Soap- Step By Step

Today I had my friend Melanie over and I showed her how to make soap. I learned a lot from my last attempt and it went really well this time! I made three batches that all turned out wonderfully. In fact they went so well that I added some extras to make some of them a little more fun! I love the way the kitchen smells when I’m making soap! No one else in the house does, but I think it is a wonderful home-y kind of smell. And I feel this sense of accomplishment knowing that my entire counter is covered with soap that I made all by myself!

If you’ve always wanted to do it, you should try it. It’s not that difficult and it makes you feel like a cross between Laura Ingalls and Dr. Frankenstein. LOL

First you gather all your supplies…

this is just some of the supplies 

Step 1- While your oils are melting in the crock pot, carefully mix the lye into cold distilled water. Be very careful with this stuff! (I don’t have pictures of the lye because I was too busy being very careful… LOL)

Step 2- Slowly pour the lye mixture into your oils in the crock pot while mixing it with the stick blender. You also need to be very careful with this step so that you don’t splatter it everywhere. (again this is why there are no pictures…)

 after the lye has been added and the soap is getting thick

Step 3- Continue to mix the soap with the stick blender until you reach “trace”. This is when the blender leaves a trail in the soap.

Step 4- Cover and cook until it starts to look “foamy”. Uncover and stir it down.

almost done… 

Step 5- Take a tiny bit of soap out of the crock pot and let it cool on the counter. It should become hard as it cools. You know when it’s done when it no longer “zings” when you touch it to the side of your tongue. (it kinda feels like licking a 9-volt when it’s not done and it’s not as bad as you think…)

Step 6- Spoon into molds lined with plastic wrap, wax paper or parchment. Slam mold on the counter to settle the soap into the mold.

silverware trays work great as molds

Step 7- You can speed up the cooling process by placing the molds into the fridge or freezer.

  Step 8- Remove from molds, peel off paper or plastic and cut into bars using a crinkle cutter or sharp knife.

Step 9- Let sit in a cool dry place for at least one month to let it “cure” and get hard. The bars last much longer if they have some time to dry first.

Step 10- Enjoy your homemade soap and give some away, too…

back row from left to right: plain, lemon-poppyseed, oatmeal

middle row: sweet orange & strawberry seed, milk n’ honey, cold relief formula (eucalyptus, peppermint and orange)

front row: oatmeal orange-mint, double mint, shaped plain