Make Your Own Soap Without Lye (You’ll See What I Mean)
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
If you've always wanted to make soap but are worried about working with lye, here's your answer. This homemade lye-free soap is truly the “I'm scared to work with lye” version of How to Make Homemade Soap.
Homemade soap is great for many reasons, but it can be a bit daunting to make. One of the reasons is the need to work with lye. It's definitely not something you want to be working with when you have little ones running around.
Thankfully there's an answer for that and I'm sure you'll be surprised at how easy it is and how gorgeous the results can be.
I Was a Lye Scaredy Cat
For years, I've wanted to make my own soap, but I've never done it.
I've drooled over others' homemade soap creations and felt deficient in my thriftiness, craftiness, and domestic skills, simply because I'd never. made. soap.
I have fond memories of a dear friend in the Chicago area who made HUGE batches of olive oil soap that was TO DIE FOR. She had enough money to buy whatever soap she wanted, but she just LOVED making soap and well, her soap was skin nourishing gorgeous.
She gifted me this soap when I was pregnant with our first child, but I wrote off making it because no way was I going to use lye in a kitchen where I'd have to time things so I didn't have a busy and inquisitive infant or toddler underfoot.
So I basically gave up all the soap-making dreams, and they never really came to be.
I even found the very book that my friend's soap recipe came from at a second hand store (and bought it), but I STILL never made soap.
So when a friend approached me about sharing a recipe for melt and pour soap that was easily made into “homemade soap” style, I was thrilled.
I assumed many other busy “lye scaredy cat” moms would love the chance to be crafty without being around something that might be a problem for their children's safety.
Lye-free Soap. Is It Possible?
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.
This is why the title of the post includes the words “you'll see what I mean.” The lye work has been done for you already in making the melt and pour soap base.
Why You'll Love This Soap
There are simply so many reasons to love this soap. Let's count the ways, shall we?
No Toxic Additives
So many soaps on the market are loaded with artificial colors, artificial fragrances, and preservatives. If you make your own melt-and-pour soaps, you can use quality ingredients without the toxins.
Saves Lots of Money
Of course, if you make your own melt and pour soap, you will save a bunch of money over store-bought fancy soaps. With all the great melt-and-pour bases, you can make exquisite soaps to rival any “artisan” type of homemade soap.
Avoids Allergens
More and more people have sensitivities these days. Making your own soap allows you to customize ingredients to your needs.
Directions
Grate the soap base.
Add oil to soap, if desired.
Heat on low setting in a double boiler or crock pot. Stir frequently.
When liquefied, remove from heat.
Add desired ingredients.
Stir to desired consistency. Pour (or spoon) the soap mixture into molds. I placed some dried rose petals on the bottom of this flower mold.
Cool and remove from the mold. Cut into desired sizes and shapes using a soap cutter or a food scraper/shovel if needed.
Allow soap to dry.
Important Ingredient Information
1. Soap Bases, Including One That Really Stands Out
First of all, 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.
Some of the more trusted online sources include:
- Brambleberry
- Bulk Apothecary
- Amazon
Here are some options for melt-and-pour soap bases with my favorite highlighted at the end.
- Goat's Milk Soap Base – this is a pretty nice base
- Glycerin Soap Base – makes a traditional clear melt-and-pour soap
- Cocoa Butter Soap Base
- Shea Butter Soap Base – this one seems to perform very well and has great reviews and the ingredients are really clean for a melt-and-pour base. If you want an artisan-type soap that's easy to make, this is a great way to go.
Shea Butter - 2 Pound Melt and Pour Soap Base
This Shea Butter Melt and Pour Soap Base is one of the cleanest soap bases out there. Plus it helps you create soaps that look very close to artisan soaps -- all without handling lye!
It's made from 5% refined shea butter, and is soy free, lathers well and is made in the USA.
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 really well too. These come in fun shapes and sizes like this flower mold (similar to the one used for the soaps in this post).
Note that you'll need parchment paper if you choose the bread mold pan option.
3. Herbs and Plants
Do you love lavender? Dried lavender or fresh lavender makes a perfect addition.
Roses? Dried rose petals or even fresh rose petals work beautifully.
Plant powders can add not only skin benefits but double as natural colorants. Turmeric, for example, turns the soap a lovely orange while adding nourishing anti-inflammatory qualities. Spirulina powder makes a lovely green. Beet powder adds a nice pink color.
4. Pure Fragrances
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.
How Much Essential Oil Should You Add to Soap?
How much essential oils you use in homemade soap depends on several things including how strong of a scent you would like, and the oil you are using.
For a strong scent, 0.7 ounces of essential oil per pound of cold process soap is a good amount. For melt and pour, you can typically add 0.3 ounces per pound.
Cold process soap is more of a harsh process and there are a number of chemical changes that occur when making the soap, so you can use more oils.
To avoid skin irritation it's important to not use too much of an essential oil in your soap. This fragrance calculator can help you choose the right amount of essential oils to use.
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 that add some nice benefits and make your soap special include coffee, green tea, kombucha, infused herbs, coconut milk, and floral hydrosol.
6. Fun Add-Ins
Besides things like herbs and plants, there are so many other fun add-ins. The sky is truly the limit!
How about:
- coffee beans
- cacao nibs
- coffee grounds—smell great and are great for exfoliating too
- citrus peels
- seeds (chia, poppy, apricot, flax)
- matcha powder—adds a lovely green color
- Himalayan salt—adds a nice pink hue
- tea leaves
Ingredients
- 8 ounces 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
- .15 ounces Essential Oils (about 90 drops)
- Parchment Paper (depending on what mold you use)
- Grater (a cheese grater, salad shooter, or food processor are good choices)
- 1/2 teaspoon oil (optional)
Instructions
- Grate 8 ounces of the soap base (two regular size bars.) A cheese grater works well, as does a salad shooter. A food processor also works.
- Add the oil, if desired, to thin the soap.
- Heat on low 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.
- Allow soap to dry for several days or more.
- Dry the soap thoroughly between uses to extend its life.
More Easy DIY Personal Care Products You'll Love
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
- Homemade Lip Scrub – your lips will love this!
- Homemade Moisturizing Foaming Soap– a super frugal alternative to store-bought foaming soap
- Homemade Body Wash – smells and works great
I'd love to hear how this goes for you!
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.
Can i use noom oil in this?
You mean neem? How would you use it?
Yes neem! I have multiple skin allergies and I am using neem to help with them. Can I use it in the soap? Thanks so much!
How much would you like to use? I’m so sorry you are dealing with this!! Have you found any relief with doing gut work or other things like that?
I have but it is a constant battle. My biggest thing is alcohol, which is in everything. I use very small amounts and am keeping an eye on it. Foods with additives are bad for it too.
I’m so so sorry to hear this. There are lots of thing you can do to address things. Feel free to shoot me an email. I’m working on so many things….there is hope. I eat almost nothing w/ additives and you can do alcohol free by using glycerin for almost everything. Like this. Does this help? https://wholenewmom.com/alcohol-free-vanilla-extract/ Hugs!
Yes, I will try the glycerin alternative. I will email you for sure!
Look forward to hearing how it goes!!
There is no such thing as Plumeria Essential oil! It is a synthetic fragrance oil. IMO melt and pour soap should be called soap crafting. You’re not making soap, just manipulating a base product.
Hi “Long time” :). Nice to meet you. So there apparently is a Plumeria oil–I just linked to it on Amazon. I can’t guarantee the purity, but it’s Plumeria Alba and this company says that they are extracting it with CO2. Do you think that isn’t accurate?
As for your suggested name for melt and pour, I understand your thoughts, which is why I titled the post the way that I did. If you would like to take it up with the woman who wrote the post, feel free. Her information is in the post. Maybe it should be “make your own melt and pour soap” not to be confused with “how to make your own melt and pour soap base”?
Thank you so much for sharing all these nice health tips!am a cancer patient for three years now home and not working but I would like to turn my soap making into a hubby and then try to turn it into a little business,do you think that’s possible even though I have never make soar before,so could you please give me some hint how I could go about doing this thanks while I await your reply.
Hi there. There are all kinds of places to sell things – hard to know how easy or hard it would be. Maybe reach out to natural minded folk in our area and ask?
Thank You so much for sharing. I’m 74 and for the first time, I think I can do this method. Thank You and God Bless
Awww you are so welcome! Glad to have helped! Hope to see you around again!!! God bless you as well!
Your post has inspired me! It goes beyond using whatever is cheap and blah and into living a bit more enriched with purpose and beauty. I used to press flowers and look to the beauty God has provided in the simple things on this earth. Your description of longing to make soap for years was a beautiful look into one of His most beautiful creations, You! Thank you for blessing my life by sharing this! I am going to not only use your recipe and all of your tips to make my own creations, your blog/description/narrative is my new daily reading. The desire that is infused in your life is a desire I want to have in mine. I don’t know if you realize the impact your words can have, but you have given me joy again!
Awwww you are too sweet. Thanks for your sweet words. I don’t deserve them, but I will accept them. Hugs and hope to see you around again!
I was excited when I saw the headline about making a chemical free soap and then disappointed to see it was actually melting a readily made soap to play with its smell and shape. There are many beautiful organic soaps out there already to purchase instead.
Hi there. Sorry it isn’t what you wanted. Of course there are a lot of lovely organic soaps you can purchase–that would go for anyone who wants to use lye to make soap as well. It all depends on what you want to do–make or buy, use lye or not, etc. Hope that helps!
Is lye dangerous to work with and how does it affect a soapmaker who uses it?
It can burn–its very caustic, so you need to be careful. Some people think it’s really no big deal but I never would have tried to make lye-based soap with little ones around.
I cut up cubes of melt and pour (when I’m not making it with lye) with a knife, put it in the microwave and put in molds. There are waaay to many steps here and adding liquid? A grater? You’ll freak people out of making melt n pour soap. Not cool.
Hi there. Sorry you feel that way. I avoid microwaves for health reasons and I am sure that the post author would agree with me. She went through a lot of health issues related to mold and it changes one’s perspective on a lot of things. You can see more information on her story here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/black-mold-symptoms-mold-exposure-symptoms/
I was trying to find a solution if there was to make soap without lye so this is considered CLICK BAIT because there is no way to make soap without lye and your little “well, you’ll see what I mean” does not make sense unless you put that in your post putting it down in the comments where some people where some people will not read them is in the definition of clickbait.
Hi there, “your mama”–actually no, the information about how this is soap created using melt and pour soap is right in the post. You can go back and read it to see. There are several other bloggers who have similar posts like this that were written before mine and several that were after. Perhaps you can go and tell them how upset you are about this as well. I do hope to have a real “making soap with lye” post down the road. Thanks for reading.
In fact, my writing “well, you’ll see what I mean” shows that I am not totally doing it without lye. Hope that clarifies.
Hi at what point can i add moringa powder or oil when preparing soap?
At the same point that you add the other ingredients mentioned in the post. Enjoy!