Soap Recipes
This is where I keep all the soap recipes I’ve gathered. If you try one of the recipes, let me know how it worked out.
Herbal Soap
You can replace the water in soap recipes with herbal tea, but to be honest, most of the properties (color and fragrance) are lost. The best way to use herbs in soap is to add dry, finely powdered herbs to the fats before adding the lye/water. Use anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1⁄4 cup dried herbs to 1 lb soap. Restrict coarsely-ground herbs to about 1 or 2 tablespoons per lb soap because they contribute a coarseness to the soap that sometimes makes it uncomfortable during use.
The nicest way to add properties of herbs to soap is the addition of pure essential oils. Over time, soap can develop a 'lye-fat' odor, which essential oil prevents. Use anywhere from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons essential oil per lb soap (depending on the strength of the oil). Color is an illusive thing as far as soap is concerned. Natural colors can be obtained by adding 2 tablespoons red clay, Calendula petals, or yellow palm oil.
Super Fatty Soap
It's recommended to use 2 - 4 tbsp of castor oil which is added when the soap traces. Castor oil is emollient and contributes to soap lather. Castor oil (added after tracing with 1 tbsp of essential oil) seems to Contribute to keep the soap smell.
Pure Soap
This is the only recipe I've discovered that remains scent-free without adding fragrance to the recipe. This soap is a bit too harsh for bath soap, but great for cleaning, washing dishes, delicate laundry, etc. Great lather and no fragrance.
453 g (16 oz.) Coconut oil
80 g (2.8 oz.) lye
1 cup water
Fat and lye/water temperature about 49 oC (120 F)
Estimated tracing time: 1 1⁄2 hours
Time in molds: 48 hours
Age: 3 weeks
Pure soap as a shampoo
453 g (16 oz) weight coconut oil
83 g (2,9 oz) lye
3⁄4 cup water
Oil room temperature
Mix and use lye
Estimated tracing time 1-2 hours
When it traces, add 4 tbsp of castor oil to make the soap super fatty and make a soap with a softer structure. Let it sit in the mold for 24 hours, freeze it for 3 hours, remove it from the mold. Store for three weeks. Essential oil is optional in this recipe. The soap will be fragrance free without it.
Soap III
170 g (6 oz) coconut oil
170 g (6 oz) olive oil
142,5 g (5 oz) vegetable shortening
74 g (2.6 oz) lye
1 cup water (8 fluid ounces)
Fat and lye/water temperature about 49 oC (120 F)
Time in molds: 48 hours
Age: 4 weeks
Soap IV
256 g (9 oz) vegetable shortening
114 g (4 oz) coconut oil
85 g (3 oz) lard
76 g (2.4 oz) lye
3⁄4 cup water
Fat and lye/water temperature about 49 oC (120 F)
Time in molds: 24 hours
Age: 3 weeks
Soap V
285 g (10 oz) vegetable shortening
170 g (6 oz) coconut oil
28 g (1 oz) lye
1 cup water
Temperature around 49 oC (120 F)
Time in molds: 48 hours
Age: 4 weeks
Soap VI
455 g (16 oz) lard or beef tallow
65 g (2.2 oz) lye
3⁄4 cup water
Estimated tracing: 45 minutes
Fat and lye/water temperature about 49 oC (120 F)
Time in molds: 24 hours
Age: 3 weeks
Soap VII
371 g (13 oz) olive oil
57 g (2 oz) Beeswax Castile
28.5 g (1 oz) palm oil
59.9 g (2.1 oz) lye
1 cup water
Fat and lye/water temperature about 65 oC (150 F)
Tracing time: about 12 minutes FAST! (This is not a good blender soap candidate!)
Time in molds: 48 hours.
Melt the beeswax with the fats. Place the soap in a freezer for 3 hours, then remove it from the mold. Age: 6 - 8 weeks.
Beeswax Soap VIII
Follow the instructions for Soap VII
456.5 g (16.1 oz) olivenolje
57 g (2 oz) beeswax
62.7 g (2.2 oz) lye
1 cup water