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How To Make Simple Soap ~ A Video Tutorial

Last September our family got a teeny, tiny video camera. We wanted this mostly for recording and producing video of our outdoor adventures, like this one of Damien's seven day hike in Wyoming last fall. Also because we have a theatrical daughter (number 3) who we thought might appreciate a tool of the trade. As it happens she is also the music aficionado of the family and the only one of us to own an iPod. I feel iTunes GarageBand may be in her future. 

With a new little video camera in hand (both Brienne's and mine) I was inspired to make a video of the soap making process from start to finish.

The recipe is for my Simple Soap, the soap I use for stain removal, washes dishes and making Homemade Laundry Soap. 

If only video production was as easy as making soap!

After taking the actual video I had to edit, edit and edit to produce something that you all might want to spend your time watching (and hopefully learn from).

Needless to say it only took me four months to share this with you but I hope it will help you along your soap making journeys.

Simple Soap Recipe (shown step-by-step in video):

  • 48 oz (3 lb) tub of vegetable shortening - the kind you buy at the grocery store
  • 6.5 oz lye - see Suppliers list at Homemade Soap & Body Care
  • 18.5 oz water 

Complete directions on video.

This is a photo of the finished bars, cut and cured. It turns a little pink. Don't know why. 

simple soap

If you have any questions I'd love to answer them (if I can).

PS. Did you know I have a YouTube Channel now? This video is the only thing there currently. Video is a lot of work (for me at least).

~~~

PPS. Why Having Friends with Scientist Dads Is Cool

When my friend Renee (yep, same name) read that my soap turned pinkish and I didn't know why she shot a question off to her scientist father who had this to say:

Manganese (Mn) is often pinkish when it forms manganese sulfate, so my best guess is there is some manganese in the lye as a minor “contaminant.” Or there may be dissolved manganese in their water that then can form manganese sulfate in the recipe.

Well, who knew? He does I guess. Thanks Renee's dad for enlightening us all. By the way, the photo above emphases the pink and in the bars in real life it's barely noticeable and not at all once I start using them. 

Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c
17 January 11

Comments

What an interesting and

What an interesting and easy-to-understand video. This is the first time I've even considered trying to make soap. Would you use this recipe strictly for laundry or also for bathing, etc?

Mom, you can use this soap

Mom, you can use this soap for anything. I use it for cleaning (and not showering etc.) because it's less moisturizing than my body bars and is less pretty. My body bars (the ones you get) are more expensive & more time consuming to make because they have speciality, harder to find oils and the essential oils that give the bars their lovely scents. 

Soap is soap. And can be made with any oil. But different oils will produce different characteristics - lathering, moisturizing, hardness of bar etc...

HI Renee, I finally made the

HI Renee,

I finally made the simple soap recipe yesterday, and I was so excited to cut my soap 24 hours later. Thank you so much, Renee. I noticed bubbling when I mixed in the lye water in the melted shortening. The stove was already turned off and both mixes were at about 110 degrees? Would this bubbling have any adverse effects on the soap? Also, can I use this soap as a base for a liquid hand/diswashing soap, adding essential oils for moisturizing?

Brenda, I have no idea about

Brenda, I have no idea about the bubbling. Yes, you could use this soap as a base to make liquid soap. I bet there are tutorials online to do that. I personally don't make liquid soap so I don't know how.
Essential oils are not added for moisturizing. EO's are added for their botanical and aromatherapy (for lack of better word) properties. The carrier oils (shortening, olive, palm, etc.) are the oils that add moisturizing qualities. Certain oils are more moisturizing than others. This simple soap recipe is not particularly moisturizing. It is not bad for your skin and will lather quite nice (I'm currently using some as a shampoo bar) but it's not a rich moisturizing bar. 
Please see this post for more information on oil properties and soap making.

Thank you so much!!! I know

Thank you so much!!! I know this took a lot of time and effort and I am so thankful you made this. I've been trying my hand at soap and wanted to find a good recipe to use for laundry, washing dishes and cleaning. And the fact that you made a video too is just awesome.

Thanks for the refresher

Thanks for the refresher course! The last time I made soap was just before we moved, and I'm ready to make more this week, so the timing was great! I've always just poured all the lye in at once - don't remember that part of the instructions, but it's always been ok. Miss you guys :-)

I'm super interested in this

I'm super interested in this video (and the previous), but videos play excruciatingly slow on my connection, stopping for minutes in mid sentence etc, and I won't be able to get to it before the weekend when I have the time to play it at least twice. I played just the very beginning up to the point where your arm reaches out for the shortening (took 3 mins to get there, and it stopped) because I wanted to hear your voice - so nice!

Woohoo! I just made my first

Woohoo! I just made my first batch of soap! Thanks for the helpful video- it took the "scare" out of it for me. My tools are now sitting till tomorrow when I will clean them! (Thanks for the cool tip on clean-up!)

That is a great video! Well

That is a great video! Well done, and perfect timing ;) I have everything I need to make the soap except Lye, still looking for a local store to have it. One question I had please. How do you use it for dish washing? I have been making laundry soap for a while now but have yet to find a good dish soap. Do you melt it down into a liquid? Thank you :)

Elizabeth, I sits there as a

Elizabeth,

I sits there as a bar of soap and we rub it on the cloth or sponge and onto the dishes.

I talked about that here. Just like washing yourself with a soapy cloth in the shower.

I LOVE MAKING SOAP!!!! Last

I LOVE MAKING SOAP!!!! Last Spring I made ONE HUNDRED BARS for personal use and gifts. It is GREAT and I only have FOUR bars left ... guess I need to make some more very soon. =)

I got an e-mail question from

I got an e-mail question from a friend about the cooling of the lye and the heating of the oils. 

Specifically, what if the lye/water mixture cools down faster than the rate of the heated oils cooling down (remember, the oils have to be heated to melt but then must cool down to mix with the lye/water) or vice versa.

Here's my answer:

If this happens to me I stick the jar of lye/water or pot of oils (whichever I need to cool down fast) in a sink of cold water to try to bring the hot one down to the temperature of the cool one. Or if it's winter I might stick it out in the snow for a few mintutes.  

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[...] be either overwhelmed or inspired, maybe a bit of both. I highly recommend you start with a simple recipe that doesn't involve a lot of capital investment. If, after you make your first batch [...]

Hi Renee! Quick question.

Hi Renee!

Quick question. When I popped over to Simple Notebook to read her posts on soap, she mentioned that you have to use a stainless steel pot or the lye will react badly. My pots are all Calphalon (15+ years old from my wedding!) I can scour the thrift stores for stainless steel, but thought I'd ask you first.

Thank you!

I did it! My soap is all

I did it! My soap is all tucked in and I can't wait to see it tomorrow night. It didn't come to trace like yours, or perhaps I didn't continue blending long enough. I wonder if it's because I'm at altitude? I'm curious to see if it worked anyway. It was thick, but not as thick as yours. In either case, I'm excited and ready to make a fancier batch. Off to put some soap-making books on hold at the library! Thank you SO MUCH for such a clear and simple tutorial! I had it playing the whole time. :-)

Renee, Thanks for the great

Renee,

Thanks for the great video...just made my first batch of soap!

I'm an ophthalmologist...so I just wanted to mention about Lye since you commented on it in your video. As you likely know, Lye, more so than many other chemicals, can cause a severe sight-threatening reaction when it gets into the eye. It can burn into to the conjunctiva and cannot be easily removed, and then leaches out until the doctor can pick it out. It can then cause scarring of the conjunctiva and loss of vision through a variety of mechanisms. So....please always be careful, using goggles, including those people/children who are watching/assisting in the process. I agree with what you said about clothes and skin, etc...it's likely not as big of a deal...but if it gets in the eye, particularly in the solid form before it has mixed with water then it is a big danger. Let your viewers know :)

Thanks!

This looks so simple, I'm so

This looks so simple, I'm so inspired to try my own! I'm wondering though, what can be added to make this usable for bathing etc? I love the simplicity of your recipe compared to others i've seen and seems like with just the shortening could be an affordable option.

Here's the great news Jessica

Here's the great news Jessica - this soap is absolutely usable for bathing and for skin as is! The thing you gain from using a combination of more expensive oils is just better moisturizing and lathering properties. But any plant or animal based oil can be made into a usable soap. 
If you want to add just a bit of luxury to your bar you could add some lavender essential oil, one of the more common and cheaper EO's, and that will give your bar a beautiful scent without costing you a lot.
Happy soap making!

Hello Renee! Thank you for

Hello Renee!

Thank you for taking the time to post this video. I have always wanted to make soap, but it always seemed somewhat difficult.

I noticed in the video you advised us if we wanted to out oils or leaves into the soap, we do so during the trace process. What would be the approximate amount of oil we should use in the soap or is it up to our discretion? Also, what type of leaves would you recommend us using and why?

BTW...thank you so much for posting the lip balm receipt...I have went and purchased everything that is required to make the balm and will be doing so tomorrow.

I enjoy your recipes and your many stories.

Thank you so much for sharing...SMILE!!!

In my Simple Soap I don't add

In my Simple Soap I don't add any essential oils or botanicals.  I mention it in here so you can see the point when it happens if you decide to add EOs and botanicals to another soap you wish to make. 
As for how much EO to add, I suggest you read some of my recipe/ingredient posts, you'll find those on my Soap & Body Care resource page, to get a sense. I honestly don't know the percentage off the top of my head but I know for about 90-100 oz of oil I use 4-5 oz essential oil. See also the recipe in 4 Steps to Making Homemade Soap. In that one I use 86 oz of oils and 4 oz. EO.
What kind of leaves? Did I really say "leaves' (ha, ha!)? If so, what I mean is botanicals or natural plant products that you would add for their healing or "beautifying" affects. Take a look at recipe/ingredient posts to get a sense of what I add. It really depends on what I'm trying to achieve in the soap.
A few of my favorites to add are:

  • cornmeal - a great exfoliant
  • powdered green culinery herbs (dill, parsley, rosemary) - for color
  • calendula - almost always in there somewhere, usually infused in the oil, sometimes added as flower petals
  • cocoa and ground cloves - to produce a dark brown color 

Hi Renee, I am so happy I

Hi Renee, I am so happy I came across your blog. I have been making laundry soap for a while now but I use Fels Naptha soap and can't wait to make my own bar soap to replace it. I have been looking into making my own dish soap, shampoo and body wash, I came across a recipe to melt bar soap and add water and oils to it and I was disappointed with the outcome, I can not wait to try some of your recipes. I have a slight problem overcoming no lathering of my soaps and was wondering if the simple soap lathers for dish cleaning? Also would the simple soap recipe work in making a liquid laundry soap? Adding water and melting it all down? I have been using powder for a long while but was considering switching to liquid. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.

About the lather... Miranda,

About the lather...
Miranda, your question about the lathering is timely. Before we moved I would have said it lathers no problem. The water would turn a little milky but there were suds and if it wasn't sudsy enough I would just rub more on my cloth. I used our own simple soap bar for washing dishes for quite a few months. 
Since moving it's been a different story. The water here at our new place is different. It's well  water vs. treated town water (and other regional differences I'm sure). The simple soap does not lather the same for washing dishes. I was quite dissappointed by this and switched to store bought liquid soap for the time being. It also leaves a film in the sink. 
The body bars I make lather great. Though not the big bubbles I'm used to. I'm not sure what kind of residue they are leaving in the tub but it's no problem to scrub off every once in a while (I'm not a compulsive tub cleaner) with baking soda or borax.
So, I think it really depends on what your water is like. You can make a batch for laundry soap and try some for dish washing to see if it will work for you.
I have never made liquid soap. So have no experience to share there. I always add boiling water to my laundry mix and whisk it good to dissolve everything before adding it to the laundry. My washing machine is in the kitchen, this is easy to do. 

So excited! I set up your

So excited! I set up your video tutorial on making soap, assembled all my items and made my first batch of basic bar soap yesterday! I used only crisco as I wanted to make sure I could do it before I used any other types of oils. I added Sweet Orange and Cinnamon Leaf essential oils. The bars are cut, and curing. They smell so good! I don't know how I am going to wait the whole 3-4 weeks to use it. Thank you for sharing your wisdom on your blog! I love that I could have your video on in the background as I was working.

Thank you so much for sharing

Thank you so much for sharing this with me. This kind of feedback makes my day! You made soap, that's awesome. Just as a heads up orange and cinnamon can be irritating to sensitive skinned folks (like my husband). I love them but just want to let you know this in case you find it irritating and think you did something wrong in the process.

good to know! thanks! I

good to know! thanks! I probably would have been worried about it. I was planning to use it for Laundry and dish soap. I am planning to make a batch with coconut oil and palm oil soon. Would you suggest some soothing for the skin that I could add instead for fragrance? I would like to make some to use for my babies (3yrs & 8months)

I would stay fragrance-free

I would stay fragrance-free for your babes. But if you want something soothing and non-irritating lavender is nice. Speaking from my own experience. Lavender EO might bother some people but I'm not aware of it.

Thanks so much for posting

Thanks so much for posting this! It was very helpful and makes soapmaking seem a little less intimidating :) I have a question, can you use the same pot to make laundry detergent in, or would you not recommend that because of the lye?

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