"This page describes what soap is, how the chemical processes work in soap making and dispel the idea that soap making is dangerous.

If you have never made soap before then you need to read this page. It will help you to understand how the chemical changes work within the process.


Soap is the result of a chemical change when fat is mixed with a strong alkaline.

The alkaline normally used is sodium hydroxide. It is most commonly known as Caustic Soda and can be found in stores under "Drain Cleaners". In soap making it is called "lye".

Ingredients will vary from one recipe to another, but all will contain some sort of fat or oil, some sort of liquid and a strong alkaline.
You can add many different things to your soaps, depending on what you intend using the soap for. You can add fragrances or essential oils, fillers and exfoliants like oatmeal, ground peach stones, aloe vera etc.
Sometimes the things you add will have little effect on the nature of the soap - adding essential oils will only effect the smell, or food colour will only effect the colour of the soap. Some things will have a big difference on how soap works, like adding milk or cream, moisturising fats etc.
Experimentation is the key here.

It is essential to allow the soap to "cure" for a number of weeks before using it. It is this time that allows the lye to disappear and finishes the conversion from fat to soap. Using it before the process is complete could result in alkaline burns. However, as dangerous as this sounds, the lye does dissipate completely as long as the storage period is correctly observed.