Cold Process Dish Soap
Go natural, reduce your waste, and add a charming touch to your kitchen sink with these cold process dish soap bars. These soap bars have a nice lather and minimal ingredients to get your dishes clean without streaks or residue.
Servings: 3 square bars
Equipment
- safety gear gloves, mask, eye protection, and an apron
- Heat resistant container
- Loaf soap mold silicone is best
Ingredients
Liquid and Lye
- 5.29 oz lye
- 11.83 oz water
Oils and Fats
- 22.85 oz coconut oil
- 1.15 oz castor oil
Instructions
- In a heat-proof container, carefully add the lye to the water (never the other way around) and stir until fully dissolved. The temperature will rise quickly. Set it aside in a safe place to cool.
- Melt coconut oil and castor oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat to cool.
- Pour the melted oils into a tall mixing bowl. Once both the lye solution and oils have cooled to around 100–115°F, slowly add the lye water to the oils and mix with an immersion blender.
- Continue blending, slowly adding the lye water in increments, until the mixture reaches a medium trace (a thick, pudding-like consistency).
- Pour the soap batter into your soap mold and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Lightly mist the surface with isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash. Allow the soap to set for at least 3 days before unmolding.
- After 3 days, remove the soap from the mold and cut it into 3 large squares (or into smaller bars if using a traditional soap mold). Space them 1 inch apart and allow them to cure for 6 weeks before using.
Notes
This recipe is made with no superfat.
Safety Notes
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- Always wear gloves and safety glasses when handling lye and work in a well-ventilated area. Keep children and pets away from the soapmaking process and store lye out of their reach.
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- It's very important to add the lye to the water, not the water to the lye. Pouring water into a jar of lye can cause a reaction that may be dangerous.
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- Make sure you are using a heat-resistant container to mix the lye and water. The mixture gets hot very quickly, and the last thing you want is a broken or melted container.
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- Keep all of your soapmaking bowls and utensils separate from your kitchen equipment. Don't use soapmaking tools with food.
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- If you change any ingredients in the recipe, you'll need to recalculate with a soap calculator. It's best to follow the recipe to a T.