101 Soap Recipes
The problem is that even though companies are required to release information about the ingredients of the soaps they manufacture, one can never be too sure of all the chemicals listed (or not listed) on the labels.
101 Soap Recipes
When you make your own soap from scratch, you get to control the quality of the ingredients you use, and ultimately what goes in what stays out of your soap. You can choose only the most natural, gentle and soothing ingredients to your skin.
The ingredients that you put in your own soaps, if you teach yourself how to make your own soap, will determine the benefits that you enjoy. Often, with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, the removal of harmful chemicals and possible irritants from the soaps used can greatly improve your overall skin health all by itself.
Another benefit of homemade soaps is that you will retain full glycerin content. This is a product of soapmaking that is known to draw moisture from the air, and as a natural ingredient in soap, can moisturize the skin.
Most commercial soap companies will mine the glycerin from their soaps, and will sell it in other products for the higher cost items. This means that most soaps and detergents have been stripped of this key benefit (so that you can buy moisturizers separately from these same companies).
When you make your own soap from scratch, all that moisturizing glycerin remains intact and you will see a huge improvement on how your skin looks and feels. Main line soap manufacturers care more about their bottom line and how to increase their profit margin than they care about the health benefits to your skin. When you make your own soaps, you have different objectives in mind, such as moisturizing your skin, preventing rashes, eczema flare-ups, oily skin and dry skin and more.
On the internet you can get hundreds of soap recipes with a few clicks, but sometimes a simple, foolproof soap recipe for beginners can be hard to find. A basic soap recipe for beginners should contain no fragrance or color additives. For your first batch, stick with...
Coffee and chocolate, enough said. A combination made in heaven. This recipe makes a soap bar that is thick, creamy and super rich. The subtle smell of coffee and chocolate will make you want to eat it! Mocha Soap Recipe 25% coconut oil 25% palm oil 25% palm kernel...
As summer approaches and we all start having to deal with bugs. Do you want to know what to use for your very own insecticidal soap recipe? Citronella and lavender soaps have very good insect repelling properties and very good stay power even though they are in a wash...
This is a natural antiseptic soap with lavender and peppermint essential oil. The rich blue color is obtained with natural indigo powder. True indigo is a natural dye that has been used by ancient civilisations in Egypt, India, Mesopotamia and Asia. Indigo is a potent...
Honey has been used for centuries for skin care due to its moisturizing and anti-bacterial properties. The recipe below makes for a very lathering soap bar that will keep your skin soft and moisturized. Honey Soap Recipe 48% beef tallow, rendered 25% olive oil 20%...
Cucumber juice has long been used as an astringent face-wash, and in these recipes it works as a mild cleansing agent and skin toner. Cucumber Soap Recipe I 1 & 1/2 c. clean rendered tallow 1 c. cucumber pulp 1/2 c. vegetable oil 3/4 c. cold soft water 1/4 c. lye...
African black soap, also known as Anago Soap, Alata Simena or Ose Dudu, is a traditional, rough looking soap handmade by several west african tribes. it has been used for centuries to naturally treat various skin conditions such as acne, oily skin, eczema, rashes and...
When people ask for a glycerin soap recipe, they usually mean a melt & pour recipe. Melt & Pour (MP) is one of the easiest methods for soap making. It basically consists of buying a pre-made glycerin soap base, that can be transparent or opaque, melting it and...
Temperature is a subjective, personal preference that varies between soap-makers. Some will only mix at higher temperatures than I list here, while others let everything sit overnight and mix the next morning at room temperature. Both ways are fine to use!
Working quickly, pour the soap into your prepared mold, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon if needed. Pick up the mold and give it a few sharp raps on the table or counter surface to help get rid of any little air bubbles that may have formed.
Jan Berry is a writer, herbalist, soapmaker, and bestselling author of The Big Book of Homemade Products, Simple & Natural Soapmaking, and Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her family and a menagerie of animals, where she enjoys brainstorming creative things to make with the flowers and weeds that grow around her. You can also find her writing about gardening and foraging over at her family's website: UnrulyGardening.com!
I put off soap making for a year because I was afraid of working with lye. If you follow the directions and take precautions there is nothing to it. I make soap all the time now. Wish I had done it years ago. Try it, you will be fine.
Enjoyed the post!Making soap is on my to do list this year.I have talked about it for yearas and decided this is the year for doing!I have a few goats I milk so plan on making goats milk soap.Thanks again for the good read. Definately going to make a copy :)
made soap for the 1st time used a silacone mold, let set for 24 hours covered, used 24oz coconut oil, 24 oz olive oil, 15ml of each lemon, lime and tea tree oil 16oz of distilled water, 7.7 oz of lye when i cut it it cracked was not able to get a nice even cut bar. What do you think I did wrong?????
I am so sorry it has taken so long for me to reply. I just wanted to say thank you so much for the info. I tried a second batch and it turned out great. I have been using my soap for about a month now. I also cut my batch in half just in case. I will definitely be making more. Thanks again for your help and also for responding back to my question so fast. :0)
The great thing about homemade soaps is that they still have the glycerine (the part that really moisturizes your skin) in them so they are extra beneficial for your skin. Most big soap makers will separate out the glycerine and sell it for profit. The reason that some people still think lye soap is irritating to the skin goes back to a few generations ago when people made it without properly measuring the lye to oil ratio so the resulting batches were often too heavy on the lye, so harsh. Modern day soap makers do not have that issue, which is exactly why I make our own soap for own super sensitive skin. :)
I have been reading everything within my reach to prepare for my soap making chapters of life. Thank you for for sharing your knowledge. Inspiration from your name, my own skin troubles and cleanliness provoke me to take the next step to start sooner than later. Thanks thenerdyfarmwife!
What I used to do, was to put everything in the dishwasher once I poured the mixture into the molds. Eventually, my dishwasher stopped draining correctly, so we got another one. That one shortly broke too. Turned out that I had clogged the pipes with the soap mixture and had to get a plumber in to fix everything. He told me to NEVER put raw soap in my dishwasher/sink again!
I remember reading an article many years ago about a plant called the Yucca or yew something like that anyway but that the fluid from the plant makes a great liquid soap and many native Americans used it as a shampoo back in the day. Still trying to find something more about that so I can make the soaps and shampoos.
Hi Katie! What recipe did you use? I can look at it and see what the water looks like. For my first few batches of soap, I poured my untraced mixture into molds only to have the caustic soap ooze out EVERYWHERE. Was quite a mess! I do hope yours set up for you though! You might also want to read this about stick blenders versus electric mixers for stirring soap:
Hey I am new at this soap making. I am so nervous with getting started but I have everything I need. When people say use the lye calculator to create your recipe. I was wondering how to you create a recipe and know what kind of oils to use and oz of each. It might be a silly questions but being new at this I have no clue. Thanks!!!
Hello,My husband and I have decided to try soap making as a hobby together after falling in love with homemade soaps. I think your site it WONDERFUL and we plan to follow many of your recipes. One that we will be trying first is the Oatmeal & Honey Soap. I have your ingredients list, but was wondering what size mold this amount would be suitable for. I am worried to but too small of a mold and then have too much soap for it.Thank you! Your site I spires me ;)
When I first started making soap (using hot process) I was putting crushed up herb leaves as an additive, but it never turned out smelling like at all like the herb. I was wondering if I used cold process with crushed up herb leaves if it would smell like it, or how I would go about making herbal soap (without using essential oil) to make it smell like the herbs. Help!
Jan, I have been making cold processed soap for about a year now and that is the only kind I use anymore. I add dried herbs to mine as well as essential oils. Also for molds I find the silicon molds at thrift stores and use them and they work great the soap pops right out and you can find all kinds of shapes. I have 3 mifin pans and 2 bread loaves that I use.
I made exactly 3/5s of the ingredients in the garden mint soap recipe. So for a 3 lb batch. And instead of manga butter I used shea and instead of avocado and castor oil I used sunflower and sweet almond (those were what I had). and I put all of the ingredients into a Lye calculator to readjust the lye with the different ingredients to about 5.4 oz.
The instructions are great. I would love to have the opportunity to print the instructions so I can have them close-by when making soap. Do you offer a printable version? Maybe without photos even. Much thanks! 041b061a72