The last several days have been a blur! I feel like I’ve hardly been home, and I’m really missing spending time working on the many projects I’d like to continue or start (more on my “list” later).
As promised I’m posting my soap making photos below. This is not meant to be a lesson in soap making, rather just illustrating the process I use when making cold process soap. I’ve interspersed a few comments that will provide some helpful tips, or at least explain the step shown.
Lye and Water must be measured exactly. TIP - Always add lye to water, never pour water in lye container.
Oils (also called "fats") ready to be weighed. When reading a soap recipe, the measurements are by weight, not volume, unless otherwise stated.
Any solid oils, such as coconut, are added to bowl and then heated to liquid state. You can use a stainless steel pot on the stove or use safe container in microwave.
Most books reccomend checking to see that the heated oils and lye/water solution are both around 100 - 110 degrees.
I usually don't bother to check the temps - just feeling the sides of the containers works. I also don't stress about the temps, as long as the lye solution isn't super hot, and the oils are at least warm, I just move on.
In this case, my lye solution was MUCH warmer than the oils, so I decided to speed things up by putting the container of solution in a bowl of ice water for about 10 minutes.
While waiting for the lye solution to cool, I checked on my hens who were free ranging in the backyard! One of the girls made herself a nice, cool resting spot 
Lye solution added to oils. Notice - both the lye water AND oils are clear.
As soon as the lye is added, the oils get cloudy - chemistry is already happening to turn these different ingredients into soap!
I love my immersion blender! As you blend, the consistency will change to a pudding-like substance.
Checking for "trace" - when the soap dribbles from spoon or mixer and stays on top of the soap, that is trace. At a "thin trace" the soap won't stay on top as long.
When I get a thin trace, I add any additional oils, my essential oils, and any other additives, such as oatmeal or dried flowers. For this batch, I only added Sweet Orange Oil. Notice that the oil is orange, which means my soap will take on that color (not as dark, but still a yellow-orange).
When adding oils, be sure they are completely incorporated while also watching that the soap doesn't get to thick to pour. A slotted spoon is great for mixing in the E.O., and you can see I've got a good trace, so it's time to pour into the mold!
Mold lined with freezer paper, this mold doesn't have a lid, so I used plastic wrap. It's okay if the wrap touches the soap.
Wrap mold in towel to insulate, and let chemistry do the rest!
A few hours after you pour the soap into the mold, you can peek and see what it's doing. It should be starting to go through the "gel" phase. The gel starts in the center and eventually the whole loaf will be a hot squishy consistency. Don't worry about color changes - when it cools, the hard soap will be close to the same color it was when you poured it.
After 12 - 24 hours, your soap will be cooled, solid and ready to be removed from mold.
After removing from the mold, I usually allow the loaf to sit for a hour or so. Then it's time to slice! This batch made 10 - 1 in thick bars.
I hope these photos and comments are helpful to your soap making efforts! I am still learning this craft, but I’m happy to try to answer any questions
OH HOW WONDERFUL! PHOTOS! yippee. Can you tell me the wooden mold dimensions. I thought I had it written down somewhere, can’t find it. I have my husband on stand-by to start cutting the wood. Th or Fri I will be making more soap!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing all this information. I will take photos to pass on to you when we get the mold made and I make the soap. I am so excited to try a new mold that I am squirming to get it made…..Emily
sorry – can you give me inside dimensions of the mold?
I’m glad you like the photos
The inside dimensions of the mold are: 10L x 3.25W x 4H
Have fun making your soap!
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for the dimensions. Last night we went a head and reasoned through some dimensions and made a mold that is 11L x 3H x 3 1/2W. After looking at our dimensions and comparing them to yours, I think it will still work with the 2 lb batch recipe you posted. If all goes as planned, I will make a batch today (or tomorrow at the latest). This morning I planted some seeds – I didn’t have any more 4″ pots to use so I used toilet paper rolls that I had been saving for starting seeds. Then I cut some basil and made some pesto for our pork chops tonight. I just finished breaking up some glass bottles and put the bits in a tumbler to try my hand a Emily-made “beach” glass (never done this before, so I hope it works). Soap may be next on my list, but I need to clean up the kitchen first and I know that will distract me to a few other cleaning projects too. Have a great day. Emily
Emily, it sounds like you’ve had a busy, purpose-filled day on your homestead
I have tons of basil that is threatening to go to seed (it is probably too warm here). I guess I need to pick up some pine nuts and make some pesto too! My girlfriend freezes her pesto in ice cube trays to have handy. Maybe I’ll give it a try!
yup – ice cube trays. I WANT enough to do that this year. I tend to never plant enough and eat all the pesto before I get it into the ice cube trays. I will plant another 2 huge pots in hopes that I can freeze it. I am out of pine nuts, so I just used olive oil, parm cheese and basil. it worked fine. I made my soap about 6 hours ago and it is starting the gel phase. I am SO excited – the mold is wonderful. I took a photo of the soap in the mold and will take more as I get it out and cut it too. I don’t have a blog, but if you want I can email you photos. is there a place on your blog with your email? or you can use the one I use when I post this note to contact me. it’s up to you. Thanks again for all the photos you posted. I am such a visual person and the photos really helped. Emily
well, I know I am using a new mold so I thinking (HOPING) that nothing is going wrong. I ti snow over 24 hours since I poured my soap it is still soft and it still looks like it is in the gel phase (no heat coming off it though)….I am used to other molds (like 9×9 cake pan) done, firmed up and it is out of the mold and I am cutting it in 24 hours…..how long does yours take in the mold you showed us in the photos? AND, (never had to do this) but how can I save this if it is all wrong – any ideas – I would love to hear them. Ahhhhhh Emily
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I thought you had to leave the soap for about 6weeks before its ready???
I have found that my soap recipe is not harsh at all, and can be used pretty much right away. Now…the longer it cures the harder the bar gets, so the longer it lasts. I usually don’t use the soap until it is at least 2 – 3 weeks old. Other than one batch I was experimenting with, I’ve never had the soap “zap” me (meaning there was too much lye in the soap).