How to Make Soap at Home: A Beginners Guide (2025)

Published: Jan 30, 2020 · Modified: Apr 3, 2024 by Celine Logan · This post may contain affiliate links · 48 Comments

Ready to dip your toes into how to make soap at home, but not sure where to start? These detailed instructions will teach you how to make soap from scratch step by step. This is one of the easiest soap recipes and you'll only need 5 ingredients. Here I'll walk you through the entire soapmaking process from start to finish.

Soap making can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Once you've got the basics down you can get creative. Most importantly, making your own soap will allow you to customize your natural soaps to your personal preference.

It can be a little bit nerve-wracking though especially if it's the first time you're making soap.

In order to make soap, oils/fats need to be mixed with lye (sodium hydroxide or caustic soda). One is acidic the other alkaline. A chemical reaction is kicked off when the two come together - the so-called saponification process. Lye molecules will latch onto fat molecules and turn them into soap. Lye is a necessary ingredient in the soap-making process: without lye - no soap!

My goal in this tutorial is to give you the necessary skills and knowledge to work with lye safely and with confidence. Trust me it's not that scary once you get over the initial hesitation. So, let's make cold process soaps!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you will I earn a commission if you decide to click through and make a purchase.

Ingredients

• Lye (sodium hydroxide): you can purchase it in the form of flakes or beads - both are fine to use. At your local store, you might find it as a drain cleaner. Please follow safety precautions!
• Distilled water: it's recommended to use distilled water, but in my experience, tap water will work in a pinch
• Olive oil: one of the most common liquid oils to use in soap making. It is highly nourishing and makes for a mild creamy bar of soap.
• Coconut oil: adds bubble power and hardness.
• Tallow: an animal fat derived from beef. It's a great alternative to palm oil, a controversial ingredient linked to rainforest destruction and habitat loss. Tallow adds hardness and moisturizing properties.
• Lemongrass essential oil: essential oils are a great way to scent homemade soap naturally. Lemongrass essential oil is bright and citrusy and will not fade in the finished product. Alternatively, you could use fragrance oils that are artificially made.

Recipe

Distilled water: 5.5 oz / 157 g
Lye: 3 oz / 85 g
Olive Oil: 9.45 oz / 268 g
Coconut oil: 6.3 oz / 179 g
Tallow: 5.25 oz / 148 g
Lemongrass essential oil: 20 g

Equipment

Important: if you’re using any tools from your kitchen you CAN’T use them again for food prep or eating. Whatever got in touch with lye, soap or essential oils has to become your designated soapy tool, you want to avoid any soap residue seeping into your food.

• Safety goggles and latex gloves
• Scale: It’s very important to have an accurate scale. You have to be able to measure your ingredients precisely otherwise you might end up with soap that has too much lye in it - not good.
• Soap Mold: This could be as simple as a bunch of empty yogurt containers or a small cardboard box lined with freezer paper. We’ll actually use an empty Pringles can when we make soap in this tutorial. Single-cavity silicone molds like this one are great for beginners too.
• Containers to measure and mix your lye: Thick plastic containers or stainless steel pitchers are good choices. You want to avoid aluminum since it will react with the lye. Glass is not recommended either since the water lye solution becomes very hot initially and may cause the glass to crack.
• Another container to mix and melt your oils: I like to melt my oils on the stovetop, so I “sacrificed” an old saucepan. You can melt oils in the microwave on 20-second bursts, too. For that, you will need a heat-resistant plastic bowl. I use these very cheap measuring containers I bought at IKEA.
• Stick blender/ immersion blender: buy a very basic one, like this one. You can make soap without a stick blender, but it will take hours of constant stirring.

• Thermometer: You’ll need a thermometer to check the temperature of your oils and lye solution. I splurged on an infrared thermometer which is easy to use and less messy. But you can easily get away with using a very simple one like this.

• Spatula:to scrape the bottom of your soap pot and texture the top. Use one that's made of plastic/silicone
• Small glass jar for measuring essential oils: perfect for this are clean empty food jars, you want to avoid plastic containers since essential oils can "eat" through plastic and seep out.

Lye Safety Precautions

Lye is an alkali or caustic substance (with a high PH). It can burn your skin, damage your eyes or cause serious injury when ingested.

Here's a quick reminder however about the most important things to keep in mind when making lye soap:

1. Soap in a well-ventilated area (crack a window or turn on a ceiling fan)
2. Don't soap around kids or pets
3. ALWAYS wear gloves, goggles, and a long sleeve shirt for the entire time you're making soap
4. Always pour your lye into your water. Never the other way around!
5. When lye is first combined with a liquid, fumes are released that shouldn’t be inhaled (you might choose to wear a mask, hold your breath, or turn your head to the side to breathe for that time)
6. Keep in mind that the lye solution will initially become very hot
7. Always keep lye solution out of reach of children and pets
8. It's a good idea to run every soap recipe through one of the free lye calculators, like soapcalc, just to make sure everything's correct.

How to Make Homemade Soap

Prep work

1. Prepare your work area: cover your work surface with old newspaper or freezer paper
2. Gather all your equipment: gloves, goggles, containers or pots, freezer paper, Pringles can, tape, scale, stick blender, thermometer, oils, essential oil, lye, distilled water, spatula, plastic spoon, thick towel, cling wrap, small glass container
3. Make sure all your equipment is nice and clean

Prep your mold

1. Cut out a piece of freezer paper about 9 x 9 Inches
2. Cut the bottom of the can off (the aluminum part)
3. Firmly tape the cap on (you don't want any soap batter seeping out at the bottom)
4. Line the can with the freezer paper - the plastic (glossy) side facing inward

Safety first

1. Put on your gloves and goggles, make sure you’re wearing long sleeves
2. Ensure that you’ll be undisturbed for the next 30 min
3. Crack a window

Prepare lye solution

1. Measure out your lye into a small plastic container

2. In a bigger container measure out the distilled water

3. Slowly while constantly stirring add the lye into the water. Never the other way around! There will be fumes while you’re doing this. As much as possible hold your breath, if you have to inhale turn your head to the side. Work swiftly and set your lye mixture to the side when it is completely dissolved.

Melt oils

1. In a small saucepan or microwave-proof container measure out coconut oil and tallow.

2. Melt coconut oil and tallow over low heat in a water bath or on short bursts in the microwave until fully liquid

See Also

How to Make Soap 101 - Homemade Soap Making for BeginnersSoapmaking 101: How to Make Soap

3. Add olive oil

4. Checking temperature: You want to have your oils and lye solution both at about 110 Degrees Fahrenheit and ideally not more than 10 degrees from each other when you combine them. This means that you might have to reheat your oils slightly after a while.

5. Measure out essential oil into a small glass container

6. Add essential oil to melted oils

Combine everything

1. Slowly pour the lye solution down the shaft of your stick blender. This will reduce any air bubbles trapped in your soap. Gently tap your stick blender to further release any air.

2. Carefully turn the stick blender on low, blend for 15 seconds, and check the consistency of your batter.

3. Once you see the soap mixture leaving traces on top of the surface you’re done stick-blending

4. Give it a good stir with your spatula
5. Carefully pour the soap batter into the prepared mold

6. Scrape all the soap from your bowl and give the mold some small taps to release any air bubbles
7. Seal the top of the mold with cling wrap (optional)

8. Cover with a heavy towel and let rest for 36-48 hours

Unmolding your soap

1. Peel off the tape and take off the cap
2. Slowly push the soap out of the can

3. Peel off freezer paper

4. Cutting soap into bars: Lay your soap on a flat surface. Holding a knife with both hands, shifting your weight evenly perpendicular to your soap, push down as straight and evenly as possible.

Curing

Let soap cure 4 weeks before using or gifting. Choose a place that’s away from direct sunlight and humidity. Make sure air can get to your soaps evenly.

How to Make Homemade Soap Harder?

Homemade soap is great for your skin and easy on the planet, but sometimes people wish it was just a tad bit harder. Find out 7 ways to make homemade soap harder that are easy and effective.

FAQs

Homemade Soap Recipe

Yield: 7 bars of soap

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 2 days 24 seconds

Total Time: 2 days 40 minutes 24 seconds

Difficulty: Easy to intermediate

A beginners step by step tutorial on how to make soap at home including an easy homemade soap recipe.

Materials

• Distilled water: 5.5 oz. / 157 g
• Lye: 3 oz. / 85 g
• Olive Oil: 9.45 oz. / 268 g
• Coconut oil: 6.3 oz. / 179 g
• Tallow: 5.25 oz. / 148 g
• Lemongrass essential oil: 20 g

Tools

• Gloves and Goggles
• Empty Pringles Can
• Tape
• Freezer Paper
• Sharp Knife
• Immersion Blender
• Digital Kitchen Scale
• Thermometer
• 2 Medium Sized Containers (plastic or stainless steel)
• One Small Cup (for measuring the lye)
• Heavy Towel

Instructions

1. Prepare your work area: cover your work surface with old newspaper or freezer paper
2. Gather all your equipment: gloves, goggles, containers or pots, freezer paper, Pringles can, tape, scale,stick blender, thermometer, oils/ butter, essential oil, lye, distilled water, spatula, plastic spoon, thick towel, cling wrap, small glass container
3. Make sure all your equipment is nice and clean

PREP YOUR MOLD:

1. Cut out a piece of freezer paper about 9 x 9 Inches
2. Cut the bottom of the can off (the aluminum part)
3. Firmly tape the cap on (you don’t want any soap batter seeping out at the bottom)
4. Firmly taping lid to the can to avoid soap batter seeping out
5. Line the can with the freezer paper – the plastic (glossy) side facing inward

SAFETY FIRST:

1. Put on your gloves and goggles, make sure you’re wearing long sleeves

2. Ensure that you’ll be undisturbed for the next 30 min

3. Crack a window

PREPARING YOUR LYE SOLUTION:

1. Measure out your lye into a small plastic container

2. In a bigger container measure out the distilled water

3. Slowly while constantly stirring pour the lye into the water.Never, never the other way around!There will be fumes while you’re doing this. As much as possible hold your breath, if you have to inhale turn your head to the side. Work swiftly and set your lye to the side when it is completely dissolved.

MELTING THE OILS:

1. In a small saucepan or microwave proof container measure out the coconut oil and tallow.

2. Melt coconut oil and tallow over low heat in a water bath or on 20 second bursts in the microwave until fully liquid

3. Add olive oil

CHECKING TEMPERATURE:

Now comes the juggling part. You want to have your oils and lye solution both at about 110 Degrees Fahrenheit and ideally not more than 10 degrees from each other when you combine them. This means that you might have to reheat your oils slightly after a while

LET’S MAKE HOMEMADE SOAP:

1. Measure out the essential oil into a small glass container and pour it into your melted oils

2. Slowly pour the lye solution down the shaft of your stick blender. This will reduce any air bubbles being trapped in your soap. Gently tap your stick blender to further release any air.

3. Carefully turn on your stick blender, blend for 15 seconds and check consistency of your batter. We’re aiming for a pudding consistency (see picture below).

4. Once you see the soap batter leaving traces on top of the surface you’re done stick blending

5. Give it a good stir with your spatula

6. Carefully pour the soap batter into your prepared mold

7. Scrape all the soap of your bowl and give the mold some small taps to release any air bubbles

8. Seal the top of the mold with cling wrap

9. Cover with a heavy towel and let rest for 36-48 hours

UNMOLDING YOUR SOAP:

1. Peel of the tape and take of the cap

2. Slowly push the soap out of the can

3. Peel off freezer paper

4. Lay your soap on a flat surface. Holding a knife with both hands, shifting your weight evenly perpendicular to your soap, push down as straight and evenly as possible and cut into bars

CURING YOUR SOAP:

Let your bars sit for 4 weeks before using or gifting. Choose a place that’s away from direct sunlight and humidity. Make sure air can get to your soaps evenly.