If you've always wanted to make soap but are worried about working with lye, here is your answer. This homemade lye-free soap is basically the scaredy cat version of How to Make Homemade Soap (well-sort of!).
The Story of My Desire to Make Soap......
For years, I have wanted to make my own soap. And yet, I have never done it.
I've googled over the craftiness of others and felt that somehow I was deficient in my thriftiness, my craftiness, my domesticality...simply because I have never made soap.
One of my clearest memories is of a friend back in the Chicago area who made HUGE batches of olive oil soap. This friend had enough money to buy whatever soap she wanted, but she just LOVED making soap and her soap was just gorgeous.
I first tried this lovely soap when I was pregnant with my first child, so basically I wrote off making it because I knew that it would necessitate my working with lye in a kitchen where I would have to time things so I didn't have a busy and inquisitive infant or toddler underfoot. Let alone the fact that during nap time I would often be napping myself!
So I basically gave up all dreams of soap-making, and they never really came to be.
I even, at a second hand store, bought the very book that my friend's soap recipe came from, and I STILL haven't made soap.
So when Andrea approached me about sharing a recipe for melt and pour soap that was easily made into "homemade soap" style, I was thrilled.
I assumed that many other busy moms out there would love the chance to be crafty without being around something caustic that might be a problem for their children's safety.
Lye-free Soap--Really?
Would you like to create an all natural product, free of harsh chemicals, that radiates your personality and taste? Consider hand-milled soap!
Also known as melt and pour soap, this method allows you to forgo the hazards of working with caustic lye, while enjoying the creativity of soap making.
The reason being? Well, this is why the title of the post includes "you'll see what I mean." The lye work has been done for you already in making the melt and pour soap base.
Reasons to Make Melt and Pour Soap
Skip the Additives
So many soaps on the market are loaded with artificial colors and artificial fragrances. If you make your own melt and pour soaps, you can use quality ingredients without the nasty additives
Save Money
Of course if you make your own melt and pour soap, you will save a bunch of money over store-bought.
Avoid Allergens
More and more people have sensitivities. Making your own soap allows you to customize ingredients to your needs.
Other Easy DIY Personal Care Products You Can Make
How about trying out the following DIY Personal Care Products too? These are great ways to take more steps towards clean living.
Nourishing Sugar Scrub - skip the harsh artificial fragrances in most store-bought products
Healthy Lip Scrub - works great!
Homemade Foaming Soap - frugal alternative to store-bought soap pumps Citrus Body Wash - smells and works great
Tips for Choosing Melt and Pour Soap Ingredients
1. Natural Soap
Look for soap that is free of chemicals and fragrances. The simpler the better when it comes to hand milling. White or cream colored work best. Suggested online sources include:
- Brambleberry
- Bulk Apothecary
- Amazon
Here are some great options for melt and pour soap bases:
- Goat's Milk Soap Base
- Shea Butter Soap Base - this one seems to perform very well and has great reviews.
- Glycerin Soap Base
- Cocoa Butter Soap Base
2. Molds
A simple bread loaf pan will work depending on how much soap you're melting. Line the mold with parchment paper for easy removal.
Silicone molds work well too. These come in fun shapes and sizes like this flower mold (similar to the one used for the soaps in this post).
You will need parchment paper if you choose the bread mold pan option.
3. Herbs and Plants
Do you love lavender? Dried lavender or even fresh lavender makes a perfect addition.
Roses? Dried rose petals or even fresh rose petals work beautifully.
Plant powders will double as natural colorants. Turmeric, for example, turns the soap a lovely orange while adding skin nourishing qualities. Spirulina powder makes a lovely green. Ground oatmeal offers a nice exfoliating quality. Himalayan pink salt adds a nice pink hue.
4. Essential Oils
Forgo the petroleum-based fragrances and add scent using 100% natural essential oils. Essential oils carry through the hand milling process quite well - so pick a scent you enjoy and have fun!
Herb/essential oil combinations that work well include:
- Thyme Oil with turmeric powder
- Plumeria Oil with dried lavender
- Peppermint Oil with activated charcoal for a deep cleansing experience.
Here is Adrienne's source for "the best" essential oils, or click here to read the whole series about how she chose them.
5. Liquids
You'll need to add a slight amount of liquid to keep the soap from burning during the melting process. While water works fine, possible liquids include coffee, green tea, kombucha, infused herbs, coconut milk and floral hydrosol.
Ingredients
- Natural Soap Base
- Molds (I love these flower molds, circular molds, or these simple bar molds)
- Herbs or flowers (like these lavender flowers), rose petals
- Essential Oils
- Parchment Paper (depending on what mold you use)
- Grater (a cheese grater, salad shooter, or food processor are good choices)
- Liquid
Instructions
- Grate 8 ounces of soap. (Two regular size bars.) A cheese grater works well, as does a salad shooter. A food processor also works.
- Sprinkle 1-2 ounces water or other liquid over the grated soap.
- Heat on low setting in a double boiler or crock pot. You can also place in oven-safe pot and heat in the oven at lowest setting. Stir frequently to avoid burning. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
- When soap is liquefied, remove from heat. It will be somewhat lumpy and translucent.
- Add desired ingredients.(For the main photos here, I used Pink Himalayan salt and dried rose petals from my daughter's wedding. I added Rose Geranium essential oil which created a lovely rose scent.)
- Stir to desired consistency. Pour (or spoon) soap mixture into molds. I placed some dried rose petals on the bottom of this flower mold.
- Cool the soap and remove from mold (place mold into freezer for up to 1 hour to make this easier). Cut into desired sizes and shapes using a soap cutter or a food scraper/shovel.The mold used in the above photo is this one.
- Allow soap to dry for several days or more. Note that the more liquid you use the longer it will take to cure.
- Dry the soap thoroughly between uses to extend its life.
That's it! Easy as--well, melting and pouring.
These would make a fabulous gift for almost any occasion.
Have you made soap using the melt and pour method?
What herbal combinations would you like to try?
Andrea is a former journalist and the mother of nine children ranging in age from 28 to 12. Following a toxic mold exposure, Andrea and her family discovered the wonders of natural living. Andrea is the founder and president of momsAWARE, an educational organization designed to empower others to live healthy in a toxic world. You can follow her family’s journey at It Takes Time. She is also the owner of Just SoNatural Products.
Oatmeal is great for skin allergies. Adding that would be extra soothing.
GREAT idea. I have a skin issue currently and was thinking about using oatmeal! I have this post about making oat flour - would be another option since ground up oats have more surface area. Makes a great paste for skin too!
Thanks again for the tip!
Thank you for sharing ur knowledge. my people are perishing because lack of knowledge
You are so welcome.
How much essential oil do you use in this recipe?
I'm reading about .25 ounces of essential oil per pound of soap - does that help?
To add to my last comment, Turmeric, Activated Charcoal, Oatmeal, and Coffee beans/ grounds are ok to add along with cornflower pedals. Those will not mold or rot.
I read in your other comments that you didn't write this post but I wanted to share some info on using natural plants for colorant or adding dried or fresh flowers. The makeup of melt and pour is different than cold or hot process soaps, which cause the pedals and other herbs to re-hydrate and will mold.
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment 🙂
Hi there. Thanks for this! I just did a quick bit of research on the internet but I didn't see this. Can you tell me where you saw / heard this? Thank you!
https://blog.bulkapothecary.com/homemade-recipes/soap-recipes/melt-and-pour-101-additives-botanicals/
Also I learned it from my soap making groups. Melt and pour is the type of soap I make right now.
Hi there. Thanks for the link--it appears that they are saying that they will turn brown, but I don't see any discussion about mold. Am I missing something? Not that I want decomposed stuff in my soap, but they seem to be only concerned about appearance and not toxicity of mold. Thanks again would love to hear your thoughts.
I am intrigued your recipe is for Lye free soap, however soap can not be made without Lye, the melt and pour base already has lye (Sodium Hydroxide) added to it, it is not without it, it just takes the hard work out for you. Don't want people being falsely informed
Thanks! Yes, I made that clear, I thought, in the title saying that "you'll know what I mean" - it's a way to not do hard work but also not be exposed to the lye in the caustic form. Thanks for reading!
Love it. Thanks.
I am not being mean or rude here however please Do NOT ever add water to any melt and pour soap. It will not turn out correctly and it will possibly spoil and rot in a very short amount of time. Never never add water to melt and pour soap!
Hi there. I didn't write this post but am happy to adjust it--however I see other melt and pour sites talking about adding water....why are your thoughts different? Thanks!
Melt and pour soaps have the correct amount of Lye per other ingredients to make the soap adding more water will throw this out of whack so to speak and not end up with proper quantities of the final product.
Thank you!
Hi,
Melt and pour soap is just that, yes it has lye in it. The whole procedure has been done for you. I’m not sure where you have seen add water, but you have no need too add any. Yes, if you leave it over the double boiler too long, the water will disappear, but the soap then goes like leather. To combat this, put plastic wrap on the top, so the steam doesn’t escape.
I do however sometimes add a couple of teaspoons of cocoa butter.
You only need to add your essential oils or fragrance, dried petal leaves etc and colour if you want it. I add pink clay to mine and rose essential oil, for a fantastic face soap.
Melt And pour soap, Is designed to be used straight away once solid, there is no need to cure it. That has already been done.
Melt and pour is another way to make soap without going through the saponification process therefore it has lye in it until it’s completely process into soap which doesn’t have lye anymore.