Basic Bar Soap

Introduction

This recipe is the basic recipe that we use to test fragrances, colors or other additives.

Ingredients

4 oz Coconut Oil or Palm Kernel Oil (See Comments for our notes about the oils.)
4 oz Olive Oil
8 oz Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
2.2 oz Sodium Hydroxide, also known as NaOH or Caustic Soda
6 fl oz water

Equipment

Scale
Soap Spoon
Gloves
Mold of your choice (We typically use a Rubbermaid Drawer Organizer #2915)
Plastic wrap or bag Immersion Blender
Mixing containers

Instructions

Line the mold with plastic wrap or bag. This will make the removal of the soap from the mold easy.

Measure oils on your scale. Warm on the stove or in the microwave. Bring temperature to near 120 F. Exact temperature is not critical. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Allow to cool to near 120 F. Once again, exact temperature is not critical.

Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Upon trace any desired fragrances or additives. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. Allow to sit until soap is firm.

Cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar.

Comments

We use either Coconut Oil or Palm Kernel Oil since they have similar saponification values. We will just use what we have available in the lab at the time.

If you would like more instructions about making Cold Process Soap, we recommend reading the following posts found on our blog.
Cold Process Soap, Day One
Cold Process Soap, Day Two
Cold Process Soap, Day Three
Cold Process Soap, Day Four
Cold Process Soap, Day Five
What is Trace?
Soda Ash

Yield

1.25 pounds of soap.