Homemade Soap Recipes: How to Make Homemade Soap

Soap making is a fun-filled hobby. You can use homemade soaps for your personal use or gift them to your loved ones. If you become an expert homemade soap-maker, you can even sell fancy, perfumed soaps and earn some extra money! I am sure this will catch your attention and make you more interested in learning how to make soap at home.

There are two things that are basically required to make a soap; fat and lye. The other ingredients that you may add will make your soap more luxurious. If you are learning to make your own soap, keep in mind that the best and the safest way to make a soap is using the uncolored, unscented soap base. This is because you won't have to handle lye. Lye is a dangerous chemical and if not handled with care, it may lead to serious burns and even death. Thus, it is better to use a soap base as it already contains lye and starters won't have to worry about handling the dangerous lye.

Ingredients Required

• Uncolored, unscented soap base
• Essential oils of your choice (for adding fragrance)
• Food color of your choice (for color)

Homemade Soap without Lye

• Take one bar of soap base and melt it in a double boiler. You can even melt it in a microwave oven.
• Once the soap melts, add ½ ounce of essential oil of your choice and minimum amount of food color.
• You can add a tablespoon of honey, oatmeal and butter or teaspoon of beeswax.
• Mix well and pour the melted soap in plastic molds.
• The soap will harden after several hours. Once set, wrap it up in wax paper or any other non-sticky material.

Once you get a fair idea of making homemade soap, then you can attempt the other recipes using lye. Prepare the soap in a well-ventilated room, and do not breath in the toxic fumes of lye. Use a rubber glove when pouring lye to protect your skin from accidental drops of lye. Be careful when handling lye container as it may get extremely hot.

Ingredients Required

• 9 oz of lye - set this aside in a large measuring cup
• 4 ½ cups olive oil (use the very cheap kind as it makes the best soap)
• 2 cups coconut oil
• 2 tsp essential oils of your choice (for adding fragrance)

Homemade Soap with Lye

• Warm the oil to medium temperature. Wait till lye gets slightly cooled. The soap and lye should be at the same temperature. Touch the side of the bowls and try to judge if both the temperatures are same.
• Once they reach the same temperature (approximately 110⁰), pour lye into the large bowl containing oil.
• Mix the oil and lye thoroughly. You can use a hand blender to mix them
• Add two teaspoons of the essential oil and mix the mixture again.
• Pour the mixture into plastic mold.
• It may take 24 to 28 hours for the soap to harden.
• Once set, wrap it up in wax paper or any other non-sticky material.

So, I guess, you must have realized that it is very easy to make soap at home. You can use different essential oils not just for fragrance but to treat skin conditions such as acne, eczema, aging, etc. They also help in relieving stress and depression. You can try using different mold shapes to prepare soaps. You can use animal shape molds for children and a rose shaped mold for a gift soap. The possibilities are endless and you can turn your fragrant hobby into a sweet-smelling, part-time business.