What ingredients do I need to make soap? (2024)

Keri Squibb | 19 May, 2020 | 7 Comments

What ingredients do I need to make soap? (1)

It occurred to me recently that most people probably have no idea what ingredients are used to make soap. Or how readily available they are.

Perfect blog material so here goes.

Soap is made by mixing natural butters and/or oils. (Vegetable or animal based can be used). Water and Sodium Hydroxide also known as lye.

When these are all mixed together a chemical reaction called saponification occurs and when that reaction is complete you will have soap.

What kind of soap you have however depends, to a degree on what butters and oils you use and this is where the variables come in.

So, the simple answer is, for a very basic soap you need oils, water and sodium hydroxide. You can add essential or fragrance oils for scent and other ingredients for colours if you fancy being creative but these are all optional.

So what butters and oils should you use. I am firmly of the opinion that keeping it simple, especially in the early days, is key. For that reason the recipe I use in my soap making workshops uses just 3 , olive oil for mildness, cocoa butter for skin care and to add hardness to the bar, and coconut oil for big bubbles and deep cleaning. These are all readily available, not too expensive and I like to remain palm free in my soap making. I am also a big fan of a simple coconut oil soap. If you would like a recipe for this you can find it here.

The options however are endless and the internet is littered with recipes ranging from basic to exotic so the sky really is the limit. If you needed a very mild gentle bar of soap for example, you would use a recipe that is high in olive oil. A deep cleaning gardeners or mechanics soap would ideally be higher in coconut oil which is great for lifting the dirt but could be too cleansing for a baby's delicate skin.

What ingredients do I need to make soap? (2)

I am UK based and buy the bulk of my ingredients from online suppliershowever there is nothing at all to prevent you using oils purchased from supermarkets or online providing they are pure and not mixed with other oils - this would pose a problem as your recipe would not work properly and may end up lye heavy which would mean your soap is caustic and could burn you.

Lye is readily available from many hardware stores but you do need to endure it is good quality 100% sodium hydroxide and not blended with anything else.

So in a nutshell.

Soap = water + oils + sodium hydroxide. Simples!

Comments (7 Responses)

02 May, 2024

Linda

I love the way you speak in simple terms
Thank you
From your friend in Australia 🇦🇺

19 October, 2023

Keri

Hi Samuel, there are lots of You Tube videos out there which are a good place to start , alternatively do consider signing up for my Mino Soap Suite. It is an online membership with lots of videos and recipes in and I go in to a lot more detail than you may find on You Tube which may be easier for you to work through. It is only £5 a month, more details on that here. https://keri-s-school-52e2.thinkific.com/bundles/the-mini-soap-suite1

19 October, 2023

Samuel Lugadu

Hello I would like to learn more about bar soap making , am interested this but I don’t know where to start

14 August, 2023

Getachew Lema

Formula of bar soap

14 August, 2023

Ignatius

I like to go into soap making business but don’t have the ideas

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What ingredients do I need to make soap? (2024)

FAQs

What ingredients do I need to make soap? ›

Handcrafted soaps made from scratch require three things to become soap: oil, water and lye. It is the chemical reaction between these ingredients that turns them into soap. Most soap also has other ingredients added to provide benefits to the soap, or to color or scent it.

What ingredient do I need to make soap? ›

Handcrafted soaps made from scratch require three things to become soap: oil, water and lye. It is the chemical reaction between these ingredients that turns them into soap. Most soap also has other ingredients added to provide benefits to the soap, or to color or scent it.

What is the main active ingredient in soap? ›

Sodium hydroxide is employed as the saponification alkali for most soap now produced. Soap may also be manufactured with potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) as the alkali. Potassium soaps are more soluble in water than sodium soaps; in concentrated form, they are called soft soap.

What are the most important ingredients in the manufacture of soap? ›

So, the simple answer is, for a very basic soap you need oils, water and sodium hydroxide. You can add essential or fragrance oils for scent and other ingredients for colours if you fancy being creative but these are all optional.

Can you make soap without lye? ›

NO, chemically-speaking, soap itself cannot be made without lye.

How do you list homemade soap ingredients? ›

retail basis, the ingredients must appear on an information panel, in descending order of predominance. The names of ingredients need to follow the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) rules. This is the scientific or agreed-upon standard name for the ingredient.

How do you make old fashioned soap? ›

Here are couple of old fashioned soap recipes: A typical Southern recipe: “One half-box of concentrated lye, four pounds of grease, one pound of rosin, five gallons of water. Boil all together until the soap is made…then add a half pint of salt dissolved in a quart of water, boil a few minutes longer, and pour off.”

What is the simple formula for soap? ›

Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of long chain carboxylic acids. The formula of soap is C17H35COONa or sodium stearate. A soap (C17H35COONa) solution becomes a colloidal sol at a concentration of 1.2×103M.

What is the simplest method of making soap? ›

One of the easiest ways to make DIY soap is with the cold process method, which involves combining oils and sodium hydroxide lye, causing a chemical reaction called saponification. In the process, you get to add oils, scents, and colorants to make your soap more personal to you.

What is the number one ingredient in soap? ›

To start with, we'd just like to make it clear that all soaps (even so-called natural ones) are made using a caustic chemical called lye. You may see it under different names, but ultimately soap is by definition made with lye (AKA Caustic soda).

What are the key ingredients in soap? ›

If you only rinse them with water, they still feel greasy. However, if you add soap to the water, the grease washes away, and the result is clean dishes. There are 3 key ingredients in soap: oil or fat, lye and water.

What are the ingredients in No 1 soap? ›

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernalate, Water, Perfume, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Titanium Dioxide, Disodium EDTA, Turmeric Extract, BHT, Citric Acid Cl 47000, Cl 12150.

Which soap kills most bacteria? ›

Antibacterial soaps are no more effective than plain soap and water for killing disease-causing germs outside of health care settings. There is no evidence that antibacterial soaps are more effective than plain soap for preventing infection under most circ*mstances in the home or in public places.

How to make your own healthy soap? ›

using only natural ingredients? Cut your natural soap base, shea butter and melt in a double boiler, mixing dry oats, dry flowers and a few drops of any oil you like. until fully incorporated. Add to silicone molds and wait until completely solid.

What makes high quality soap? ›

A high quality soap made with care and attention will result in a soap that does not cause irritation, even to those with dermatological issues or extreme sensitivities. This requires quality oils, a formula that is as simple as possible, and high quality, skin-safe essential oils or fragrance oils.

What is the best ingredient in soap? ›

For soap making, the most common ingredient is lye. The chemical name for lye is sodium hydroxide. The other basic ingredients are the animal fat or vegetable oil or even 100 % coconut oil, distilled water, essential or skin-safe fragrance oil and colourants (optional).

What are the raw materials for homemade soap? ›

Raw Materials used in soap production

Common oils and fats include palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, soybean oil, and tallow. Alkali: This is a basic substance used to saponify the oils and fats, creating soap. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is the most commonly used alkali in soap production.

What is the most common ingredient in soap? ›

Lye is one of the main ingredients in soap. Lye is a base, also known as an alkali. Bases can burn and destroy living tissue—such as plants and skin. It can also burn through certain metals such as aluminum.

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