How to Make a Lye Soap Mixture

Use a lye soap mixture to make homemade soap.

Homemade soap is often made by combining lye, water and an animal or vegetable fat. The specific amount of each of these basic ingredients may vary dramatically from one lye soap recipe to another and some recipes require boiling the mixture while others---known as cold process soaps---do not require any heating. Once you learn the basics of creating a lye soap mixture, you can add fragrances, herbs, colorings and ingredients such as oatmeal, goat's milk or oil to create your own customized lye soap.

Things You'll Need

• Safety glasses
• Rubber gloves
• Cold water
• Mason jar
• Lye
• Lard
• Stainless steel cooking pot
• Wooden spoon
• Essential oils
• Dyes

Instructions

1. Pour 1 3/4 cups of cold water into a 1 qt. mason jar or a plastic jug.

2. Pour 4 oz. of lye into the cold water slowly. The lye will react with the water and the outside of the mason jar will begin to feel warm to the touch.

3. Melt 2 lb. of lard in a 6 qt. stainless steel cooking pot over medium heat until it is liquefied. Stir the lard occasionally with a wooden spoon as it melts.

4. Add the warm lye and water mixture to the melted fat in the cooking pot. Be careful not to spill any of the lye mixture on your skin as it could cause chemical burns.

5. Reduce the heat to low and stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until it begins to thicken and develops a uniform color. The lye soap mixture is ready to pour into molds when it has the consistency of pudding.

6. Remove the lye soap mixture from the heat and add in any desired essential oils, dyes or other additives such as oatmeal or herbs at this time.

Tips & Warnings

• Pour the soap into prepared molds or a cardboard box lined with a clean rag. Cut the soap into bars with a sharp knife when it is cool and hard.

• Wear safety glasses and rubber gloves when handling lye as it is a caustic chemical and could cause eye irritation or burns.

• Lye reacts when it comes into contact with aluminum so never use aluminum pans or utensils to make lye soap. Glass, plastic, wood and stainless steel utensils are all safe alternatives to use with lye.

• Never pour water into a container of lye as it could cause the mixture to bubble over the sides of the container. Instead, add the lye slowly to the water to prevent this reaction.

References

• Chemeketa Community College: Soap Making
• St Joseph County 4-H Youth Program: Soap Making