How to Make Clear Soap
Soap making is a complex and challenging but, ultimately, rewarding. Many soap making ingredients are available at your local grocery store or wholesale from online retailers like Brambleberry. The following recipe uses coconut and olive oil and produces a high-foaming soap that works well for most skin types.
Things You'll Need
- 35 oz. Coconut oil
- 13 oz. Extra virgin olive oil
- 13 oz. Lye (potassium hydroxide)
- 1 gallon Distilled water
- 3 oz. Boric acid
- Wooden spoon
- 1 2-qt. Ceramic or Pyrex container
- Glass measuring cups
- Scale that measures in 1 oz. increments
- 1 candy thermometer
- 1 5-gallon canning pot, with lid
- 112 oz. enamel or stainless steel pot (to fit inside the 5-gallon pot)
- 1 2-gallon enamel or stainless steel pot
- Stick blender
- Goggles
- Gloves
- Face mask
- Mason jars
Instructions
-
-
1
Heat the coconut and olive oils in the 12 oz. pot until the oils fully melt and the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Reduce the heat and leave the oil on the burner to keep it at 160 degrees.
-
2
Measure 39 oz. of distilled water into a 2-quart ceramic container. Slowly add the lye flakes to the water, and let them dissolve. The lye solution will heat up to 150 degrees, so make sure the bowl is sitting on a heat resistant surface. Lye is caustic and may spatter and release steam. Wear goggles, gloves and a face mask.
-
-
3
Let lye mixture cool to 140 degrees and pour it into the melted coconut oil. The coconut oil should still be 160 degrees. If it is not, turn up the heat until it reaches the appropriate temperature. Pour the lye mixture in a slow, steady, stream while stirring with a wooden spoon. You now have the beginnings of your soap.
-
4
Blend the soap, with a hand blender, until it reaches a taffy-like consistency. Adjust the heat to keep the temperature between 160 and 170 degrees while you are mixing. Mix thoroughly to keep the soap from separating during the cooking process.
-
5
Fill the 5-gallon canning pot with 3 to 4 inches of tap water and bring it to a boil. Place the soap pot inside the canning pot and put the lid, for the larger pot, over both pots.
-
6
Let the mixture cook for five to 10 minutes then remove the soap pot from the double boiler and check for separation. If there is separation, stir the soap and put the pot back in the boiler.
-
7
Let the soap cook for three hours, and stir the mixture every 20 to 30 minutes.
-
8
Test the soap at the end of the cook time. Remove the soap pot from the double boiler and dissolve 1 oz. of the soap into 2 oz. of distilled boiling water. Let the sample cool and check it for clarity. The sample should be clear or slightly cloudy. If the sample is milky and opaque, return the soap pot to the boiler for another 30 minutes. When the soap tests clear, prepare the diluting pot.
-
9
Boil 3 quarts of distilled water in the 1-gallon pot. Stir the soap paste to the boiling water a bit at a time until all the paste dissolves.
-
10
Boil 6 oz. of distilled water in a small pot. Dilute 3 oz. of boric acid into the boiling water. Mix 4.5 oz. of the boric acid solution into the diluted soap.
-
11
Allow the soap to cool and pour the cooled soap into Mason jars. Seal the jars and let the soap sit for two weeks. After two weeks your soap should be completely clear and ready for use.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
This recipe uses approximately 95 oz. of distilled water so you may have some distilled water left over.
Always used distilled water for soapmaking. Tap water may contain minerals or chemicals that make the soap cloudy. Make sure the pots and utensils you use for soap making are only for soap making. Do not use them for regular cooking.
