How to Make Natural Lye Soap at Home
The more we learn about chemicals, the more we want to get back to using natural products in our home. One way to do this is to make your own soap. Old-fashioned soaps were made with lard and lye. The important thing is to get just the right amount of lye. Too much lye and you might experience some skin irritations, too little lye and your soap will be extra greasy.
Things You'll Need
- 5 pounds lard
- 2 gallons cold water
- 12-ounce can lye
- Gloves
- Safety goggles
- Pot
- Essential oils
- Mixing bowls
- Wooden box
- Rags
- Wooden spoon
- Knife
Instructions
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1
Place lard in a pot and heat it up; the stove must be on high heat to accomplish this.
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2
Fill a large bowl with the cold water.
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3
Put safety goggles and gloves on and add a 12-ounce can of lye to the cold water. Be careful not to splash. Mix with a wooden spoon and wait for the lye to heat up the water.
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4
Slowly pour the water/lye mixture in to the heated lard and cook for 2 hours uncovered over medium heat.
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5
Take off of the heat and add essential oils, about 15 drops of each. The oils you use should be the fragrances you like. Mix and match with each batch until you find a combination that your family enjoys.
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6
Pour the now liquid soap into a wooden box that is lined with some old (but clean) rags.
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7
Give the soap time to cool, and harden.
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8
Cut in to bar sizes. Store excess bars of soap in plastic zipper-top bags or in plastic containers.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Double the recipe so that you only have to make the soap bars once in awhile.
Do not add the water to your lye. It must be done one way--add the lye to your water. If you do it any other way, the lye will splash up on you. Lye must be handled with care and kept away from children and pets.
Resources
- Photo Credit Christopher Rayan
