Learn how to make cold process soap safely

The cold Soap process method, which often entails producing your own all-natural soap from scratch, uses oils, water, and lye (sodium hydroxide) to generate soap through a chemical reaction known as saponification.

Watch Video on The cold Soap Making process

DIY The cold Soap Making process

This 6-minute, safety-first quickstart for micro homesteaders and small-batch manufacturers teaches you how to create cold process soap safely. The video goes through the fundamentals of saponification, exact The 4–6 week cure, trace, molding, temperature targets, digital scale measurements, and necessary personal protective equipment while handling sodium hydroxide are all crucial. Ideal for a micro homestead Business viewers looking for a money-making skill would be interested in learning about all-natural soap recipes, ingredient advice (olive, coconut, shea), natural colorants, and fragrance alternatives. Uses stock footage, clear, well-defined subtitles, Additionally, there's a male narrator with a New Yorker accent. 

Major Safety Precaution: Because lye is a corrosive material, it must be handled with great caution. Always work in a well-ventilated space, away from kids and dogs, and use safety eyewear and gloves. Use a digital scale to weigh each component with accuracy.

The following is a rough outline of the steps involved in producing cold process soap:

Preparation and Security

Collect Supplies:

 Digital scale (crucial for precise measurements)

 Protective Gear (gloves, goggles)

Heat-resistant containers for lye water and mixing

 Immersion blender (suggested for quicker and more uniform mixing)

Thermometer (For tracking temperatures)

 Wooden spoons or spatulas

Soap Molds

 old towels or blankets (for insulation)

 Collect Ingredients:

Oils/Fats (such as shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. - pick a recipe and follow it)

 Lye (100% pure Sodium Hydroxide)

 Water in liquid form, preferably distilled.

Optional: Natural colorants (such clays, herbs) and essential oils (for fragrance).

Work in a well-ventilated space when setting up the workstation. Use newspaper or a protective covering to cover surfaces.

The Soap-Making Procedure (Saponification)

Step 1: Prepare the Lye Solution

Water and Lye Measurement: In separate, heat-resistant containers, precisely weigh the lye and the distilled water.

Combine water and lye (Essential safety precaution):

Add the lye to the water gradually and cautiously while wearing your safety gear (NEVER the opposite way around).

Mix slowly until the lye is completely dissolved. The combination will produce fumes and heat up fast.

Cool: Put the lye solution in a secure location to cool.

Step 2: Get the Oils Ready

Accurately weigh all your oils/fats into a separate mixing pot. Over a low flame, melt any solid oils, such coconut oil or shea butter.

Mix and Monitor the Temperature: Combine all oils and keep an eye on the temperature.

Step 3: Mix oils with lye solution.

 Get the desired temperatures: When the lye solution and the oils are both at a certain temperature range (typically around 90°F), the majority of recipes advise mixing them together. depending on the recipe, up to 130°F).

 Pour and Stir: Slowly pour the cooled lye solution into the oils while stirring constantly.

Use an immersion blender (or whisk) to combine the solution. Mix in little bursts, stirring in between, until the mixture reaches "trace." Trace is when the soap batter becomes sufficiently thick that a trail of the mixture dripped onto the surface creates a transient "trace," resembling a light pudding.

Step 4: Include Color and Fragrance (Optional)

The number of cases involving foreign individuals is increasing. You can easily mix in any essential oils or natural colors you want to use once you have achieved a trace.

Step 5: Pour and Insulate

 Pour into Mold: Gently pour the soap mixture into your ready mold.

Insulate: Wrap the mold with parchment paper and old blankets or towels. This insulation helps retain heat, which promotes saponification.

 Set: Put the mold somewhere secure and quiet for 24 to 48 hours.

Treating the Soap

Step 6: Remove from the Mold and Chop

Demold: The soap should be hard enough to be taken out of the mold after 24–48 hours. The saponification may not be complete, so wear gloves.

 Cut: Slice the soap loaf into individual bars.

Step 7: Cure

Remedy: Put the chopped soap bars on a drying rack or shelf in a room with good air circulation.

Wait: The soap needs four to six weeks to cure. Excess water evaporates during this period, the bars get harder, and the last saponification is finished, producing a gentler, more durable bar.

After the curing procedure is finished, your homemade, all-natural soap is ready for usage!