How to make soap at home

An easy recipe with simple ingredients

Mod­ern com­mer­cial soap con­tains around 20 in­gre­di­ents. This ex­per­i­ment will teach you the sim­plest way to make your own nat­u­ral soap.

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Wear pro­tec­tive gloves, eye­wear, and masks. Work in a well-ven­ti­lat­ed area. Use cau­tion when work­ing with sodi­um hy­drox­ide.

Reagents and equip­ment:

  • 30g sodi­um hy­drox­ide;
  • 80 mL wa­ter;
  • 300 mL olive oil;
  • a hand blender;
  • a soap mold;
  • food col­or­ing;
  • ground cof­fee;
  • es­sen­tial oil;
  • a con­tain­er to pre­pare the in­gre­di­ents in.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Grad­u­al­ly add sodi­um hy­drox­ide to wa­ter in a heat-re­sis­tant con­tain­er – the so­lu­tion will heat up dra­mat­i­cal­ly. Let the so­lu­tion cool to 50°С (122°F). Pour the cooled so­lu­tion into heat­ed (50°С or 122°F) olive oil and mix us­ing a hand blender un­til the mix­ture is the con­sis­ten­cy of sour cream. Pour the mass into your mold of choice. Leave the mold in a warm place for two days to let the soap hard­en. For the soap to hard­en com­plete­ly, leave it for 25-30 days. You can also add es­sen­tial oils and dyes to the mix­ture to en­hance its scent and col­or, or ground cof­fee to act as an ex­fo­liant.

Pro­cess­es de­scrip­tion

Olive oil con­sists of com­plex fat­ty acid es­ters, which re­act with sodi­um hy­drox­ide in a process known as hy­drol­y­sis or saponi­fi­ca­tion. This process yields the glyc­erin and fat­ty acids that com­prise soap.

Reagents and equip­ment:

  • 30g sodi­um hy­drox­ide;
  • 80 mL wa­ter;
  • 300 mL olive oil;
  • a hand blender;
  • a soap mold;
  • food col­or­ing;
  • ground cof­fee;
  • es­sen­tial oil;
  • a con­tain­er to pre­pare the in­gre­di­ents in.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Grad­u­al­ly add sodi­um hy­drox­ide to wa­ter in a heat-re­sis­tant con­tain­er – the so­lu­tion will heat up dra­mat­i­cal­ly. Let the so­lu­tion cool to 50°С (122°F). Pour the cooled so­lu­tion into heat­ed (50°С or 122°F) olive oil and mix us­ing a hand blender un­til the mix­ture is the con­sis­ten­cy of sour cream. Pour the mass into your mold of choice. Leave the mold in a warm place for two days to let the soap hard­en. For the soap to hard­en com­plete­ly, leave it for 25-30 days. You can also add es­sen­tial oils and dyes to the mix­ture to en­hance its scent and col­or, or ground cof­fee to act as an ex­fo­liant.

Pro­cess­es de­scrip­tion

Olive oil con­sists of com­plex fat­ty acid es­ters, which re­act with sodi­um hy­drox­ide in a process known as hy­drol­y­sis or saponi­fi­ca­tion. This process yields the glyc­erin and fat­ty acids that com­prise soap.

Try it