Below are directions to make soap, the various types of base recipes can be found on the 6 basic soap recipes page. I’ve tried to put in as much detail as possible, videos are coming, I promise, in the meanwhile you can contact me on my Facebook page that I check a dozen times a day.

My favorite recipe with Olive, coconut and palm:
- 51.2 oz Olive oil or an Olive/Canola blend
6.2 oz coconut oil
6.2 oz Palm oil
23.4 oz water
8.6 oz lye crystals
You can select a different base recipe here on the 6 basic recipes at a glance page.
Directions to make soap:
- using a scale, measure out the olive, coconut and palm oils based on weight, one at a time, then add to the stainless steel soap pot
- place on the stove on low heat for the oils to heat up and the more solid oils to melt, you will want the oils to be 130 degrees
- measure out your water into a plastic water jug, like a juice jug
- measure out the lye crystals into another small plastic container, like a yogurt container
- make sure you have a well ventilated spot for mixing the lye into the water, as the fumes can be very strong for about a minute
- for safety, I would always mix this in a sink, to ensure no accidental spilling to anywhere other than the sink, and put the stove exhaust fan on too for about 5 minutes
- place candy thermometers to the lye-water container and pot of oils
- the lye-water will get hot, reaching 175 degrees, and we will wait till it lowers to 130 degrees before adding to oil pot
- the temperature of both need to be between 100 to 130 degrees to be mixed together
- add the lye-water slowly and carefully to the pot of oils, and start stirring
- some say to keep stirring constantly, but you can stop for a minute or 2 every few minutes
- using a hand blender will help speed up the process – but be careful you don’t lift blender up and splash soap base around
- your soap is ready for the scent, colorant and extras once it reaches the “trace” phase, this phase is when the oils and lye-water have saponified (basically have become soap). The soap base has changed color, is thicker, and doesn’t separate if you stop stirring for a couple of minutes, image below
- now you can add your scent, color and other additives
- pour into your mold that is lined with freezer paper or plastic, cover with a sheet of flat plastic, cover with a blanket or towel, and wait……..

Here is a somewhat scientific explanation of saponification.
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