This is the basic method used to make soap regardless of the recipe. The only exception is the traditional page which has its own instructions.

Put on your safety clothing; apron, rubber gloves and goggles or sunglasses.
Measure your lye using the dieter's scales very carefully. Put the liquid of your choice in a non-reactive bowl and place somewhere stable (the sink is best). Make sure there is plenty of ventilation as lye fumes can cause severe choking. (NEVER breathe lye fumes deliberately).

Add the lye to the liquid (ALWAYS add the lye to the liquid. NEVER add the liquid to the lye, as it could be extremely dangerous) very slowly, stirring constantly. Make sure the liquid is cold. The sodium hydroxide will cause the liquid to heat up on its own. If you add the lye to hot liquid it could boil over. You need to continue stirring the solution until it turns clear.

Measure your fats and/or oils into a suitable pot, and heat gently. They should get hot enough to melt any solid fats, but not to boiling point. Your fats and lye should be warm when you mix them. You can judge the heat by placing your hand on the outside of the continer. If you can leave your hand there for several seconds without burning your skin, then it should be about right.
Since most recipes have a solid fat in them, just heat long enough for the fat to melt.

When the lye has cooled to about the same temperature as the oils (use the touch test on the outside of the bowl) you can mix them. Pour the oils into the lye solution and stir and stir and stir (that's where a stick blender comes in handy). You need to stir the mix until you reach the "trace point". This is when the mixture becomes thick enough to make a mark on its surface (like a thin batter). At thick trace, a heavier line is formed when you dribble some of the mix onto the surface from the stirring utensil.

Add any fillers and fragrances at this point. Mix really well, so you don't have lumps or chunks in the finished soap. Pour your mix into your chosen containers and leave to set. Soaps with a higher solid oil content will usually set faster than those with a high liquid content. Leave it for a day or two before turning out. If it appears at all liquid leave it for a further 24 hours before checking again.

Slice your soap into the size and shape you like. Put the soaps onto a cake rack or similar to dry and cure.
If you don't have a rack then you will have to turn your soaps for the first week or so to ensure even drying. The longer your soap cures, the more solid and long lasting the finished product will be.

Test your soap for excess lye before using. It's safest to superfat your soaps - I superfat mine by between 5 and 10 percent. That way I err on the side of the fat rather on having too much lye in the mix. This ensures you won't have a lye-heavy batch. To test for excess lye, briefly dab the soap on your tongue. If your tongue stings, you have too much lye. You can rebatch your soap to rescue it (melt it down and mix it with a weaker batch) or test it with a pH strip to be certain.

Pool chlorine kits have a pH measuring unit in them.




 

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