stirring, till all the lye is completely dissolved in the water.
2. Let the mixture of water and lye become warm by covering it with a lid. Keep it in the same way till the temperature of the mixture becomes 85 degrees F.
3. In the stainless steel, iron or plastic pot, heat the fat until it melts completely. Once this is done, keep it for cooling till its temperature reduces to 95 degrees F.
4. When this is done, begin stirring the melted liquid, and at the same time start pouring the lye-water solution into it. You have to continuously stir the mixture, otherwise it may separate.
5. The liquid will go through various stages including creamy, heavy cream and finally like a hot cooked pudding. The time required for this can range anywhere between 15-45 minutes, as per the climatic conditions and also the temperature.
6. After this, the next step would be to transfer the solution into the lined cardboard box. Let it stay in the box for some time. After 4-5 hours, it would be ready to be cut in the form of bars. However, you should not cut it with a sharp knife, rather use a table knife for it. You can use this facial and body soap after a month.

If you wish to make perfumed soap, all you have to do is to add some perfume or essential oils before the soap mixture is poured into the cardboard box. You can also make colorful soaps by adding 20 grams children's powder tempura paint when the soap mixture is at the heavy cream stage. It is also possible to mold the soap to the shape you want. For this, you have to take some soap bars in a Ziploc bag and place this bag in hot water for ½ an hour, which will make the bar soft.

How to make lye soap, while tedious and difficult, is very rewarding. One should remember to maintain extreme caution during the entire process to avoid any injuries. Once you master the process, you can use your creativity to make different colors, shapes and scented soaps.