SOAPMAKING

Introduction
With practice, soapmaking is not
difficult and is suitable as a small-
scale business. It uses simple
equipment and vegetable oils or
animal fats as raw materials, each
of which is likely to be locally
available in most countries.
However, it is more difficult to
produce high-quality hard soap,
which in some countries is
necessary to compete with
imported products or those
produced by large-scale
manufacturers. There are also
certain hazards in producing soap,
which any potential producer must
be aware of to avoid injury. This
technical brief describes the
procedures needed to make a
variety of simple soaps and
includes a number of recipes for different types of soap.
Ingredients
There are three main ingredients in plain soap - oil or fat (oil is simply liquid fat), lye (or alkali)
and water. Other ingredients may be added to give the soap a pleasant odour or colour, or to
improve its skin-softening qualities. Almost any fat or non-toxic oil is suitable for soap
manufacture. Common types include animal fat, avocado oil and sunflower oil. Lyes can either
be bought as potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) or from sodium hydroxide (caustic soda),
or if they are not available, made from ashes. Some soaps are better made using soft water,
and for these it is necessary to either use rainwater or add borax to tap water. Each of the
above chemicals is usually available from pharmacies in larger towns.
Caution!
Lyes are extremely caustic. They cause burns if splashed on the skin and can cause
blindness if splashed in the eye. If drunk, they can be fatal.
Care is needed when handling lyes and green (uncured) soap. Details of the precautions that
should be taken are given below.
Because of these dangers, keep small children away from the processing room while soap is
being made.
How to make lye from ashes
Commercial lyes can be bought in tins from pharmacies in larger towns, and these are a
standard strength to give consistent results. However, if they are not available or affordable, lye
can also be made from ashes. Fit a tap near to the bottom of a large (e.g. 250 litre) plastic or
wooden barrel/tub. Do not use aluminium because the lye will corrode it and the soap will be
contaminated. Make a filter inside, around the tap hole, using several bricks or stones covered
Figure 1: Bina Baroi with some of her finished soap
products after soapmaking training from ITDG
Bangladesh.
Zul/ITDG
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with straw. Fill the tub with ashes and pour boiling water over them until water begins to run
from the tap. Then shut the tap and let the ashes soak. The ashes will settle to less than one
quarter of their original volume, and as they settle, add more ashes until the tub is full again.
Ashes from any burned plant material are suitable, but those from banana leaf/stem make the
strongest lye, and those from apple wood make the whitest soap.
If a big barrel is not available, or smaller amounts of soap are to be made, a porcelain bowl or
plastic bucket can be used. Fill the bucket with ashes and add boiling water, stirring to wet the
ashes. Add more ashes to fill the bucket to the top, add more water and stir again. Let them
stand for 12 - 24 hours, or until the liquid is clear, then carefully pour off the clear lye.
The longer the water stands before being drawn off, the stronger the lye will be. Usually a few
hours will be enough. Lye that is able to cause a fresh egg to float can be used as a standard
strength for soap-making. The strength of the lye does not need to always be the same,
because it combines with the fat in a fixed proportion. If a weak lye is used, more lye can be
added during the process until all the fat is saponified
1
.
How to make potash
Potash is made by boiling down the lye water in a heavy iron kettle. After the water is driven
off, a dark, dry residue known as black salts remains. This is then heated until it melts and
the black impurities are burned away to leave a greyish-white substance. This is potash. It can
be stored for future soapmaking in a moisture-proof pot to prevent it absorbing water from the
air.
How to make soda lye and caustic soda
Mix 1 part quicklime with 3 parts water to make a liquid that has the consistency of cream.
Dissolve 3 parts sal soda in 5 parts boiling water, and add the lime cream, stirring vigorously.
Keep the mixture boiling until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Then allow it to cool and
settle, and pour off the lye. Discard the dregs in the bottom. Caustic soda is produced by
boiling down the lye until the water is evaporated and a dry, white residue is left in the kettle.
Most commercial lyes are caustic soda, and these can be bought and substituted for home-
made lye to save time. They are supplied in tins and the lids should be kept tightly fitted to
stop the lye absorbing water from the air and forming a solid lump.
Care when using lyes, potash or caustic soda
You should always take precautions when handling these materials as they are dangerous. Be
especially careful when adding them to cold water, when stirring lye water, and when pouring
the liquid soap into moulds. Lyes produce harmful fumes, so stand back and avert your head
while the lye is dissolving. Do not breath lye fumes. It is worth investing in a pair of rubber
gloves and plastic safety goggles. You should also wear an apron or overalls to protect your
clothes. If lye splashes onto the skin or into your eyes, wash it off immediately with plenty of
cold water.
When lye is added to water the chemical reaction quickly heats the water. Never add lye to
hot water because it can boil over and scald your skin. Never add water to lye because it
could react violently and splash over you.
How to prepare tallow
Cut up beef suet, mutton fat or pork scraps and heat them over a low heat. Strain the melted
fat through a coarse cloth, and squeeze as much fat as possible out of the scraps.

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saponification is the name given to the chemical reaction in which lye and fat are converted into one substance
- soap
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Clean the melted fat by boiling it in water. Use twice as much water as fat, add a tablespoon of
salt per 5 kg fat, and boil for ten minutes, stirring thoroughly all the time. Allow it to cool and
form a hard cake on top of the water. Lift off the cake of fat and scrape the underside clean.
This is then ready to store or use in a soap recipe.
How to prepare oil
Vegetable oils can be extracted from oilseeds, nuts or some types of fruit (see Table 1 and the
separate Technical Brief Oil Extraction). They can be used alone or mixed with fat or other
types of oil. Note: solid fats and saturated oils (coconut, palm, palm kernel) are more suitable
for soapmaking. Unsaturated oils (e.g. safflower, sunflower) may produce soap that is too soft
if used alone (see Table 2) and are not recommended.
Soapmaking
There are two types of soap: soft soap and hard soap. Soft soap can be made using either a
cold process or a hot process, but hard soap can only be made using a hot process. To make
any soap it is necessary to dilute the lye, mix it with the fat or oil, and stir the mixture until
saponification takes place (in the processes described below, the word fat is used to mean
either fat or oil). The cold process may require several days or even months, depending upon
the strength and purity of the ingredients, whereas the hot process takes place within a few
minutes to a few hours.
Dispose of soap-making wastes carefully outdoors, do not put them in the drain.
Fats Oils
Goat fat
Lanolin
Lard
Mutton fat
Pork fat
Suet
Tallow
Canola
Coconut
Cottonseed
Palm
Palm kernel
Soybean
Table 1: Types of fats and oils used in soapmaking
Soft soap
Cold process
A simple recipe for soft soap uses 12 kg of fat, 9 kg of potash and 26 litres of water. Dissolve
the potash in the water and add it to the fat in a wooden tub or barrel. For the next 3 days, stir
it vigorously for about 3 minutes several times a day, using a long wooden stick or paddle.
Keep the paddle in the mixture to prevent anyone accidentally touching it and being burned. In
a month or so the soap is free from lumps and has a uniform jelly-like consistency. When
stirred it has a silky lustre and trails off the paddle in slender threads. Then the soap is ready
to use and should be kept in a covered container.
Boiling process
Soft soap is also made by boiling diluted lye with fat until saponification takes place. Using the
same amounts as above, put the fat into a soap kettle, add sufficient lye to melt the fat and
heat it without burning. The froth that forms as the mixture cooks is caused by excess water,
and the soap must be heated until this is evaporated. Continue to heat and add more lye until
all the fat is saponified. Beat the froth with the paddle and when it ceases to rise, the soap falls
lower in the kettle and takes on a darker colour. White bubbles appear on the surface, making
a peculiar sound (the soap is talking). The thick liquid then becomes turbid and falls from the
paddle with a shining lustre. Further lye should then be added at regular intervals until the liquid
becomes a uniformly clear slime. The soap is fully saponified when it is thick and creamy, with
a slightly slimy texture. After cooling, it does not harden and is ready to use.
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To test whether the soap is properly made, put a few drops from the middle of the kettle onto a
plate to cool. If it remains clear when cool it is ready. However, if there is not enough lye the
drop of soap is weak and grey. If the deficiency is not so great, there may be a grey margin
around the outside of the drop. If too much lye has been added, a grey skin will spread over the
whole drop. It will not be sticky, but can be slid along the plate while wet. In this case the
soap is overdone and more fat must be added.
Hard soap
The method for making hard soap is similar to that for making soft soap by the boiling process,
but with additional steps to separate water, glycerine, excess alkali and other impurities from
the soap. The method requires three kettles: two small kettles to hold the lye and the fat, and
one large enough to contain both ingredients without boiling over.
Put the clean fat in a small kettle with enough water or weak lye to prevent burning, and raise
the temperature to boiling. Put the diluted lye in the other small kettle and heat it to boiling.
Heat the large kettle, and ladle in about one quarter of the melted fat. Add an equal amount of
the hot lye, stirring the mixture constantly. Continue this way, with one person ladling and
another stirring, until about two-thirds of the fat and lye have been thoroughly mixed together.
At this stage the mixture should be uniform with the consistency of cream. A few drops cooled
on a glass plate should show neither separate globules of oil or water droplets. Continue boiling
and add the remainder of the fat and lye alternately, taking care that there is no excess lye at
the end of the process. Boiled hard soaps have saponified when the mixture is thick and ropy
and slides off the paddle.
Up to this point, the process is similar to boiling soft soap, but the important difference in
making hard soap is the addition of salt at this point. This is the means by which the creamy
emulsion of oils and lye is broken up. The salt has a stronger affinity for water than it has for
soap, and it therefore takes the water and causes the soap to separate. The soap then rises
to the surface of the lye in curdy granules. The spent lye contains glycerine, salt and other
impurities, but no fat or alkali. Pour the honey-thick mixture into soap moulds or shallow
wooden boxes, over which loose pieces of cloth have been placed to stop the soap from
sticking. Alternatively, the soap may be poured into a tub which has been soaked overnight in
water, to cool and solidify. Do not use an aluminium container because the soap will corrode it.
Cover the moulds or tub with sacks to keep the heat in, and let it set for 2 - 3 days.
When cold the soap may be cut into smaller bars with a smooth, hard cord or a fine wire. It is
possible to use a knife, but care is needed because it chips the soap. Stack the bars loosely
on slatted wooden shelves in a cool, dry place and leave them for at least 3 weeks to season
and become thoroughly dry and hard.
Be careful! Uncured or green soap is almost as caustic as lye. Wear rubber gloves when
handling the hardened soap until it has been cured for a few weeks.
Problems in soapmaking
Problems that can occur in soapmaking and their possible causes are described in Table 2.
Problem Possible causes
Soap will not thicken quickly
enough
Not enough lye, too much water, temperature too low, not stirred
enough or too slowly, too much unsaturated oil (e.g. sunflower or
safflower).
Mixture curdles while stirring Fat and/or lye at too high temperature, not stirred enough or too
slowly.
Mixture sets too quickly, while in
the kettle
Fat and lye temperatures too high.
Mixture is grainy Fat and lye temperature too hot or too cold, not stirred enough or
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too slowly.
Layer of oil forms on soap as it
cools
Too much fat in recipe or not enough lye.
Clear liquid in soap when it is cut Too much lye in recipe, not stirred enough or too slowly.
Soft spongy soap Not enough lye, too much water, or too much unsaturated oil
Hard brittle soap Too much lye
Soap smells rancid Poor quality fat, too much fat or not enough lye.
Air bubbles in soap Stirred too long
Mottled soap Not stirred enough or too slowly or temperature fluctuations
during curing.
Soap separates in mould, greasy
surface layer on soap
Not enough lye, not boiled for long enough, not stirred enough or
too slowly
White powder on cured soap Hard water, lye not dissolved properly, reaction with air.
Warped bars Drying conditions variable.
Table 2: Problems in soapmaking
(Adapted from website www.colebrothers.com/soap in list of further information below)
To improve hard soap
A better quality soap may be made by re-melting the product of the first boiling and adding
more fats or oils and lye as needed, then boil the whole until saponification is complete. The
time required for this final step will depend on the strength of the lye, but 2 - 4 hours boiling is
usually necessary. If pure grained fat and good quality white lye are used, the resulting product
will be a pure, hard white soap that is suitable for all household purposes. Dyes, essences or
essential oils can be added to the soap at the end of the boiling to colour it or to mask the
fatty lye smell and give a pleasant odour.
Hard soap recipes
The simplest and cheapest type of soap is plain laundry soap, but a few inexpensive
ingredients can be used to soften the water or to perfume the product and create fine toilet
soaps too. The following recipes are a few examples of easily made soaps. There are many
more recipes in the information sources given at the end of this Technical Brief.
Simple kitchen soap
Dissolve 1 can of commercial lye in 5 cups cold water and allow it to cool. Meanwhile mix 2
tablespoons each of powdered borax and liquid ammonia in cup water. Melt 3 kg fat, strain it
and allow it to cool to body temperature. Pour the warm fat into the lye water and while beating
the mixture, gradually add the borax and ammonia mixture. Stir for about 10 - 15 minutes until
an emulsion is formed, and pour the mixture into a mould to cool.
Boiled hard white soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg potash lye in 5 litres of cold water. Let mixture stand overnight, then pour the
clear liquid into a second 5 litres of hot water and bring it to a boil. Pour in 2 kg of hot melted
fat in a thin stream, stirring constantly until an emulsion is formed. Simmer for 4 - 6 hours with
regular stirring, and then add 5 litres of hot water in which 1 cup of salt is dissolved. Test to
ensure that the mixture is saponified by lifting it on a cold knife blade, to ensure that it is ropy
and clear.
or
Dissolve 0.5 kg potash in 2 litres of cold water. Heat and add 2.5 kg melted fat, stirring
constantly. Let the mixture stand for 24 hours and add 5 litres boiling water. Place it on a low
heat and boil with constant stirring until it is saponified.
Labour-saving soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg soda lye and 1 kg yellow bar soap cut into thin slices in 12 litres of water. Boil
for 2 hours and then strain. Clothes soaked overnight in a solution of this soap need no
rubbing. Merely rinse them out and they will be clean and white.
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English bar soap
Use 5 litres of soft water, 0.5 kg of ground (or agricultural) lime, 1.75 kg soda lye, 30g borax, 1
kg tallow, 0.7 kg pulverised rosin and 14g beeswax. First bring the water to a boil, and then
gradually add the lime and soda, stirring vigorously. Add the borax, boil and stir until it is
dissolved. Pour in the melted tallow in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Add the rosin and
beeswax, and boil and stir until it thickens. Cool in moulds.
Transparent soap
Any good quality white soap may be made transparent by reducing it to shavings, adding one
part alcohol to 2 parts soap, and leaving the mixture in a warm place until the soap is
dissolved. It may be perfumed as desired.
or
Shave 0.6 kg good quality hard yellow soap and add 0.5 litres of alcohol. Simmer it in a double
boiler over a low heat until it is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add 30g of essence to give
a pleasant smell.
Bouquet soap
Shave 14 kg tallow soap and melt it in 2 cups water. When it is cool, add 14g essence of
bergamot, 30g each of oils of cloves, sassafras and thyme. Pour it into moulds.
Cinnamon soap
Shave 23 kg tallow soap and melt it over a low heat in 1.2 litres water. Cool and add 200g oil
of cinnamon and 30g each of essences of sassafras and bergamot. Mix and add 0.5 kg finely
powdered yellow ochre. Mix well and pour into moulds.
Citron soap
Mix 180g shaved soap with 300g attar of citron, 15g lemon oil, 120g attar of bergamot and 60g
attar of lemon.
Medicated soaps
Camphor soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg hard white soap in 1 cup boiling water. Continue boiling over a low heat until
the soap is the consistency of butter. Add 180g olive oil, mixed with 30g camphorated oil.
Remove it from the heat and beat until an emulsion forms. This soap can be used to clean
cuts and scratches.
Sulphur soap
Shave 60g soft soap and add 8g Flowers of Sulphur. Perfume and colour may be added as
desired. Mix the ingredients thoroughly in earthenware bowl.
Iodine soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg white, finely shaved soap in 90g distilled water or rose water. Add 30g tincture
of iodine. Put in double boiler, melt and mix by stirring.
More recipes for soft-soap cold process
Mix 4 kg of melted fat with 16 litres of strong lye water in a kettle. Bring it to the boil, pour into
the soap barrel and thin it with weak lye water. Place the barrel in a warm place. The soap
should be ready to use in a few weeks.
or
Mix 5 kg clear melted fat, 3 kg soda lye and 40 litres of hot water in the soap barrel. Stir once
a day and let the mixture stand until completely saponified.
or
Melt 4 kg fat in a kettle and bring it to the boil. In another kettle, mix 4 kg caustic soda and 0.5
kg soda in 20 litres of soft water. Pour all the ingredients together into a 200 litre barrel and fill
it up with soft water. Stir daily for 3 days and then let the mixture stand until saponified.
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or
Mix 3 kg potash, 2 kg lard and 0.2 kg powdered rosin and allow the mixture to stand for one
week. Then melt it in a kettle with 10 - 15 litres of water. Pour the mixture into a 50 litre barrel
and fill with soft water. Stir two or three times a day for two weeks.
or
Put 0.3 kg soda and 0.5 kg brown soap shavings into a kettle. Add 12 litres of cold water, melt
over low heat and stir until dissolved. It is ready for use as soon as it is cool.
Glossary
Lye, Lye water, potash lye interchangeable terms for alkali made from wood
ashes soaked in water
Potash (caustic potash) lye water evaporated to a powder.
Lime (or stone lime) ground or agricultural limestone.
Quicklime lime that has been baked.
Soda lye quicklime slaked in water and heated with soda.
Soda hydrated sodium carbonate.
Caustic soda soda lye evaporated to a powder.
Commercial lye usually caustic soda and is the equivalent of lye in
most recipes.
Equipment list
The following equipment is needed to make soap:
1. a large iron soap kettle for making soap in commercial quantities.
2. a long-handled wooden ladle to stir the soap.
3. a kitchen grater or a meat grinder to make soap flakes for laundry use or to grind soap for
some recipes.
4. flat wooden boxes, moulds or tubes, cut plastic bottles or plastic tubs, to mould the soap.
5. pieces of cloth to stop the soap sticking to the wooden moulds.
6. a plate on which to cool and test a few drops of the liquid soap.
Useful contacts and further information
The following publications describe soapmaking in more detail:
Small-scale Soapmaking: A handbook, by Peter Donker, IT Publishing/TCC, 1993.
Soap Production Technologies Series Guide No 3, Centre for the Development of
Enterprise, Brussels, 1994.
Case Study No 3: Soap Pilot Plant, Technology Consultancy Centre, Kumasi, Ghana,
1983.
Soap, Ann Bramson, Workman Publishing Co, 1975
The Art of Soap Making, Merilyn Mohr, Camden House Publishing, 1979
Making Soaps and Candles, Phyllis Hobson, Storey Communications Inc., 1973
Further information can be obtained from:
Technology Consultancy Centre, University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Fax: + 233 5160137, E-mail: [email protected]
For producers who can obtain assistance from a small business advisory service or an
international development agency that has access to the Internet, there are 100+ websites on
soap making. Most are either commercial sites that sell essences, oils etc that can be added
to soap, or home soapmakers sites that give recipes and information on how to make soaps.
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The following websites have useful information and good links to other sites:
www.soapbasics.co.uk contains details of products such as essential oils and plant
extracts for use in soaps, soap moulds, dyes and
packaging.
www.sugarplum.net/tracer has details of Soap Tracer software that can be purchased
to create soap recipes and calculate the amounts of oil and
lye required. Also details of ingredients and equipment for
soapmaking.
www.members.aol.com/_ht_a//
oelaineo/soapmaking
Free soap recipes and instructions for beginners. Books on
soapmaking for sale (Soap Recipes, and Super Formulas)
both by Elaine C White, details of suppliers.
www.amazon.com has books on soapmaking for sale, including Making Trans
Transparent Soap - a complete guide (1997), and Making
Natural Liquid Soaps both by Catherine Failor,
Essentially Soap (2000) by Robert McDaniel, The
Soapmakers Companion - a comprehensive guide with
recipes, techniques and know-how (1997) by Susan
Miller Cavitch, Milk-based Soaps (1997) by Casey
Makela, and The Handmade Soap Book (1998) by Melinda
Coss and Emma Peios,
www.colebrothers.com/soap has a variety of free information, including recipes, safety
considerations, ingredient suppliers, soapmaking methods
and the properties of soapmaking oils, with links to many
other soapmaking websites.
www.waltonfeed.com/old/soap has a history of soapmaking and a free table to calculate the
ratio of fat/lye for different fats and oils. There are also
recipes for cold process soap and details of ingredient
suppliers.
www.millenium-ark.net has recipes, soapmaking instructions, a fragrance calculator
and saponification chart.
Other websites that contain details of recipes and suppliers include:
www.alcasoft.com/soapfact
www.sweetcakes.com (comprehensive list of essences and essential oils for soaps)
www.soapcrafters.com
www.ziggurat.org/soap
www.soapmaker.com
www.snowdriftfarm.com
www.rainbowmeadow.com
www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com
www.hollyhobby.com