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Do note that the natural soap bars were originally made with lye.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.
