How to Make Grandma's Lye Soap

Make your own bars of soap

In the old days, soap was the ultimate recycled product. Grandma extracted lye from wood ashes, mixed it with animal fat, and created a product that she used for cleaning pots, washing laundry and giving baths. You can recreate Grandma's classic soap recipe with the help of a few modern ingredients.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Safety glasses
• Large plastic pitcher
• Large stainless steel pot
• Large wooden or stainless steel mixing spoon
• Lye (sodium hydroxide)
• Cold water
• Lard
• Large, plastic-lined rectangular pan
• Towel

Instructions

1. Measure 5 cups cold water into a large plastic pitcher. Wearing gloves and safety glasses carefully pour 12 oz. lye into water and stir until fully dissolved. Mixture will get hot. Allow to cool to about 75 degrees.

2. Heat 5 pounds 10 oz. of lard in a large stainless steel pot over low heat until lard is completely melted. Allow the melted lard to cool gradually, stirring occasionally, until it is approximately 80 to 85 degrees.

3. Very slowly, pour the lye solution into the melted lard while stirring constantly.

4. Continue stirring until the soap starts to thicken to the consistency of cooked pudding. This may take about 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Pour soap into a large plastic-lined rectangular pan. Cover pan with a towel and let it rest undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.

6. Lift block of soap from pan and cut into individual bars. Allow soap to cure for 30 days before using.

Tips & Warnings

• An unused cat litter pan works well for one batch of this size. Add essential oil fragrances, herbs or oatmeal for different effects. Stir in these extras during Step 4, after the soap mixture thickens to a honey-like consistency.

• Lye is an extremely caustic chemical and can harm eyes and skin. Always wear safety glasses and gloves when handling lye. Always pour lye granules into water, never the other way around. Lye reacts with aluminum, so never use aluminum pots or utensils when making lye soap. Use heat resistant plastic, glass or stainless steel materials.

References

• Miller's Homemade Soap Pages
• Soap Making Resource