Making handmade, cold-press soap can seem complicated. It involves heating ingredients to a specific temperature and combining them in a specific way so that the soap solidifies properly. Luckily, making soap can be easy if a few steps are followed in the right order, turning a complicated process into an easy one. Simplifying a soap recipe by using one type of oil, instead of three or four, also helps to make soap making, once an important frontier craft, easy.
Instructions
1. Put on eye goggles and protective gloves to keep the eyes and skin safe, and pour the 7 ounces of lye and 16 ounces of water into a glass measuring cup. This is a very caustic process which will create fumes that can hurt the lungs, skin and eyes, so combining the lye and the water in a well-ventilated area is important. Place a glass candy-making thermometer into the measuring cup to gauge the temperature. This type of thermometer can be placed into very hot mixtures without breaking and also makes it easy to gauge when the lye water is hot enough to be combined with the oil.
2. Pour all of the olive oil into a stock pot, and heat it on a stove top over medium heat. Using only olive oil, instead of a mixture of olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax, eliminates the need for a double boiler, thereby simplifying the process. Place another glass candy-making thermometer into the stock pot. Once the 48 ounces of olive oil and the 23 ounces of lye water both reach a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, carefully pour the lye water into the olive oil. Use a long-handled spoon and stir the soap mixture vigorously for around 30 minutes, or until the mixture becomes thickened. The thickening is important, so that the soap will become solid in the molds.
3. Pour the soap mixture slowly into individual soap molds. Using individual soap molds instead of a single, rectangular soap mold eliminates the need to cut the soap bar into separate soaps after it has cured, which further simplifies the soap-making process. Place the soap molds in a cool room away from sunlight, and let them stay there untouched for at least six weeks to allow the soaps to harden and for the lye to become usable on the skin. After six weeks, pop the soaps out of the soap molds, and use them for cleaning or to give away as gifts.
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