I have been having a hard time finding a recipe for soap without lye, is it possible? f you have a recipe for soap without lye it would be MUCH appreciated!
Thank you!
Jenna from Spring, Texas
For soap, I believe you must have lye, unless you are making a glycerin type bar or the suggestions above. Cadia (08/22/2006)
By Laurie
My husband and I just bought the glycerin bars at Hobby Lobby to make our own soap. You can melt it in the microwave, add the soap colors and scents of your choice and pour in the molds. It was wonderful and quick to work with. The molds last forever and were under $2.50 ea. The dye and scents were inexpensive and last a long time. And a large bag of the glycerin soap was $9.99 for a 5lb bag and we have already made 12 bars and plenty of glycerin still left. A lot of fun and very easy. (08/23/2006)
By Susie Zoerner, Bay Minette, AL
You must have lye to make soap. Even glycerin soap has a certain level of lye. If you make the cold process soap outside or in a well ventilated area, you shouldn't have a problem with the fumes. I'm asthmatic and have been making soap for 5 years with no problems (but thats just my case). (08/27/2006)
By otakop
I tried using a mixture very similar to the one cross-fire-books describes from his science book, using fat, baking soda and salt. But instead of the fat, I used olive oil.
I started with a one pound box of baking soda, dumped into a two quart pan on the stove, added enough olive oil to dilute it, so it could come up to a boil, and then added about a cup of sea salt.
No, it did not saponify. But the following morning, when everything had cooled, I kneaded in enough oat flour to make a smooth paste. The mixture is wonderful to bathe with, soothing, deodorizing [with all that baking soda] and cleansing. But no, it is not soap. It will not rinse out of my hair. I'm tempted to put together an olive oil and lye mixture for shampoo.
Does anyone here have any experience with it?
info at thebestword dot net (09/01/2006)
By Genevieve Fosa
To make real soap, you have to have lye. If you want detergent, buy bars at the store and grate, add your own oils, herbs, or whatever and pour into pretty molds to set.
Glycerin soap is derived from the soap from lye. I am not positive how they remove the glycerin from the soap, but once the glycerin is removed, it is not luxurious.
There are a lot of soap sites you can look at for ideas and find out all the necessities to create soaps that are beautiful and very hard or very easy.
Thesoapgoat.com
http://www.soapcrafters.com/
http://www.dianesnaturally.com.au/methods.html
http://www.craftsfaironline.com/Soap.html
You will find a lot of recipes, links to other sites and answers to all of your questions.
By Tina Brown
I found a book by Janita Morris, The Soap Maker. I found it at the library and her recipes don't call for Lye. They are all her own creations and recipes. Very simple. I haven't had a chance to do try the recipes, but I'm very excited about not using lye. (09/08/2007)
By kate
To make real soap, you must use lye, however, once the process is complete, the lye is no longer left in the soap. The lye is only needed the produce a chemical reaction that actually turns the oils into soap. Lye soap is very good for you, glycerin melt & pour soap is a good soap to use as well, it is also derived from the lye method. I would avoid using any soap that uses salt as salt is very drying to the hair and skin. (09/21/2007)
By Crazee Crafter
There are several recipes. Here is one:
Ingredients: Soapwort, oatmeal and fragrance of choice (vanilla extract, lemon juice, orange peel, etc-whatever you want the soap to smell like)
Recipe: cook the soapwort in water to extract the saponins. Boiling is not desirable, as saponins can be destroyed by excessive heat. When they come out, they should float on the water and they should be sudsy, so you'll recognize it.
Harvest the saponins, by scooping the suds out with a dipper or large spoon and place the suds into a container by themselves. You should eventually be able to tell how much you need. Trial and error will show the way.
Next, mix your flavoring/scent into the saponin/suds container.
Then add your oatmeal. Add water if the mix is too dry immediately. You could also use cornstarch or flour for this instead of oatmeal.
Finally, take the entire mixture and place it into molds, the size and shape you want your soap to be. you can leave these in the sun to dry or bake them overnight at low heat or, just set them in a warm, dry place, where children and pests can't get to them.
When these items are dry, you have soap.
Some people on here have said that "real" soap requires lye, but the only definition of soap is that it is a substance used for cleaning. Saponins might form the scientific definition, but lye is not a saponin, so it has no real value in soap and being caustic, it is probably best avoided. (10/25/2007)
By Stewart Forrester
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