Soap: How To

Castile Soap How to:

Includes pictures and videos.

Step 1: The Goods and Where to Get Them

The List:

1. Rubber Gloves
2. 1g Resolution scale (Amazon )
3. .01g Resolution scale (Amazon )
4. safety glasses  
5. Molds (Milkyway molds) 
6.Soap recipe  (Lye Calculator )
7. Glass Measuring cup (Thrift Store )
8. Glass picture (Thrift Store)
9. small measuring cup plastic or glass (Thrift Store)
10. Stick Blender (Amazon )
11. Cloth towel (Thrift Store)
12. Stainless Steel Pot (Thrift Store) No Aluminum
13. Plastic or stainless mixing stick (No Aluminum )
14. Water
15. NaOH Lye (Amazon)
16. Olive Oil 

Step 2: Measure Olive Oil

1. Tare weight of pot
2. Pour Olive Oil, Stop at 1000G

Step 3: Warm Oil

Warm Oil to a Temp of around 90 to 115 degrees.

Note: Temperature is in Fahrenheit. 

Step 4: Measure Water

1. Tare Glass container weight
2. Pour Water stop at 280g

Note: Minerals in tap water can make water heavy, which will reduce bubbles.

Step 5: Gear Up

Time to put on some personal protective equipment.

1. Rubber gloves
2. Goggles 

I will add pictures soon.

Step 6: NaOH Lye Measure

1. Tare Weight of container
2. Measure NaOH Lye Stop at 131.4g

Step 7: Mix Water and NaOH Lye

1. Slowly add NaOH Lye, works best if you pour a little then stir, adding and stirring until all the lye has been mixed.

Step 8: Add Lye to Oil

1. Add Lye to Oil 
2. Stir
3. Trace

Step 9: Pour Soap Into Moldes

1. Pour into measuring cup for ease of pour
2. pour from measuring cup to molds
3. Shake molds to reduce air bobbles

Note:

Pour as fast as possible being safe. The trace will thicken fast. So get it in there. This will avoid a situation where it is to thick to seat in the mold properly.

Step 10: Clean

Time to clean:(

Step 11: Pop Soap Out !

1. Wait 3 or 4 days 
2. Pop them out
3. Give it at least a week to cure some more

Note:

If you use the soap in less than a week it will turn to mush in a couple days of use.

Also note keep soap dry when not in use so it does not get mushy on you. 

Enjoy!

Comments

[Maydethg1016]

cool

[jigglywiggley]

*8. Glass 'pitcher' (Thrift Store)

That confused me for a sec :P

[saracosmet]

Soap making instructions can be tricky. I have made soap so many times that I dont look the recipes anymore. here I have one great recipe for natural body wash for sensitive skin with aloe vera

[clogsdon3]

So there needs to be 1000g of oils and 280g of water. That's not including the pot and container weight?

[ThomasP5]

I found these directions from 1833 on how to make soap.

http://www.epic-soap.com/how-to-make-organic-soap-...

[cesar_1990]

Great instructable. I have one question though. I found a diy shop in my neighbourhood that sells 99% pure caustic soda or NaOH. Is it safe to use that? I have seen in other instructables being mentioned it has to be 100%. Just checking

[thinkathena]

Thanks for the recipe. Will be making my first batch when my lye arrives. Also, thanks for posting links to all the products you mentioned :)

[ladiebuggg888]

where can you get the lye locally instead of through amazon? also the scales???

[tacamaral]

So, just to help out those of us who use centigrades, 90-115 F would be 32-46 C. : )

Nice instructable - my girlfriend is dying to try it.

[star folder]

The longer you let the soap dry, called saponification, the longer the soap will remain as you use it. This also works with purchased bar soap, remove the labels, and just let it air dry. The longer the better.

[toddsleeman]

This is true, however, very safe to use in one week. Keep in mind soap bar is also harder with age.

[treynolds57]

Great Instructable! I learned to make soap from my grandparents and was once part of a soapmaking group on AOL. Been saving my grease, so I guess it's time to get busy! - Tony

[toddsleeman]

Thanks for the comment Tony. Send a note with a success story if you make the soap. Thanks.

[jiaojiao]

oh, I once used NAHCO3 to make soaps but failed; now I know where the problem is ~

[toddsleeman]

lol, That is hilarious.

[mikolynn]

90 to 115 degrees? I supose you are talking about Centigrades? Or Farenheit?
Thanks!

[toddsleeman]

Fahrenheit, I will add to text.

Note: Temperature is in Fahrenheit.

[joen]

Your Instructable brings back some good memories about when I was making soap at home. I used fat from the meat section at the super market and lye. However I didn't have any molds to work with so I just waited for the soap mass to thicken until I could knead it like stiff dough. Then I would form it into a brick about the width and depth of a regular bar of soap and then sliced off the finished bars about an inch thick. A couple of weeks later they were ready to use. For those that haven't tried making soap, it is a lot more fun then you might think and this instructable is as easy as it gets!
Here's a "Good Job!" for you.

P. S. All the soap recipes I have seen say you need to use distilled or pure rain water. It is not mentioned in your Instructable, I have never used anything but distilled water. Is that important?

[toddsleeman]

So So, Consistency is very important. By using filtered, distilled or rain water you will be reducing variables. You will still have great soap with tap water. However it is best practice to use a consistent source for all things that go in your soap. I will put note in Instructable.

Note: Minerals in tap water can make water heavy which will reduce bubbles.

Thank you! Good idea to put that in there.

[treynolds57]

Another note: I have always noted that, with my soap at least, I don't get fully cured soap for 3-4 weeks, versus the one week noted in the directions...