Making Soap Without Lye

Tap to Read ➤ Aparna Jadhav

Preparing soap without lye is not quite possible as lye is the basic necessity in the process of saponification. But making soap can be a lot of fun, so read on and find out some great ways to do the same.

Lye is a chemical known as sodium hydroxide which is used in many household products, especially bathing soaps. It is an alkaline chemical which is produced by the reaction between sodium carbonate (soda) and calcium hydroxide (lime).

In its raw form, lye is known to be a caustic chemical, which means it causes the skin to burn by destroying living tissue. But this property of lye is found to be lost when the final product is formed.

Lye is an ingredient which cannot be avoided while making soap, thus, there is no such thing as soap without lye, but you can use glycerin and minimum amounts of lye. Since making homemade soap can be a very enjoyable activity, you can make soap in very easy steps.

Homemade Soap

In the basic process of making soap, lye is a very important ingredient, and hence you have to use lye for soap making. However, as mentioned, lye is dangerous in the raw form, but when it reacts with the other ingredients and gives the final product of soap, there are no traces left behind.

Soap Recipe

Ingredients ● 3 pieces of Glycerin block ● ¼ cup of water ● Essential oil ● Herbs, dried and pulverized ● Soap making mold ● Glass plate ● Mixing bowl ● Wooden spoon

Directions To start with this basic recipe, you can first boil the ¼ cup water and then pour it over the herbs kept in the large mixing bowl. Don't mix the herbs immediately but add about 6 drops of essential oil and then again heat this mixture to bring it to boil.

During this process, keep stirring the mixture so that the liquid formed has a uniform consistency. Melt the glycerin to make a liquid and then add it to this mixture and keep stirring. You will know when it has completely dissolved in the mixture but to make sure, wait for 15 to 20 minutes and then remove from the heat.

Let it cool and then uniformly add it into the soap making molds. Let these molds sit for about 2 to 3 days and when they are completely solidified, remove them from the molds, as this soap is ready to be used! Isn't making your own soaps fun and easy?

Options for Fragrances

There are many other scents which you can use if you want variation in the homemade soaps.

The process of making soap with lye is very similar to the mentioned process. You can add various fragrances to it, which will give the soap a lovely aroma and you can enjoy a real spa experience. You can add many other ingredients like herbal oils, skin conditioners, minerals and vitamin supplements, etc. to this recipe to make it more effective.

You can use natural soap products and ingredients as they are always more beneficial for the skin. The various types of scents which you can use are given. ● All-vegetable ● Aniseed ● Bentonite Clay ● Buttermilk ● Chamomile ● Chocolate ● Citrus

● Coconut ● Coffee ● Cranberry ● Honey based ● Lavender ● Mint ● Oatmeal ● Olive ● Pumpkin ●Soy milk ●Vanilla

So, make your favorite scented soap and give your skin a healthy treat!