Make Your Own Soap Without Lye (You’ll See What I Mean)
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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.
Thank for your recipe, I will try to do it today. Just a question, why the use of lye is so common? What is the purpose of it? I am glad with this recipe that I can make without so much risk 🙂
You need to use lye to make soap. https://www.humblebeeandme.com/why-there-is-no-such-thing-as-making-soap-without-lye/
about a month I ordered 4 special offer miracle essential oil. I was wondered how long it will take before you before you will ship my order. I enjoy your newsletters very much. Inge may
Hi Inge – I’m sorry but I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t ship oils and I don’t know what Miracle Essential Oil is. Can you clarify please? Thank you!
I think I see now – they are another essential oils company. I have nothing to do w/ them. Sorry.
Thank you for this. I am going to be making soap with my 3 little granddaughters and I did not want to use lye because of the dangerous possibilities. This will be fun for them and they will have something to show for their efforts.
You are so welcome. 🙂 You made my smile – thanks for sharing!!
DIY SOAP ISSUES
Soaps only works well in soft water and it only works when its solution show an alkalinic PH. I tried to add some mono potassium phosphate as a hard water softener and PH buffer but it seems does not work well. Add more will make the paste a wax and less show no effects. Anyone can make a soap that can work in hard water and neutral PH level and with no harmful ingredients in it?
I tried to soften this alkalinic problem by using diluted vinegar water with saturated mono potassium phosphate in it to rub my hand after washing then rinse it out and add this vinegar water to the grey water depending on how much soap I used in the washing. I used it to my garden and it seems OK to the plants.
Plant ash is also alkalinic but it seems have the least negative impact on natural environment. Probably better just use plant ash solution or simulated plant ash solution (try to use all ingredients instead of just the main effective ingredient (potassium carbonate) because all the ingredients work together to make the solution a benign product to the nature. Also other ingredient may have auxiliary functions in the washing process such as PH buffering, hard water softening, etc.). Colour and fragrance or other additives are not necessary and should not be add in.
It seems that all the household chemicals should be scientifically simplified and rationalised. It is an issue about environment, common long term interests and human future. It is not an issue that can be relaxed upon.
GREEN LIFE TALK 1
I learned a lot from your site. It is great feeling now I can play my liquid soap making. I use cooking oil and KOH to cook detergent. It is easier than looking around for safe detergent for garden veg irrigation (you have no control what they put in). If you use hard water for washing, you can add mono potassium phosphate as a PH buffer (similar use and amount as borax, used here as a substitute of borax). Add a little bit of milk seems help to emulsify the paste especially when you use some olive oil. To make it a shampoo just adds a bit more milk. There is nothing can be wasted in the game of soap making. The worst scenario is you made the paste water hating wax (I did it by adding way too much mono potassium phosphate); but even that can be rescued by putting a couple of table spoon of KOH in 1 kg of soft water and heat it up then add the wax bit by bit into the solution and mix them up. Add a bit of (1 %) milk seems help it emulsify. Fine tuning the paste (by adding the wax bit by bit) until the PH reaches 8 to 8.5. Done. Good as new. The separated water solution from the waxy paste I keep it as fertiliser for garden after neutralised). I never put anything unnecessary into my detergent. I have been using this washing grey water for the irrigation of my veg garden the plants grow well and taste good. K+ goes well with pants. Even though I often use a bit of vinegar wipe my hands after washing and wash it into the grey water to protect my hands and neutralise the slightly alkalinic grey water. I like washing cloths by stamping in a basin, it is quicker (15 minutes) and cleaner and not hurting the fabric. Also I recommend using sea water for cooking seasoning instead of salt, you need all elements in the ocean (what is the proportion? The elements proportion in your body are nearly the same as they are in the environment as scientist found. We are not only made of star dust but also the proportion of the star dust) but not only sodium (don’t call it table salt, call it poison). Make your own drinking water by breaking lava rock and sediment rock and soak them in collected rain water. The main source of minerals you take in is by drinking water but not by food. When your urine stinks, your blood PH is no good, when your blood PH is good, your urine will not smelly. Keeping your mouth fresh and odourless by using tooth pick to scrape your teeth, never use tooth paste (it wear out your teeth surface layer and unbalance the microbes that make your mouth stink). Natural and healthy teeth are ivory coloured but not white. Teeth grow layer by layer from outside just like clam grow its shell or pearl). Leave it natural (and do not drink “drinks”), your teeth can heal small damages by itself just like a clam will do to its shells. Never use mouth rinsing water which will cause your mouth smell worse only, bacteria would not make your mouth stink, but unbalanced bacteria make your mouth stink. Naturally secreted oil on your skin and hair are the first line of defence, if just dust and sweat, rinse it with rain water it will be shine and smooth. What ruin your skin and hair is those tap water, shampoo and conditioners. I never use air condition for cooling or use heating for warming. In hot days I take shower 3 times a day (the water go into the garden) and sleep on tile floor or concrete floor or bamboo sheet at hot nights. Cold days I use electrical blanket under bedding clothes for warming. It saves lot energy and is healthier way to live. In areas which are too hot or too cold to live without cooling or warming that means these are areas not suitable for permanent human dwelling. The long term plan should be population excavation from these areas but not increase energy use to make artificial living environment (that is not only unsustainable but also unhealthy). I use 2 natural gas fermenter (imported poly gas fermenter tank for $ 500 each) as septic tank which is a closed system never leak out into environment, when one is filling the other is maturing. Gas for cooking, the matured sediment and liquid for fertiliser in garden. Build a small house but leave the land for a larger garden. Instead of externalising the responsibility from freedom, we should force the direct linkage between the freedom and responsibility: your own sewage you consume it yourself. Don’t discharge it into public sewage system. Actually, for me, all my organic waste (including my defecation and urine) and sewage water are my treasures for my garden. The important thing is never let any unhealthy and unnatural stuff gets into your septic system in the first place (the government approved waste water treatment unit actually is useless for the cocktail of harmful chemicals in the household sewage). As a general principle, get rid of all your household chemical products. Synthetic detergents, cleaning agents, air deodorant, disinfectant, bleach, hair dye, insecticide, etc. they are all unnecessary waste of natural resources and harmful pollutants to a home and the environment. The so called modern life style makes us sick, makes environment sick, the rat race of making money and getting rich is fundamentally contradictory to sustainability. Use as little as possible natural resources but contribute as much as possible effective information that is my understanding of a good Earth villager. That is the only way to reach future. Green life is good life. It is a real civilised life. When I donate money, I only donate it for family planning. I will never donate money to fan the runaway positive feedback loop to its disastrous end for all of human. And there is also a word for the riches: we don’t need your donation, we need you to use much less resources and leave them to the endless of future generations to survive on it. Want to hear other’s opinions.
Hi there. Sorry for the delay in responding. Lots of info there.
Wow – you really sleep right on a tile floor?
Are you not concerned about dirty electricity and an electric blanket? Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives? And what do you mean by family planning? And what do you mean by “the runaway positive feedback loop” – I guess you mean materialism? Thanks!
I have looked at a couple posts on your site and I love it!!! You are very informative and honest. I love this post, it’s a great way to get the kids involved without them coming near the lye. Your essential oils post was great as well. Thanks for the fun, kid friendly idea!
Thank you so much for the encouragement and you have a lovely name :).
Hai, The making of this soap is good but i want to know how it would be chemical free when using a commercial soap (grated) in it.
Hi there. The author didn’t say it would be chemical free, and really even water is a chemical, but if you are looking for something non toxic, perhaps search “organic” soap base. I just added a link to natural soap bases in the post. Hope that helps!
I really like this recipe, however I’m finding it difficult to find soap mold without palm oil and are 100% vegetable derived, also, when you put the essential oils in the soap can you also add other oils such as hemp oil or cocount oil?
I think you can do this. Sorry, but I haven’t tried.
That’s a great way to make soap ! I have done the melt and pour kind but you are limited to the premade selections. I also have a friend who makes soap from lye. It is much more time consuming and you have a lot more measuring and steps and curing. So this sounds like a best of both worlds. You can use a natural premade soap and give it your own special touch ! Thanks for the post.
You are so welcome – thanks!
This isn’t homemade soap. This is an arts and craft project. Please make sure that the title reflects content — otherwise, it is misleading and can waste people’s time. I am looking for a simple homemade soap recipe. This isn’t one.
Hello Kati. Thanks for commenting. I put the “you’ll see what I mean” in the title of the post so that people would know that there was something unusual coming. I didn’t think I was misleading anyone – did you miss that in the title, perhaps? Thanks.
As for the wasting of time, of course anyone can click on a link and find that the information that they were hoping was there isn’t. I have that happen to me all the time. I didn’t at all mean to do that with this post. Hope that clarifies.