How to Safely Make Natural Soap

Due to the increasingly stringent guidelines regarding the use of lye, it is getting harder and harder to purchase it in order to make homemade soap. Some states now require permits to purchase lye. But you can still make safe homemade natural soap. It will still have some lye in it, but you won't have to worry about purchasing or handling the lye itself. This process is called melt and pour soap and you will enjoy this soap as much as the homemade lye soap.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Block of glycerin
• Double boiler
• Utility knife
• Essential oils
• Food coloring
• Various sizes and shapes of soap molds
• Wooden spoon

1. 
   Glycerin block

   Know that the glycerin block will have pre-cut lines on the block itself. Usually, two to three cut pieces will make one bar of soap, so, measure the amount needed for the amount of molds or soaps that you plan on making. Cut the pieces and place in the top pot of a double boiler.

2. 
   Homemade double boiler

   Bring the water in the bottom pot of the double boiler to boiling and melt the glycerin until it is a liquid. Remove the entire pot from the stove. If you do not have a double boiler, you can make one with a metal coffee pot and this also gives you a pour spout at the same time.

3. Add the food coloring by drops until you achieve the desired soap color.

4. Add the essential oils by drops until you achieve the desired fragrance. More drops will achieve a stronger smell.

5. While it is still hot, pour the glycerin into the soap molds and let it cool completely.

6. When cool, remove the soap from the molds.

7. Be sure that you wash all utensils and molds completely to remove any residue.

Tips & Warnings

• Add seashells, dried flowers or other objects to your soap. Mix essential oils to create your own fragrance. Coat the molds with vegetable oil before pouring the glycerin. This will help to remove the soap.

Resources

• The Soap Barn
• More about soap

[bathscentsation]

on 9/22/2009 Thanks for mention about the lye. Other articles are misleading that you can make lye free so, which is not so. The soap bases have lye in it. You can have soap without it.