How to Make Cold Soap

Once you master the skill of making cold-process soap, you can add new fragrances and colors to the soaps you create.

Cold-process soap is a handmade soap that takes several weeks to harden. The results are sweet-smelling, skin-softening soaps that you can use however you wish. The steps required to make cold-process soap are dangerous, so you should always work in a well-ventilated area. Do not allow small children to help with this particular activity. You can make up a batch of cold-process soap that will last your family for a long time; you can also sell your creations at craft fairs and online.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Heavy apron
• Safety mask
• Pitcher
• Water, 15.8 ounces
• Lye, 6.9 ounces
• Cooking pot
• Canola oil, 16 ounces
• Coconut oil, 16 ounces
• Palm oil, 16 ounces
• Essential oil fragrance
• Spoon or stick blender
• Soap molds

Instructions

1. Put on protective gear to shield yourself from the lye you will use when you make your soap. Wear a mask over your face, heavy-duty rubber gloves and a sturdy apron.

2. Fill a pitcher with 15.8 ounces of cold water. Slowly and carefully pour in 6.9 ounces of lye. The lye will heat up the water significantly; put the lid on the pitcher and set it aside until it cools to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. In a cooking pot on the stove, combine 16 ounces each of coconut oil, canola oil and palm oil. Add in several drops (five to ten) of essential oil fragrance, or more or less to your liking. Heat or cool this mixture until it reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or within five degrees of that measurement.

4. Slowly pour the lye and water mixture into the oils and stir. If you have a stick blender, pour the mixture into the blender and use it to blend everything together; without a stick blender you will have to stir by hand and the process will take much longer. Vigorously stir or blend until the mixture begins to resemble a thin pudding (this is known as trace). It may take an hour or more to get the trace to appear if you stir the mixture by hand.

5. Pour the soap mixture into soap molds until you have used all the mixture or filled all of your molds. If you have soap left over you can pour it into a heavy corrugated box or even a bread loaf pan. Allow the mixture to set for four to six weeks, then remove it from the molds -- it is ready to use. If you use a box or pan for a mold, cut the soap into slices before using.

References

• Make Lotion: Make Cold Process Soap From Scratch
• Teach Soap: Easy Cold Process Soap Recipes for Beginners