How to Mix Green Soap

To make soap green, you can use a few different ingredients. Food coloring will work, but it has a tendency to fade over time. Green mica can also be used to make green soap, but you'll need a lot of it. You can also use chlorophyll, the substance that makes plants green. Using chlorophyll, extracted from a green vegetable such as spinach, will easily make your homemade soap a deep green without any of the scent of the color's origin.

Things You'll Need

• 18 oz. can of commercial lye
• Lard
• Spinach
• Wooden spoon
• Strainer
• Storage containers
• Rubber gloves (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil on the stove top. Add a large handful of fresh spinach leaves (2 to 3 oz.), pressing them down under the water. Continue to boil until the leaves are drab in color and very limp. Drain the water into a storage container and throw out the leaves---they will be too over-cooked for eating.

2. Dissolve one can of commercial lye crystals into 2 ½ pints of water.

3. Heat up 5 ½ lbs. of lard on your stove top until it is melted. Slowly pour in the lye mixture and stir with a large spoon. Add in 2 to 3 tbsp. of the spinach water to the mixture and stir in well. Stir until you see "tracings" or lines of soap following the spoon as you stir.

4. Pour the soap mixture into storage containers lined with plastic or wax paper and allow it to rest for 72 hours. After 72 hours, remove the blocks of soap from the containers, cut the soap into bars and put in a dark, dry place for three to four weeks to fully dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Use rubber gloves when working with lye, as it can crack or burn sensitive skin.

References

• Lye Soap
• Basic Soap