Easy soap recipe
Soap recipe with olive oil must be one of the oldest recipes for soap. That’s why I needed to make this before I tried other soaps.
I don’t know why, but I’ve always been super fascinated by soap. I used to collect soap as a kid, every shape, colour and scent I could get my hands on, I wanted. To use the soap was a different story…
Many people like to make their own soap, I see recipes everywhere on the web. So I thought why not give it a go? Here is a simple how-to make your own soap.
What is lye?
Remember when you are handling lye it can be dangerous, therefor it’s important to follow the safety instructions, always use goggles and gloves. Lye is sodium hydroxide in other words a caustic alkali. Lye must be added to water, not the other way around. This is very important.
Can I make soap without lye? It is possible, but a bit more complicated. Lye makes the liquid and oil mix together well, also it creates the action that gives soap it’s cleaning properties.
Important: Bars should be left in the mold at east 48 hours, and 6-8 weeks to cure, this to give the lye time to go away.
Ingredients:
570 g olive oil
75 g lye (sodium hydroxide) mixes in 220 g distilled water
Directions:
Measure olive oil and pour it in a plastic container, then place the container in a larger pot and pour in enough hot tap water that the container begins to float. Insert a thermometer into the oil.
Measure the water into a heat-safe container. Slowly add the lye to the water, stirring with your spatula as you do so. -Do not inhale directly above the container.
This mixture will heat up quickly. Monitor the temperatures of the two containers.
You need to heat up the oil while the lye cools down. You want both to reach 110°F (43-44 celcius). Then you can pour the lye mixture with the oil. Blend until the mixture reaches medium trace, like thick gravy.
Now you can pour into your wanted mold (milk carton?) and refrigerate (do not cover it).
Take it out of the refrigerator after 30 minutes and spray the top with isopropyl alcohol. Now you can cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature. Unmold 48 hours after pouring into the mold. Cut into bars and place in your curing area.
