In the beginning of making soap, I started with an Olive, coconut and palm kernel soap recipe, which worked very well. Over the years and depending on supply deliveries, supplies on hand, environmentalism, and ingredient costs, we came up with 6 very tried and true soap recipes.
The only oil to not use in over 50% of total oils, is canola oil. Although canola oil is the oil of every single restaurant on the planet, it isn’t the best for soap, but only because of the reaction to the lye and the oxidation of the oils. Meaning that a canola oil based soap will start getting brown discolored spots on the soap bars. Which is too bad really, because the cheaper cost of the canola helps keep the price of your final product lower. more about the type of oils and the pros and cons of each, can be found on this basic soap making recipe page.
The following recipe is one-fifth of what a batch was in my store. Yet it could be too large for starters, so if you like, you can divide this recipe any way you like. This makes about 25 4-ounce bars, so dividing it in half to make test batches would work well.
Olive, Coconut and Palm Kernel soap recipe:
- 51.2 oz Olive oil (can use up to half in Canola oil)
- 6.4 oz palm kernel oil
- 6.4 oz coconut oil
- 23.4 oz water
- 8.6 oz lye crystals
- for a total of 96.0 oz of soap base
Directions for making this olive, coconut and palm kernel soap recipe:
• using a scale, measure out all the 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
• measure out the lye crystals into another small plastic 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
• or safety, I would always mix this in a sink, to ensure no accidental spilling to anywhere other than the sink
• place candy thermometers to the lye-water container and pot of oils
• the lye-water gets hot, reaching 175 degrees, and we will wait till it lowers to 130 degrees before adding to oil pot
• he temperature needs 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
• now you can add your scent, color and other additives
• pour into your mold, cover with plastic, cover with a blanket or towel, and wait……..
Here’s an easy recipe to try, Tea Tree – with one scent and one color.
Here’s some info on palm and palm kernel oils, I personally liked the palm oils in the soap, make it a better bar.
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