Handmade Soap Recipes
Pure and Natural Cold Process Soap

Up until the 1850s when the local general stores opened and began carrying household essentials, many folks made their own household supplies. These supplies included lye soap recipes made with lye, lard, and lots of hardwork. They commonly made it using...

The Cold Process
Soap Recipes

General Cold Process Soap Instructions

Supplies and Ingredients
More about Soap Making Supplies here.

• Olive or other type oil
• Distilled water
• Lye
• Fragrance
• Other interesting additives e.g. ground seeds, oatmeal, etc.
• Wooden spoon
• Mixing bowl
• Electric hand blender (optional)
• Thermometer
• Drying rack

1. Carefully add Lye to Water and mix.
2. Combine oils and Lye solution and warm to 110 – 120 degrees F.
3. Add Fragrance when Trace is formed.
4. Add other interesting additives as desired
5. Pour into molds at medium to heavy trace
6. Insulate and let set for 24 hours
7. Pop out of molds and cut as necessary
8. Cure for 2-3 weeks on a drying rack

Note: When experimenting with new handmade soap recipes, it's a good idea to take a look at the ingredient calculations using a soap calculator. One of the best ones I've found is: SoapCalc.

When working with your soap recipes, SoapCalc allows you to run various scenarios with a particular ingredient, then it recommends amounts of the other ingredients. Take a look - it's fun to create your own unique lye soap recipes. Be sure to click and read the Soap Calculator help menus.

It's also a great idea to have a notepad and pencil handy to jot down what you did, so you can continually improve on your God given, soap making talents!

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Cold Process Soap Recipes

Creamy Lavender Soap

• 4 oz. Olive oil
• 2.5 oz. Coconut oil
• 1.5 oz. Palm oil
• 1.12 oz. Lye
• 2.5 oz. water infused with Lavender flowers
• 1 oz. Half-n-Half creamer
• ¼ fl. oz. Lavender fragrance
• ¼ tsp. Freesia fragrance

Remove Lavender flowers from water. Carefully dissolve Lye into infused Lavender water. Add Lye to Half-n-Half. Stir until Trace forms (you’ll see a trail of thickened solution when trace is forming). Stir in the Freesia fragrance. Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 2-3 weeks on a rack.

Crisco Lye Soap

• 3 lbs. Crisco
• 6 oz. Lye
• 12 oz. Water

Slowly melt Crisco. Place the cold Water into a glass bowl, and slowly add the Lye while continuing to stir, preferably with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until water is mostly clear. After the Crisco is melted, pour the lye solution into the melted Crisco and keep stirring until Trace forms (you’ll see a trail of thickened solution when trace is forming). Now you can stir in any fragrance, coloring, or herbs as you desire. Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 2-3 weeks on a rack.

Lovely Lard Soap

• 16 oz. Olive oil
• 16 oz. Lard
• 16 oz. Coconut oil
• 1.5 oz Beeswax
• 4 oz. Cocoa or Shea butter
• 7.4 oz. Lye
• 20 oz. Water
• 3 tsp. Sea salt (optional)

Slowly melt Lard then add the Beeswax and melt together. Place Water into a glass bowl, and slowly add the Lye while continuing to stir, preferably with a wooden spoon.

Continue to stir until water is mostly clear. After the Lard and Beeswax is melted, mix in the Olive oil and Cocoa (or Shea butter). Next pour the lye solution into the melted Lard mixture and keep stirring until Trace forms (you’ll see a trail of thickened solution when trace is forming). Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 2-3 weeks on a rack.

Shea Tropics

• 3.2 oz. Shea butter
• 4.8 oz. Olive oil
• 4.8 oz. Coconut oil
• 3.2 oz. Palm oil
• 6 oz. Water
• 2.2 oz. Lye
• 0.7 oz. Essential oil

Place Water into a glass bowl, and slowly add the Lye while continuing to stir, preferably with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until water is mostly clear. In a separate bowl, next mix together the Olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm oil, and Shea butter. Next pour the lye solution slowly into the oil - shea butter mixture and stir until trace forms. You will see a trail behind the spoon of thickened solution when trace is forming. Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 2-3 weeks on a rack.

Milk and Honey-Oatmeal Soap

• 4 oz. Milk
• 12-14 oz. Water
• 48 oz. Shortening
• 6 oz. Lye
• 6 tbs. Oatmeal (finely ground)
• 3 tbs. Honey

Slowly melt Shortening then add the Milk and mix together. Place Water into a glass bowl, and slowly add the Lye while continuing to stir, preferably with a wooden spoon.

Continue to stir until water is mostly clear. After the Shortening and Milk are well blended, pour the Lye solution slowly into the Shortening mixture stir until Trace forms.

Now add the finely ground Oatmeal and Honey. Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 2-3 weeks on a rack.

Easy Olive Oil Soap

• 16 oz. Olive oil
• 2 oz. Lye
• 6 oz. Water
• Fragrance, colors (optional)

Heat Olive oil to 150 degrees F. Add Lye to the Water slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon. Allow the Olive oil to cool to about 130 degrees, and slowly add the Lye.

Mix until Trace forms. If you decide to add Fragrance and Color, now is the time. Next, pour solution into molds and allow setting for 72 hours before removing from molds. Cure on a rack for 2-3 weeks.

Coconut – Palm Soap

• 4 oz. Coconut oil
• 8 oz. Olive oil
• 4 oz. Palm oil
• 6 oz. Distilled water
• 2.25 oz. Lye
• 0.5 oz. Fragrance

Carefully add Lye to Water and mix. Combine oils and Lye solution and warm to 110 – 120 degrees F. Add Fragrance when Trace is formed. Pour into mold at medium to heavy trace. Insulate and let set for 24 hours. Pop out of molds and cut as necessary. Cure for 2-3 weeks.

Farmer's Fall Delight

• 20 oz. Olive oil
• 8 oz. Palm oil
• 12 oz. Coconut oil
• 5.65 oz. lye
• 15 oz. water
• 1 oz. Spring rain fragrance
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
Place Water into a glass bowl, and slowly add the Lye while continuing to stir, preferably with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until water is mostly clear. In a separate bowl, next mix together the Olive oil, Coconut oil, and Palm oil. Next pour the lye solution slowly into the oil mixture and stir until a very light trace forms. You will see a trail behind the spoon of thickened solution when trace is forming. At this point add the Spring rain fragrance. Continue to stir. At heavy trace, add the cornmeal.



Once nicely mixed, pour into chosen molds. Cover and place molds in a warm area to setup for 24 hours then the soap can be cut or popped out of the molds as appropriate. Allow new soap to cure for 4-6 weeks on a rack.

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Hope you enjoyed these Handmade Soap Recipes. Come back often as we are adding more soap recipes all the time.

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Great Soap Recipes from Our Visitors

Click below to see soap recipes from our visitors to this page...


Basic Almost Castile 
4 oz coconut oil 76 degree 8 oz olive oil 3 ounce liquid- water/milk 1.8 oz lye/ sodium hydroxide yield: 17.8 oz soap (a little over a pound, makes …

Quality Cold Process soap recipe. 
Alright guys this recipe is quite easy and also has beneficial qualities for your skin: 5 oz. sodium hydroxide (Lye) 14 oz h2O 40 oz standard olive …

Citrus Soap 
Ingredients: - 18-ounce can of Lye - 15 cups Orange Oil - 5 cups Lemon Oil - 5 cups of Distilled Water - 2 two-gallon size Stainless Steel Containers …

Olive Soap 
Ingredients 24 oz. olive oil 24 oz. coconut oil 38 oz. vegetable shortening (Crisco) 12 oz. lye 32 oz. distilled water 3-4 oz. any essential or …

Oatmeal soap 
10 ounces Palm Oil 4 ounces Coconut Oil 2 ounces Olive Oil 1/4 cup regular oatmeal, run through the blender 2 ounces lye 8 fluid ounces water 1/4 …

Hemp - Olive Oil Soap 
1 pound Hemp Oil Batch 16 oz. Hempseed Oil 6 oz. Distilled Water 2.1 oz. lye 0.7 oz. Fragrance/Essential Oil 1 pound Hemp/Olive Oil batch …

Lime in the Coconut Soap 
Ingredients/Supplies (Amounts are by weight unless noted) 15 oz. Coconut oil 8 oz. Jojoba oil 25 oz. Sunflower oil 5 oz. Palm oil 2 oz. …

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