How to Make Homemade Cold-Processed Lye Soap

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By PawPawFrankie
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Making homemade soap is fun and easy. This is cold-processed which means no heat is actually used on the soap mixture itself and you aren’t actually making your own lye. This soap is great for hunters to wash clothes in, as well as people with skin allergies because it contains no perfumes or additives.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Non-tap water
Clean tallow (beef fat)
Red Devil Lye
Measuring spoons and cups
Small mixing bowl
Large mixing bowl
Petroleum Jelly or Plastic Food Wrap
Long Handled Wooden Spoon
Rubber Spatula
Soap Molds
Rubber Gloves

Step 1

Prepare your molds by lightly greasing the inside with petroleum jelly or lining them with plastic wrap.
Step 2

In the smaller bowl mix ½ cup of soft water with 2 tablespoons of lye, stir with wooden spoon until lye is completely dissolved. In the larger bowl add 1 cup melted and strained beef fat.(see tip below) Allow both to cool until the outside of the bowl feels lukewarm to the touch. When both have cooled sufficiently, slowly pour the lye mixture into the tallow, stirring constantly.
Step 3

Continue to stir the lye and tallow mixture until it reaches the consistency of honey. The mixture will turn cloudy at first then get grainy looking but will eventually smooth out. The stirring process may take from 5 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature of the mixture, each batch will react differently.
Step 4

After 15 minutes if a honey like consistency hasn’t been reached, place the bowl in a sink of shallow water to help cool the mixture. Continue stirring paying attention to keep the sides scraped down to prevent the mixture from crusting on the edges.
Step 5

Use the ribbon method to check for readiness to pour. Hold your spoon 2 inches above the mixture, when the drips don’t immediately blend back into the mixture your soap is ready to pour.
Step 6

When your soap mixture is ready slowly pour it into your molds, using the rubber spatula to scrape the inside of the bowl out and smooth the top of your soap mixture.
Step 7

After 24 hours your soap can be removed from the mold. Because there was no heat to break down the Ph of the lye your soap must be cured for at least 3 weeks before it can be safely handled with bare hands. The best way to do this is to simply stack it and let it sit in the open air. After 3 weeks have passed it can then be wrapped and stored just like soap you buy from the store.