I only recently found myself interested in soap making, because of one simple reason. I wanted to make my girlfriend a special gift to thank her for being so wonderful and loving.

But I didn’t know what to get her, she has more than enough jewelery, twice as many pairs of shoes than me, she’s a diabetic so rather skip expensive chocolate, and flowers well, they last only a few short days. Normally the idea of buying her a bar of soap would never cross my mind(she might think I’m hinting towards an underlying hygiene problem, which is NOT the case, he he), but I know she loves to take long relaxing baths, AND she appreciates something I made for her more than something I bought (don’t we all?).

So, down to the library I went. I read quite a few books and decided to make her a nice sweet smelling strawberry flavored bar of soap, neatly wrapped with a small card telling her how much I appreciate her. Needless to say, it worked like a bomb! At first she didn’t want to use the soap, she wanted to keep it “safe”, so she put it on her dresser to look at it every day.

But after promising her I’ll make her another soap she agreed to use it. Till this day I am her one and only soap supplier, he he!

Here I will share all of my recipes, tips and tools needed with you so you too can make wonderful soaps at home!

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Ingredients :

12oz (340g) vegetable fat (shortening)

8oz (227g) tallow (dripping)

8oz (227g) coconut oil

4oz (113g) olive oil

2oz (57g) beeswax

14oz (397) distilled or spring water

6oz (170g) fresh strawberries

5oz (142g) sodium hydroxide (caustic soda/lye)

½ tsp (2,5g) diluted red cosmetic pigment (D&C red 28)

1oz (28g) wheatgerm oil

2 tsp (10g) strawberry fragrance oil

Method : (summarized according to Melinda Coss 1998:36)

1. Place the fats, base oils and beeswax in a stainless steel or enamel pot over low heat.

2. Set aside 4oz (113g) of the water and pour the remainder into a plastic bowl or jug.

3. Remove the leaves and stalks from the strawberries and place them in a liquidizer, adding the water you set aside. Liquidize them until liquid, then add this to the rest of the water.

4. Add the sodium hydroxide to the strawberry liquid and stir until dissolved.

5. Add this mixture to your melted fat and oil mixture over low heat. Stir until “trace” is reached(should take about 30 minutes).

6. Add the coloring, wheatgerm and fragrance oil and stir.

7. Pour into a greased mold of choice and cover with a towel or blanket, set it aside for about 48 hours or until it’s hard enough to remove from mold and cut into shapes you desire.

8. Cover the soap again and leave to cure for 4 weeks before use.

Remarks :

• As you can see, this is not an easy soap to make. For a beginner like me it took 3 tries before I was satisfied with the result. But it was well worth it!

• I highly recommend Melinda Coss’ book, “the handmade soap book”, it’s great for beginners as well as advanced soap makers. Some recipes include : Fruity soaps(blackberry smoothy, peach malba), Floral soaps (sunflower and calendula, honey blossom), Dairy soaps(poached egg, milk chocolate soap) Antiseptic soaps and MUCH MUCH more!

• According to Melinda Coss (1998:36) this is a medium/soft soap with medium bubbles but NOT recommended for sensitive skins.

Warning : Sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye is a very harmful substance with corrosive properties, wear rubber gloves, protective eye wear(plastic goggles or spectacles) and a mask if possible(fumes) at all times when handling this chemical, a parent or guardian should be present at all times if you are still a child or teenager. Work in a well ventilated area and also, NEVER add water to your sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye, add the chemical to water.)

Bibliography :

COSS, M. 1998. the handmade soap book. 80pp

New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. 24 Nutford Place London W1H 6DQ

London*Cape Town*Sydney*Auckland

Reproduction by Modern Age Repro House Ltd, Hong Kong

Printed and bound in Singapore by Tien Wah Press (Pte) Ltd

ISBN 1 85368 807 X HB

ISBN 1 85974 006 5 PB

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1,4kg (3 lbs) pieces of used soap

1liter (4cups) water (spring/distilled)

750ml (3cups) methylated spirits

220g (½ lb) (8oz) glycerin

*smaller amounts may be used

Method :

1. Cut or grate (using ordinary cheese-grater) the pieces of used soap which you are going to use. Melt the pieces over low heat and add the glycerin while stirring.

2. Add small amounts of methylated spirits while stirring over low heat, until everything is added.

3. Whisk your mixture briskly with a stainless steel whisk until it reaches the consistency of whipped cream. This is the most important step, if your mixture does not reach this consistency, IT WILL NOT FLOAT!

4. Pour into shapes/molds of choice.

    

(WARNING : methylated spirits is a highly flammable substance and should never be used over an open flame, a parent or guardian should always be present if you are a child or teenager)

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The answer is entirely up to you. For me however, a few reasons sprung to mind.

 

• Making soap at home makes for killer gifts

• It’s easy, fun AND affordable

• You learn skills which can turn your hobby into a business

• Your creativity is the only ceiling when it comes to variations in home made soap recipes

• You know exactly what ingredients are used

• Oh, and did I mention it’s FUN!

Most of the recipes on this site was selected mainly for their simplicity, because just a short while ago I was a newbie too! But as I become more experienced in the art of soap making, so will the recipes become more complex too.

If you are looking for the easiest, most affordable recipe ever, I recommend heading over to the Glycerin(e) soap category on this website. There you will learn how to make soap in just 3 easy steps with 3 basic ingredients that won’t cost you an arm or a leg.

Happy soap making!

P.S. The recipes listed here are not “set-in-stone”, you can adjust the quantities of ingredients as well as add essential oils for fragrance or coloring of your choice.

P.P.S If you can’t find a specific recipe on this site, feel free to e-mail me and I will do my utmost best to try and find it for you.

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30ml (2tablespoons) sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye

180ml (¾ cup) water (distilled/spring)

500ml (2cups) olive oil

2ml (1teaspoon) borax (dissolved into a small amount of hot water)

Method :

1. Stir the caustic soda into lukewarm water until dissolved.

2. Heat the olive oil until lukewarm, keep stirring while adding the caustic soda solution. Whisk it good until it is mixed well (this might take some time).

3. Add the borax and keep stirring until it thickens to reach a creamy consistency.

4. Pour into shapes/mold of choice, cover with blanket or towel and leave for approximately 2 weeks.

Remarks :

• This recipe makes a very small amount of soap.

• Don’t color olive oil soap, it has a natural light-yellow creamy tone, you can however, add a fragrance oil.

• This soap has a very fine texture.

• Watch out for too much sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye.

Warning : Sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye is a very harmful substance with corrosive properties, wear rubber gloves, protective eye wear(plastic goggles or spectacles) and a mask if possible(fumes) at all times when handling this chemical, a parent or guardian should be present at all times if you are still a child or teenager. Work in a well ventilated area and also, NEVER add water to your sodium hydroxide/caustic soda/lye, add the chemical to water.)

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1 glycerin soap base (can be bought from arts&crafts stores)

Coloring of choice (wax chips/soap coloring/food coloring)

Fragrance oil of choice (vanilla essence etc.)

Method :

1. Place the soap base in your soap pot and melt over low heat.(this should take between 5-10 minutes)

2. Add the coloring of choice, stir.

3. Add the fragrance oil of choice, stir.

4. Pour directly into shapes/molds of choice and leave to set overnight.

Remarks :

• This is by far THE easiest way to not only make a “see-through” soap, but ANY soap for that matter!

• Bits of soap shavings from other color soap can be added to create a nice looking mosaic soap.

• This soap can be used immediately.

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