Make lye-free soap on the homestead! You'll love making homemade soap with natural ingredients using these easy-to-follow steps.
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Make Lye Free Soap On The Homestead | Homesteading
How to Make Lye-Free Soap with This Tutorial
Though I have no stance on the effect of lye one way or another, most would prefer the no lye soap recipe. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, there really is no such thing as a completely lye-free soap!
The Ingredients
The soaps we use as our base, even in one of these soap making recipes free, would originally have been made using lye or lye water. However, since many people don't want to work with the potentially dangerous chemical process involved in lye, I decided to make this lye free soap base recipe a priority for the readers who have requested it.
Your only option here is to do what most people call a rebatch, which is repurposing previously made soap into a different form. Use this soap for your own homestead, or give it away as a gift.
Either way, some people will still get to enjoy these homemade goodies.
Your Tools
Do note that the natural soap bars were originally made with lye. But you no longer have to take precautions when using natural soap bars because the process has been completed beforehand.
- 2 Regular-size natural soap bars
- Molds
- Herbs and/or plants
- Essential oils
- Liquid
- A crockpot
- Spoon
DIY Soap | The Process
Step 1: Grate 8 Ounces of Bar Soap
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Make sure you use a bar soap that is free of chemicals and fragrances. You may, however, use soaps that come with aromatic natural ingredients like shea butter or goat milk.
Once it is done, it would be easier for you to melt it into liquid soap in the next step.
Step 2: Melt the Shaved Soap into Liquid Soap
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Heat the crockpot on low and add soap. Pour 1-2 ounces of liquid (water, coffee, green tea, kombucha, infused herbs, coconut milk, or floral hydrosol) over the grated soap.
Stir frequently and make sure the soap has melted completely.
Step 3: Cool the Liquid Soap Down
When soap is completely melted, remove from heat. Do not keep the already liquid soap in heat or you will risk burning it.
Do not use ice cubes or add extra liquid to cool it down further or it will form unnecessary clumps.
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Step 4: Stir in Your Favorite Essential Oils and Aromatics
Add your favorite essential oils. Stir well to blend the essential oils into the liquid soap.
You may also add complementary ingredients you wish to use such as oatmeal or rose petals.
Step 5: Pour Liquid Soap into a Mold
Before you pour the soap in, line your mold with parchment paper for easy removal. Pour the mixture into the mold.
Allow the liquid soap to cool and set for 24 hours.
Step 6: Remove and Cut into Desired Shapes
Your DIY soap is almost done! Simply remove the hardened soap from the mold and cut into desired sizes and shapes.
You can use a soap cutter or a food scraper to do this.
Step 7: Set DIY Soap for a Few Days
Allow the handmade soap to air dry for a few days more or until the surface is completely dry. This is to ensure the soap fully hardens.
Then, you can store as you would any soap or dress it up and give it as a gift!
Watch this video by Ways & How on how it is easy to make a lye-free soap at home:
Making your own soap on the homestead will still involve lye somehow, but it does away in handling the ingredient. On the other hand, the lye-free soap making process allows you to customize your soap.
You can use two or more of your favorite natural ingredients that are not just Earth-friendly, but also safe for your skin, too.
Homesteaders, what ingredients do you want to include in your lye-free soap? Tell us all about it in the comments section below!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2014, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
You cant have soap without lye. Lye was used to make the soap you are grating.
Yup! She said that lol this is just so the maker doesn’t have to handle the lye personally
everytime I do this it doesn’t seem to work. I thought the soap would break down more. What should make this easier? Never seems smooth
Try using glycerine soap for a smoother soap.
I suppose you could technically call this lye free soap, since all soap, once it is cured properly, contains no more lye. But the soap you are instructing the reader to melt down was originally made with lye. There is no such thing as a soap that is made originally without lye, unless you are talking the store bought brand made of detergents and surfactants. This article is misleading.
Melt and pour soap is a very good way to dive in to soap making if the reader does not want to handle the lye. However, the melt and pour soap or glycerine blocks were all originally formulated with lye.
She didn’t say you could make lye free soap,read her article again, it’s not misleading at all
My dear, there is no such thing as lye free soap. Even the glycerin soap base you buy. All soap, ALL soap require lye to turn the oils into soap. When you buy glycerin soap and re melt it you are using a lye soap, only you are not doing the work yourself.
Please read her article carefully…she has not claimed to have made a lye free soap from scratch. All soap begins with lye. However, after saponification there is no longer raw sodium hydroxide…lye … in the soap. Therefore she shows you how to make soap without you risking using lye. She uses siap as a base gor you to be creative.I think its a lovely idea! So lets be grateful, shall we?
I’m a soapmaker of 15 years. There is NO such thing.. EVER.. as lye free soap. No lye, no soap. If something is not true soap, (sometimes called “beauty bars” like Dove) it is made with synthetic, industrial de-greasers called detergents. The soap you grated and melted down to make these soaps is made with lye. Even “natural” soaps are made with lye. And it is ridiculous that people freak out about “lye” soap. Properly made soap, because of the chemical (YES.. chemical!) reaction between the lye, fats and oils leaves NO LYE BEHIND. You know what’s left? SOAP! So you can choose to strip your body’s natural oils with industrial degreasers, or you can accept the fact that lye is ALWAYS used in true soap, yet none remains in the finished product. I wish people would do their research before telling people how to make things.
Hi Stephy
I am currently on the path of making my own soap would be able to inform me on how not to have mold grow into the mold. I use herbs in my handmade soaps. Please help
Is you ever took chemistry in high school, the soap making process is called “saponification” and it is a chemical reaction that uses lye, so yes, all soap uses lye. However, it is rendered harmless once the saponification process is completed.
This sounds like a version of melt and pour or hand milled soap. The deal is that to be soap, it has to have lye. It is simple chemistry. Once lye reacts with fats and a liquid (water, wine, milk, beer, etc), there is no lye left because it has been tranformed.
A more accurate way to speak about lye and making soap is that you can either make soap from scratch or you can buy a base ( or shred soneone else’s soap) if you are uncomfortable using lye yourself. Regardless, someone used lye or else it wouldn’t be soap.
There is no soap without lye, calling it “lye free” soap is misleading. Lye was used in the making of that “natural bar soap” you recommend.
You do realize this is ridiculous, don’t you? YOU CANNOT MAKE SOAP WITHOUT LYE. Soapmaking requires a chemical reaction. The reaction that actually produces the lathering substance we call soap DOES NOT HAPPEN without lye. The ‘natural’ soap you are shredding has already been reacted with lye. When made properly, the resulting soap should use up all the lye by reacting with the oils. Soapmakers usually have a little extra oils in their recipes to make sure no lye remains when it’s done. Since no actual lye is left unreacted, regular soap already IS technically lye-free. A better title for this article would be “How to Melt and Remold Soap That Was Premade With Lye So You Can Pretend You’re Being A Naturopath.” EDUCATE YOURSELVES, PEOPLE.
I hope you don’t mind a few tips here… .. First, the instructions said to choose your favorite NATURAL soap. Thats because what we see in stores isn’t always soap… it is synthetic detergent bars or syndet. This soap recipe is lye free in that all the lye has been saponified (the process of making soap) . so what you are doing is cooking down soap made with lye, which is what really makes it soap.. And adding additives to it. Here are my suggestions as a soap maker… . collidial oats, natural clays, lavender essential oil, there are tons more I use to make soaps but you really have to do your homework.. Citrus oils can cause photosensitivity, cinnamon oil can be an irritant, as well as many other kitchen items or essential oils.
There is no such thing as lye free soap. That bar of soap that you are grating and rebatching was made with sodium hydroxide (lye).
Soap = oils + lye. So at some point in the process, lye was added, you just weren’t the one who used it. Otherwise it’s not soap. There is no such thing as lye free soap.
Even the low class melt and pour soap that you used contains lye. Here’s a fact, soap can NOT be made without it. It’s impossible. However due to saponification by the time you use your soap, there is no detectable lye.
I’m sorry, but there is no such thing as “lye free” soap. All you are doing here is reconstituting existing soap and adding to it. This is also known as “melt and pour.” There is nothing inherently wrong with melt and pour, but it is very misleading to tell people that any kind of soap exists without using lye in its creation. (AKA sodium hydroxide)
I’ve always wanted to make soap, and now I can! Who would have thought that all it would take would be to grate up some soap and transform it back into soap! WOW!
Hi Joanna. As a soap-maker I’d just like to clarify that all true soap is made with lye (or it wouldn’t be soap). Lye is only used to react with the oils to release glycerine and produce soap, and during this process, all lye is used up. There is no lye left in the soap. People sometimes think that because lye burns the skin, that it’s somehow dangerous to use it to produce soap. But this is a complete misconception. After all, the soap you are using to rebatch was originally made with lye, and grating it up and re-moulding it does not change that fact. It’s a nice thing to do, particularly when adding other ingredients, but of course, to be accurate, this isn’t ‘making’ soap because the soap is already made. I think this is a nice way of showing people how to make their own product without the dangers inherent in handling lye. I just wanted to state the case that there’s nothing wrong with lye, handled properly, that correctly made soap no longer contains lye, and that it really isn’t possible to make soap without it. Even the nicest, mildest Castille soap made with olive oil, was produced using lye. And I’m not lye-ing (this is the ONLY soap joke). Best wishes. Greg
As a reply to Kristina – patience is the key. Your soap will get to the point where it is melted enough for you to add your goodies and mold. But it takes time. Glycerin soap is a whole different animal. If you decide that’s what you want to use, make sure you know where your product came from and what the ingredient list is, because a lot of the commercial versions are very much loaded with chemicals.
As a professional soap maker I do have a comment to this article, Joanna. The title is a tad bit misleading as there is no such thing as lye free soap. Especially not natural soap. True, using your recipe, you do not have to work with the lye, and rebatched soap as demonstrated here has many wonderful qualities, but the original soap that got grated down was still made with lye.
This is a great way to rebatch a soap that was originally made with lye. All real soap is made with lye, or it isn’t truly “soap” This gets so confusing for people. Yes, you can rebatch a soap and incorporate ingredients that you want in the soap without using the lye yourself, but make no mistake you can not make soap without lye. You can enhance a soap product, but you have not made a lye less soap. All that is required to make soap, is a lye solution, and soft, and hard oils…..Those ingredients will saponify, and create soap. When you take those ingredients that have already gone through the saponifying process and grind them up, and melt them to add additional ingredients you have made soap for certain, but you have not made soap without lye. You didn’t use any lye to create your masterpiece, but someone along the process did indeed use lye.
This article is a good example of rebatching soap. Just want people to know that lye would have been used to create the natural soap in the first place, you know the block of soap you grated to create your ‘lye free’ soap.
Technically, the soap purchased from the store was either made with lye or it’s not actually increase soap but detergent. Soap can’t be made without lye. Period. This is just melting down another soap to make a new soap. But it’s a fun process just the same.
Hi,
I searching for lye free soap recipe
I look at yours recipe. It look like you do not use lye, but since you use regular soap, soap is not lye free. Do you have any idea how to make soap lye fee?
pretty soap but a better and more correct name for this process should be “how to remill soap”. you are actually not making soap but using soap to re-mill it and add ingredients. the natural soap is lye based by definition…so it is fun to do but not a soap making process.
there is no such thing as lye free soap. Your natural soap base has lye already in it. This tutorial is very very misleading.
This is really not a great title it’s very misleading! This is not a lye free more like either melt and pour or if your going to grate an already made bar of soap then it’s called the lye was added earlier but already went through saponification! No lye no soap! All soap is made from lye you CANNOT have a soap that lye wasn’t added at some point! So what the title should be is “how to rebatch soap” or ” how to make melt and pour soap”.
All soap has lye. Just because you personally are not handling lye doesn’t make this lye free soap.
This is a nice tutorial however the soap is not lye free. All you are doing is using soap that is already made WITH LYE and adding herbs and scent. There is no such thing as soap made without lye. saponification happens when lye (pot ash, lye) is combined with oil/fat (of your choosing) and a little water (maybe).
The technique you are describing is known as Rebatching. While it is a fun and useful Soap Craft, its not Soap Making. Soap is a salt produced as the chemical byproduct to a base (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) reacting to an acid (fats or oils). There is no way to “make” soap without this reaction occurring. All soap is made with lye, if its not then it is a synthetic detergent that is made from petrochemicals. Also its a fallacy that soap made from lye is harsh on the skin. No lye is left after the saponification process. All soap was made with lye and you are just reforming it to another shape with Rebatching. Rebatching is fine for using up scraps of old soap but it produces a vastly inferior product to cold or hot processed soap. The raw soap will be thick and lumpy, it will have a crumbly texture once dry or be very soft, and it will turn to mush once exposed to moisture. The photos you are showing are not accurate to the product people will be making. The Soap Deli photo is actually for bath melts (see:http://soapdelinews.com/2013/12/diy-soy-and-beeswax-candles.html) and the Brown Thumb Mama photos are showing a different soap technique called Melt and Pour. This is what most rebatch looks like (see:http://www.bloombakecreate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/rebatchsoap7.jpg) Most soaps are not designed to be reconstituted, especially commercially prepared ones. Also because the US does not require cosmetics to list all of their ingredients, you can not be sure that the soap you are rebatching is truly natural unless you made it. The first photo from Brown Thumb Mama shows not a finished soap bar but a brick of a product called Melt and Pour. These are commercially made soap bases designed to be melted and reconstituted. These produce a better product and you can pick them up at most craft stores or on Bramble Berry. However, its still not lye free, as it was made with lye, and its still not making soap, but its a good starter project for new soapers. Also, if your goal is to have a natural product, the Melt & Pour technique is not for you either. In order to make the base melt and harden a ton of chemicals are added. In the time it takes to rebatch you can made a fresh batch of real natural homemade soap using the same equipment. If you use the hot method you wouldn’t even have to cure it. So perhaps you should categorize this as a soap craft or at least update your photos, maybe showing your own attempt at rebatching.
This is a little misleading. Just wanted to let your readers know that there is no such thing as a lye free soap. Soap is the byproduct of the chemical reaction between oils and lye (aka saponification). So simply….no lye= no soap.
What this tutorial is describing is the process of repurposing soap (which before it cured, also had lye in it).
Even the melt and pour (aka glycerin soap) had lye in it at one point.
Don’t fear the lye 🙂 it cures out of all soaps after the first week.
Happy crafting!
Ummmmm if you are just grating regular soap- that has lye in it. Sodium hydroxide IS lye. Regular bars of soap have sodium hydroxide listed as an ingredient, therefor it is not lye free.
this is not “making” soap. this is rebatching soap. it uses a soap that was made from mixing lye and oil together. you cannot make soap without lye. its like making green without using blue or yellow. this is a good thing for people who are uncertain about using lye, to get a fell for it. when respected and using good safety measures, making soap with lye and oils is fun. knives and stoves are dangerous too, but people don’t question using them.
Ummm… there IS lye in your “natural soap” that you’ve grated. If there is no sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide used somewhere, it’s impossible to have soap. Your article is difficult to read and appreciate, as a natural soap maker for over 2 decades, 🙁
Ummm…you are actually demonstrating rebatching soap, which was originally made with lye, and not making a lye free soap. You can’t make soap without lye. You are just melting someone else’s soap, there isn’t any lye left in a well-made soap.
ALL……ALL soap is made with lye……no lye remains in any soap after saponification…….lye, water and fats or oils make soap, after the chemical reaction, all that is left is soap. Saying that you can make soap without lye is like saying a butterfly starts off as a butterfly….NOT
Sorry, but if you start with soap, you still have lye soap. I guess technically its lye free since there is no lye left in a properly made soap unless lye is left in intentionally. Check with the FDA – if it isn’t made with lye, it isn’t soap. Soap is the result of the chemical change that takes place when lye is mixed with fat.
I just saw this post on a Facebook soap maker’s page that I belong to. You do realize that there is no such thing as a lye-free soap. The only way to make soap is by using lye. What you’ve done here is rebatched bars of soap that indeed were made with lye before you grated them up and put them in the crock pot to melt. Perhaps you should clarify this in your post, because other soap makers are trying to make a chump out of you. .
Do know that the soap you strated out with was makw using lye. Sorry but the chemical reaction bewteen oils and lye when done right produces a lye free soap. You are rebacthing a bar of soap
Basically you are rebatching soap that was made with lye. There is no way to make soap without using lye.
You know that your title is misleading don’t you? There is NO such thing as lye free soap….all soap bases have lye. No lye=no soap
You need to change the name so that people will not get the wrong idea.
this is really the dumbest thing I have ever read.. every soap has lye in it! The soap you graded was made with lye do your soap won”t be lye free. A lye free soap is impossible.
The soap shreds were made with lye. You can’t make soap without lye. The lye chemicals are removed with the saponification process anyhow.
This isn’t lye free the lye is already in the soaps this is just rebatch of lye soaps
You do realise that since you are using a premise soap base that you are using a soap that was made with lye?
No lye = no chemical reaction (saponification) = no soap
All soap is made with lye and you would be lying to claim otherwise. You have created a rebatched soap, not a soap from scratch. Please get your facts correct before publishing claims of making soap without lye.
The “natural soap” used as a base, most likely was made with lye. Your statement about lye- free soap is misleading. When properly processed, no soap will contain lye in the finished product.
Dear Joanna,
I don’t know if you’re new to soaping, but the bought soap you use as your base, regardless of how pure/unfragranced etc it is, would originally have been made using Lye.
Your end result is a very nice soap and lovely for giving as gifts or using yourself. However, there is no other way to make real soap without Lye. It is the saponification process between the Lye and the oils used that produce Soap.
Happy soaping.
Helen.
PS, please google soap as there is a huge amount of information on the web explaining this and all about the science behind making soap.
Good luck
soap cannot be made without using lye… the store soap you cut up contains lye , so actually its not a lye free soap..its impossible to make soap without it.
that isn’t lye free…the soap was made with lye originally
This is a very deceiving article…NO SOAP IS MADE WITHOUT LYE.
You may not have handled the lye personally but the soap you are grating to make this recipe is made with lye. Its impossible to make soap otherwise.
This is just too funny, How do you think the Natural soap was made.
How is this lye free soap?
The soap you have grated down was created using lye as all soap is.
There is not one soap that is lye free unless it made purely of chemicals like sls !!! All soap is made with lye. A homesteading mom would know this. Lol
Joanna,
I hate to be problematic, but you are not being truthful with your headline. This is absolutely not lye-free soap. The “natural soap” you are using for your re-batch was most certainly made with lye. That being said, I understand what you are going for. It can be helpful for someone who has never made soap before or is hesitant to use lye in creating soap to start with rebatching/M&P products, but unless you are rebatching Dove bars, Lye will have been used to create the soap. Cheers!
This is not “lye-free”soap. This is soap that is store bought that is melted down and rebatched. ALL soap is made with lye. NO LYE…NO SOAP…THAT’S A FACT. and if you are buying soap to rebatch, then you are buying soap that is full of chemicals and if you make your own soap, then you are using lye to make your soap. SMH
Full Definition of SOAP
1
a : a cleansing and emulsifying agent made usually by action of alkali on fat or fatty acids and consisting essentially of sodium or potassium salts of such acids
b : a salt of a fatty acid and a metal
What you are doing is called a rebatch. Soap is made from and alkali and a fat. No lie! Someone used lye to make the original soap you are grating.
You do realize that the natural soap you are using was made with lye. No soap can be made without it. After the process is complete though there is no lye remaining. Just thought you would want to clarify for your readers.
These “homemade” goodies are technically NOT home made its recycling someone else’s homemade soap… Just a point I wanted to clarify so not confuse readers… If you want “homemade” you need lye if you want to handcraft a soap try melt and pour or glycerin …
Joanna, it’s great to use handmade soap base to make your own soap. Nevertheless, you must realize this soap base you are using is made with lye, so this is not lye-free soap. It simply allows you not to use the lye and yet, the result is similar to a handmade soap where lye has been used. The lye in soap making, when mixed with fatty acids, ie fats and oils, creates soap and glycerin, but is reacted and thus not harmful for the skin.
Furthermore, it would be helpful for you and your readers to realize our world is made up of chemicals, from our water to our air to everything in us and around us. Chemicals are not our enemy. We may wish to avoid synthetic substances, but using the term, “chemicals” is misleading and inaccurate.
Good luck with your homesteading and your blog!
The natural soap in this recipe was made with lye. You cannot make soap without lye unless you grate up already made soap that was made with lye.
Please stop promoting this as being “lye free soap”. There is no such thing. The two bars of “natural soap” that you grated for this recipe were made with lye. This would be better described as “Make your own custom scented soaps without handling lye”
The reason it will not work is because what she has written about is NOT making soap. It is rebatching an already existing soap. You can go to Micheal’s, JoAnne’s or many other craft stores and purchase a melt & pour soap and do the same thing here. I’m nor sure why this particular person has deleted every comment from real soapers who have tried to explain this. Apparently she doesn’t want to learn or acknowledge that her article is not how to make soap. Check out this link:http://saponifier.com/how-to-make-soap-without-lye/
If you do your research you will find that your “natural soap” base would never become soap with out the saponification process which ifs the reaction of oils when introduced to lye.
I am sorry, but this is misleading. There is no such thing as a solid soap that is lye free. Every single solid soap out there has been made with lye. Even the bars at the stores and the melt and pour glycerin soaps at the craft stores. This process is good for those who are afraid or would prefer not to work with raw lye. But to say anything about the effects of a lye soap on the skin compared to a different type is misleading since it was ALL made with lye.
While this is a good article, it is not lye free. Lye was used in the original soap recipe and like all soap, it is no longer present in the final bars. The same results can be mage with a melt and pour glycerin soap base, which also starts out with lye and oils.
You do realize the soap you’re using, to make the soap you end up with, is made with lye, right?
There is no such thing as “lye free soap”.
The process that turns the fats and lye into soap is called ‘saponification’, and when that chemical process has run it’s course, lye no longer remains in the bar of soap.
The fact that you simply take 2 bars of soap to make another homemade bar of soap doesn’t mean there was no lye ever in the process.
No lie. 🙂
Hi,
I am a soap maker. This tutorial is very nice but I just want to be clear all soap is made with lye. The chemical process uses lye (strong alkaline), fats and oils(fatty acids), and water to produce the soap which has glycerin, potassium salts and fatty acids.The oils become saponified. There is no lye left over in the soap if it is made correctly. So this tutorial it more like “re-batching” soap that someone else made using lye with different scents and added oil to condition the skin. When your buying your soap to rebatch really look at the label to make sure it is saponified oils made in the process and not deturgents like sodium laurel sulfate. Which are not good for the skin. Best of luck.
Make soap with soap? this is cheating!
Well…the soap still has lye in it…you’re just not making it from scratch with the lye (which a lot of folks don’t like to mess with).
There is no such thing as lye free soap. You call for using two bars of soap in your recipe, Lye was used in the making of those bars. Just because you did not add the lye on your end does not mean it isn’t there. You are completely misleading people and adding to the misconception that Lye in soap is somehow bad and avoidable.
“2 Regular size natural soap”
So, recrafting something that was made with lye magically makes the new product be not made with lye? That defies all the science I’ve ever learned! I guess people with coconut allergies will be thrilled to learn that they can use soap made with coconut oil, and according to your title, it will now be coconut-free if they recraft it. All real soap has been made with lye. You can change it’s color, scent, additives, or anything else you like. If it has real soap in it, it was made with lye at one point. Even glycerine is a bi-product of saponification, the chemical reaction between fats and lye.
This isn’t lye free soap. This is rebatched soap. I have been a professional soap maker for 15 years. Your title and article are misleading, particularly for people who want to get into soap making. Not to mention, if they use someone else’s soap and rebatch as you have to sell to someone else; it’s not only unethical, it can be dangerous. You don’t know if a soap like that is lye heavy (Because you can NOT make soap without lye. Period, but I’ll get to that in a second.) or superfatted.
You can not make soap without lye. Lye is the alkaline catalyst that turns the fats into soap. It’s part of a chemical equation that is simply required, HOWEVER when the soap is cured, there is no lye in it, because of the chemical chain reaction that has happened. When the lye meets the oils, it does something called saponification. It then becomes a salt. The end result is a hard bar (generally speaking, this depends on oils and fats used) of a created salt that cleans.
Please do your readers a favor by renaming and explaining what you mean in this article. You did a lovely job of rebatching a soap, but not making a “no lye” soap, as that is just not possible.
NO , THERE ACTUALLY IS A LYE FREE SOAP , CHOLINE SALTS (LIKE BILE) , NON TOXIC NATURAL SAPONINS LIKE THE ONES IN LIQUORICE , FENUGREEK SEEDS , NIGHTSHADE FAMILY , WILD YAM , SOY BEANS (NON GMO) , MULBERRY LEAVES , A LITTLE IN CAMOMILE LEAVES , LECITHIN AND CHOLINE OF THE EGG YOLKS
hi , can you guide me how to calculated the ingredient we wanted to use in the soap making ? what kind of test we should carry out once we had produce the soap ? can you guide me , it seems you have more than 15 yrs experiences
Hi, is there a recipe for soap that has no chemicals? i am looking for the most healthiest soap recipe possible! so far i keep coming across goats milk soap.
Thank you.
I appreciate your effort with this post but I must say there is some misinformation here.
There’s a saying in the soaping community, ‘It’s a lie if there isn’t any lye’. ALL soap contains lye at some point in the process. The natural soaps you’re using as your base were made with lye.
The chemical reaction between the lye and oils is called saponification. That reaction takes 1-2 days. After that, you don’t have lye and oil, you have soap. The curing time for soap (whether cold or hot process) is typically 4-6 weeks not because of the lye, but because of the water used. You don’t want a watery soap as it’ll be too drying.
Anyway — what you’re doing in this tutorial is basically, melt and pour soapmaking. And that’s a fine place to start. I just want to reiterate again that all bases contained lye during the initial batch making process. It’s a misnomer to call this soap lye free and it perpetuates the myth that lye is bad. Lye does require some precautions but that doesn’t mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater, KWIM? 😉
Excellent point Reba! You should do some soap making tutorials for the site!
Another proven recipe found here, I loved how easy it was to make , nice simple instructions too!! I also found another great site that gives you simple easy to follow soap, cream and aroma recipes for your bathroom and spa here –
http://handcrafters-companion-review-guide.blogspot.co.nz/
Look, I just read a bunch of these comments, and most of them are saying that there is no such thing as lye free soap, which is true. But the author of this article already admitted that the base soap that you are using already has lye, so there’s no reason to state the obvious.
I personally think that this article is exceptionally good.
Well maybe she edited the article after a ton of people told her that her article was completely misleading.
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Apparently people commenting about the fact that there is no lye free soap, did NOT read the article. The author clearly states that! She also states that this article is about not having to deal with lye yourself while making/doing a rebatch of soap. She clearly states that the process in her article is a “rebatch”. Why are there so many people commenting and getting their panties all up in a bunch regarding the title? It leads the person to the article and once they read it, they find out that they do NOT have to deal with using lye themselves which is what many people want. Personally, I am a bit hesitant when I think about using lye myself. That is what brought me to the article. Rebatching sounds pretty good to me! In closing I will ask that you all get off your high horse and read the article first before condemning the author. Sure the title is a bit misleading, which ones aren’t nowadays, lol. When you think about it, it clearly serves it purpose … to get the right people to the article, those that do not want to deal with lye themselves. Great article! I enjoyed it. It allows me to add my own essential oils, dried flowers, herbs, etc to the soap and is clearly not nearly involved as starting from scratch.
Thank you for your page. I will be trying this very soon. This is a great starting point for us beginners who want to get a feel for this and stay safe. I get there is no such thing as lye free soap and the fact you have a way people can work with something already there that is safe, is awesome. I have some unscented soap that I will be using and adding my own twist on it. I am sorry you got some negative posts on here and I really wish people would actually read the whole article rather then “key words” which so many people do now a days. Would love to see more ideas/recipes for different soaps, smells, colors or shapes? 🙂
hi , can you guide me how to calculated the ingredient we wanted to use in the soap making ? what kind of test we should carry out once we had produce the soap ?
Ya’ll need to lighten up. The author talks about lye in the opening paragraphs. I know you all are smart, but how many times do you have to beat a dead horse. The author’s point was …. that some people who wish to make soap do not wish to handle lye directly …. so people … lighten up.
I reckon, she actually states that in the beginning. Relax people or get on your high horse and create your own tutorial LOL 😂
Please allow me to add my voice to the legion of others that are disappointed in the authors misidentification of this article as a method of making lye-free soap… as others have pointed out correctly, you cannot produce true soap without a caustic soda, (a.k.a. commonly referred to as ‘lye’) that when combined with oils causes a chemical reaction resulting in SOAP – there is NO LYE IN SOAP. As this is a true (and when correctly done: complete) chemical reaction between two substances there is a ‘product’ and usually, a ‘by-product’. In the case of combining caustic soda in a calculated solution with a combinations of oils in proper proportion, the ‘product’ is SOAP, and the ‘by-product’ is glycerine. BOTH of which are immensely beneficial to the user.
I will repeat from my 30 year old soapbox acquired when I first learned to make soap: THERE IS NO LYE IN SOAP – if you have lye remaining in yours, then you’ve done something wrong… so part of this blog is based in fact… oh, and don’t paint lye as such a bad player – the world would miss real pretzels and awesome bagels without it… jus’sayin’
*PS: ya’ll got it super easy now’days with online references, and instant soap calculators – NONE of that was available back when it was understood that www stood for ‘world wide wait’, and people hadn’t even begun to understand the impact of access to a whole world of information – no matter how questionable – would change our lives (and sometimes NOT for the better…)
PPS: As mentioned by another comment, there are natural saponins – but you’ll have your hands full making a hard bar…
There is SO much wrong with everything in this Pin/ article and video, that I don’t even know where to begin. The first thing I’d like to get out of the way is yes, I’m aware that it explains in the description that lye was used initially to create a soap base, with that being said, Why title it “Make Lye free soap”? It is completely misleading, and used as click bait. I personally didn’t click this because I was looking for a lye free soap recipe, I clicked it out of pure curiosity and humor, as it showed up in my feed. Now that the obvious is out of the way… I’d like to point out some other concerns in this that I noticed, and hope that it will help some new soap making beginners in safety. In the article section it suggests that you take already made soap, ground it up, add water to it, boil it down to melt it, then add various ingredients to it.This is where the problem is, once you have introduced water to the equation, you have opened the door to mold, yeast, and bacteria. Then it suggests to add ingredients like fresh or dried herbs and botanicals and you are definitely going to have the problem of mold, yeast, and bacteria. When you’re making soap through the cold process and hot process method you’re working with lye, and the soap goes through saponification, and the entire process allows for such ingredients to be used without the need to preserve them, however when you’re using a melt and pour method that is not the case. I also want to point out that Melt and pour, and re batching soap are not the same thing. What is mentioned in the article to do, and what is shown in the video are two separate thing’s. Not only are they not the same thing, the article is explaining a method similar to re batching, and it is a poorly written example to follow as well. When you re batch a soap, it is typically re batching a soap batch that was either cold or hot processed and hasn’t cured yet. In many cases someone would re batch a cold processed soap batch because it didnt turn out the way they had planned, it accelerated on them, or it riced, there are a number of reasons to re batch a soap. If this should happen you would then add it to a crock pot with some other ingredients (Not just water to melt it btw) to re batch the soap, again before it cures. In the video… not article… it is explaining the melt and pour method on how to make soap, and as stated before with this you would not want to add any fresh ingredients or botanicals unless of course you add some sort of preservative to prevent mold, yeast, and bacteria. Another issue I saw was, here they recommended using food coloring to color your soap… Never Do That! There are colorants approved for the use in soap and cosmetics, food coloring is not one of them. They are absolutely not skin safe, they can and will stain your skin, tub, or sink, and you certainly wouldn’t want to give yourself, or your loved ones a product that was not safe for them to use. (Which is actually everything mentioned in this pins article and video.) In closing I just want to say, if you are new to making soap, and truly want to learn, please do some research on the topic before just diving in. There are many reputable resources available online to help you get started, but sadly this pin/article and video are not it… This is more like the blind leading the blind. I am not affiliated with any certain company or such sources, however I can give you a tip on how to find some good information, resources, recipes, as well as supplies. Do an internet search for soaping and candle making supplies (they usually go hand in hand). Within that search you will find wholesale supplier’s that not only sell soaping supplies, but also give you a huge library of recipes and videos as well as how to’s and help. I just did searched on Google to check, and within the first 10 that come up there were 3 great links that offer recipes. Wholesale supplies plus, Natures Garden, and Candle Science (yes they also have soap supplies and information). Whether you’re looking to do melt and pour, cold processed, or hot processed soap, you will find everything you need to know to get started in those places. In case you are wondering, “why should I listen to you?” Well I suppose you don’t have to, you can certainly do whatever you like. I wanted to put the information there to help anyone who really wants to learn the correct method on making soap. I have many years of education and experience in the industry of Bath and body product’s. I am the C.E.O of a Bath, Body, and Cosmetics company, with a Master’s degree in Business and certified in cosmetic science and skin care formulation, as well as in Natural skin care. My goal in this is to help, that is it. There are far too many people already in this industry that are doing skincare wrong. What I mean by that is, to put it simply… in the United States the skincare industry isn’t regulated as strictly as it is in EU Europe. There are many small businesses currently in operation making products, and putting them out for sale to the public, that are formulated improperly, and not safe. The reason for that is, anyone can type in an online search a simple D.I.Y recipe, whip up a batch, and Wallah! They think “Wow this is Great! I should open a business, and sell this stuff! What else can I make”… and the cycle continues. The problem with this is these D.I.Y recipes are not meant for retail sales, they are meant strictly for individual personal use, and 99.9999% of the time you will find Zero mention of a preservative being used, or pH being checked, and if you do see/hear mention of a preservative it is not an effective preservation method. For example Vitamin E, or a certain combination of essential oils. I’ll tell you right now, Vitamin E is not a preservative! Essential oils are not preservatives, The only thing those can offer are the ability to help extend the shelf life of an oil (Just the oil). For example Black seed oil has a shelf life of 12 months, if you use this oil in a lotion, cream, or to stay on topic say… a melt and pour, and you want to prevent it from going rancid, you would add Vitamin E for it’s antioxidant properties, though the oil can still oxidize if exposed to light as I said it is only meant to help in the prevention to prolong the life of the oil. Now if you have water in the cream and you would certainly have it in the lotion, or have botanicals or fresh ingredients in the melt and pour, those ingredients will cause mold, yeast, or bacteria. Although your black seed oil will last, your other ingredients are not benefitted by the same effects of the Vitamin E. The same thing for any essential oil claims. None of those options are an option as a preservative. You need a full spectrum preservative and another preservative to piggy back for a complete preservative system, and then… certainly required testing needed before going to market. Getting back on topic in regards to D.I.Y recipes, these blends are meant to be used quickly as they expire quickly without preserving, hence the individual personal use. These “recipe’s” or formulation’s are not made following FDA guidelines and shouldn’t be sold. Anyway I think I’ve made my point, I could go on and on about this topic, but I will end it here. I just want to educate people who are wanting to truly know the proper way to make bath and body care. Take the information given and use it or don’t the choice is yours, really if it for your own personal use, however if you plan on llearningin order to venture into a business then you have an ethical obligation to follow manufacturer’s standards set forth by the F.D.A for the health and well being of your consumers.
Does Anyone READ? She clearly stated that there is no soap w/out lye!!!!! You are commenting as tho she is trying to trick you…jeesh! 🙁
Wow! Sounds like a lot of snobbery in the soap making crafting “business”. I guess having some simple easy fun “making soap” has turned people into real critics. On the other hand, I understand that it is a fine-tuned craft to make soap from scratch and I admire people who do. I made it the ready-made melt and pour for gifts and my friends were even impressed with that.
Don’t hate on people, if you don’t agree with what their saying than just scroll on and move on.
UwU