A Simple Soap Recipe

A SIMPLE SOAP RECIPE

I have had many people tell me that they wanted to try soapmaking, but were discouraged by some of the soapmaking books they read. Often books have only recipes containing costly and hard to find ingredients. Most recipes list their ingredients by weight, because that is the most accurate way of doing things, but this can be another stumbling block for beginners. Most folks don't want to invest in a suitable scale just to try out a new hobby. But I want to help anyone who wants to make soap for themselves, so I am sharing my recipe for Tiny Angel Castile, because its has simple ingredients you can find at the supermarket and a mild basic nature that makes it a perfect place to start. I have calculated the recipe so that you don't need to weigh out ingredients, you can measure by liquid volume with a measuring container. If you do make soap using this recipe, please drop us a line and let us know how it turned out.

This recipe is carefully calculated for just the ingredients listed below, do not make any substitutions or attempt to reduce the size of this recipe! Each oil has its own specific saponification number, which is the amount of lye needed to turn that oil into soap. Changing the oils used or changing the size of this recipe would require recalculating that ratio, you cannot simply reduce or replace components of the recipe without changing everything else. This is a recipe for beginners and people who want something simple. If once you have tried this recipe you want to get into using more exotic oils and ingredients, get some books and start experimenting...get a scale, calculate your own recipes, and have at it!

Before you get started...

Lye is potentially a very dangerous substance and must be handled with extreme caution. With the proper safety precautions, there is no reason for you to have any problems. That means rubber gloves, protective eyewear & clothing, no kids or animals running amok underfoot, etc. Never leave mixed lye-water on the counter or table unattended, you must find a safe and secure location for it to cool. Never use Aluminum utensils or pots for soapmaking, Lye reacts very badly with Aluminum. Lye (also called Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH) is available in many supermarkets across the U.S., a common name brand is "Red Devil" and it now comes in an 18-ounce plastic can (it used to come in a 12 ounce can). Make sure it says "100% Lye" on the container. We specifically calculated the recipe to use the whole can of lye, so you don't have to measure it out or worry about what to do with any leftovers. Do NOT use Drano, it is not pure Lye.

Olive Oil makes a great soap, a very hard, low-lathering bar that is long-lasting, cleans well, and is very mild. This recipe calls for Berio Olive Oil, as this is the most common and inexpensive brand in our area. If you can't find this size or brand, then just measure out 20 cups of any other Olive Oil, you should still get fine results. About stirring: Olive oil soaps can take a very long time to reach trace with just hand-stirring, so we strongly recommend "hurrying it along" through the (careful!) use of a stick blender. Stick blenders are a terrific invention and a real boon to the soapmaker. Some folks swear by hand mixers, but I don't recommend them. Hand mixers have a tendency to splash things around, which can be quite hazardous, and they really do not seem to get the job done in the way a stick blender can.Overuse of blenders can cause premature emulsion of ingredients, to avoid this use them in short bursts, about 30 seconds or less at a time, then hand-stir for a little bit, then use the stick blender again and continue alternating in this way. Don't skimp on this step, a plain Olive Oil Soap that does not achieve full trace in the pot will NOT make good soap in the mold! With mechanical assistance, full trace should generally take less than 10 minutes.

The Mold we suggest for this a plastic Rubbermaid box, the size we have is roughly 13" x 9" x 6" deep, with a snap-on plastic lid. Any plastic or wooden container of similar dimensions will work fine, as long as it has a lid. Once you fill the mold and snap on the lid, you will need to cover the mold with blankets to insulate the soap, this allows the saponification process to continue. During saponification, the block of soap will heat up a great deal and liquefy again, then cool off slowly and harden. Leave your block of soap undisturbed for at least 12 hours, then take a peek and see how it looks. It should be quite firm to the touch by this point, but don't unmold the soap yet if the mold or the soap still feels hot. If the soap is warm, just leave it alone until it cools completely. When you unmold the soap, you may notice some liquid on the soap block and mold, this is condensation from the heat of saponification. Just leave it, and it will be quickly reabsorbed into the soap. It is advisable to cut your block of soap into bars as soon as possible after unmolding, Olive Oil makes a very hard soap and it can be difficult to cut "perfect" bars without any chipping or breakage if you wait too long.

Simple Olive Oil Soap Recipe

One 18-ounce can of Lye (also called Sodium Hydroxide or NaOH) Red Devil is a popular brand

5 cups of Distilled Water (Chemical & mineral impurities in plain tap water can cause soapmaking problems)

20 cups of Olive Oil (by liquid volume measure)

1 heat-proof container (Pyrex, Stainless Steel, Heavy-duty Plastic) for mixing the lye (at least 2 quart size)

1 large stainless steel or enamel pot for mixing soap (at least 2 gallon size)

1 spatula or spoon (Rubber or silicon)

1 plastic container with a lid

Pour your distilled water into the heat-proof container, then add the Lye and stir carefully with rubber spatula to mix and dissolve. This stuff will get hot, so watch out! It will also produce fumes for a few minutes, so it is best to mix it up and get away from it quickly until the fumes disperse. Then make sure to set the lye-water mixture aside in a safe place to cool off.
Once your lye has cooled to the point where the container is just warm to the touch, pour Olive Oil into your large mixing pot and heat on the stove. We want to heat the Olive Oil to approx. 100 degrees F, if you have a thermometer you can measure this exactly. Otherwise, just heat it up until the outside of the pot feels very warm to the touch, then remove the pot from the heat source.
Pour the lye-water mixture into the warm oil, very slowly and carefully to avoid spills, stirring the oil all the while with your spatula. The mixture will incorporate and become smoother, continue stirring for a couple of minutes to make sure everything is well-mixed. Then start using your stick blender or beater, for short intervals, hand-stirring in between. You will soon notice the mixture getting thicker and more opaque, that means trace is occurring. Keep stirring until you get a rather thick pudding-like consistency.
Pour soap mixture into mold, snap on lid, and cover with blankets. When it is ready, pop the block out the the mold and cut it into whatever sizes you like. Stack your soap on brown paper-lined shelves in a well-ventilated area, this soap should be aged and cured for approx. 4 weeks before use. Makes more than 10 pounds of soap.