0 Cold Process Soap Tutorial- Green Tea Soap

 Making cold process soaps seems daunting to many when really it is a simple task. Once you get the hang of things it really is a quick process and quite addicting. Learning how to make soap allows you to explore making shampoo, dishwashing liquid, laundry powder/detergent, shampoo bars and of course body wash!

So here is a quick tutorial showing how I make my soap. The soap featured is a "Green Tea Shampoo & All Over Bar". This is a 3 pound batch of soap.

Here we go!

You need: 

My stick blender

• A stick blender to stir the soap to trace. About $15 from Wal-Mart. 
• Lye- Sodium hydroxide (you can order this online or from a hardware store)
• A mixing bowl.
• Water
• Vinegar
• A scale to weigh out your measurements. Most recipes are by weight not by volume.
• A mixing spatula, do not use aluminum or wood. Lye reacts with aluminum and can break down wood.
• Your oils/butters
• Soap Mold
• A bag or freezer paper to line the mold.
• Gloves and long sleeves.

Step 1: Weigh out your lye

Step 2: Weigh out your water.

Step 3: Mix the lye into the water. Never pour water into lye, always lye into water. Pour slowly. Make sure you are by a window or in a well ventilated area.

Tip: Keep a bottle of vinegar nearby incase any lye splashes. Vinegar neutralizes the lye and helps prevent burns.

Set the lye mixture aside and go line your mold and measure out your oils. 

This is my soap mold, it cost me about $3 from Wal-Mart. It's an ice cube bin. 

Below: Soap mold lined. I use old bags, you can use freezer paper as well.

Step 4: Weigh out your oils and butters. Melt down your butters if you need to, I don't because the lye mixture is so hot it melts the butters I use.

 Step 5: Pour your lye mixture into the oils and blend the oils and lye together with your stick blender. Be sure to start off on low and then increase to high after the mixture starts to saponify (it will look a bit creamy).

Below: This was after about 1-2 minutes of mixing. The soap reached a "light trace". Trace is when the soap looks like pudding before it sets. (It's the saponification process when the oils mix with the lye and become SOAP!)

Note: Different recipes reach trace at different times. Your recipe might take longer to reach trace so pay attention to what trace looks like. If you pour too soon, your lye won't be fully mixed into the oils and can separate.

Below: We reached "thick trace" which took about 5-7 minutes. You can see the lines (trace) made by the mixer.

Step 6: Add any fragrance or additives. I added green tea to my soap. Be sure to research your additives because have to be added at certain times to be thoroughly incorporated into the soap properly.

Below: Green tea mixed into soap. Isn't it pretty?!

Step 7: Pour soap into the mold. I bam/drop my mold on the counter a few times to get out and air bubbles and level out the top. 

Below: Soap in the mold. The green tea is more toward the bottom than the top due to me not stirring it all the way in. I can't wait to see how the soap looks cut.

Below: Some ugly swirls I tried. 

Below: Final swirl pattern.

 See, that wasn't so bad was it? For me, I just try to relax because if your nervous about working with the lye or if your soap will turn out, odds are you're going to forget something and ruin the soap. So just relax and go for it!


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