Natural Soap with no chemicals

Natural Soap

Every farm (micro farms included), every backyard that has a grill has access to wood ashes. I know you thing the ashes from charcoal is not wood ashes but it is. Charcoal is made of burnt wood deprived of oxygen  anyway SAVE YOUR ASHES. 

The first thing we need to do is to figure out where to get lye and that is where your ashes comes into play. Lye comes from these ashes by filtering water threw them. The water that comes out is lye water but it is not ready to use yet. So here is the steps to making lye. Remember lye is very caustic and safety glasses and rubber gloves is a must.

Ashes from the grill

1.     Get a bucket and fill it full of ashes.

2.     Get a stainless steel container big enough to contain water and to boil it.

3.     Poke holes into the bottom of the bucket in order for the water to flow out of the bucket you can do this with an awl or nail

4.     Position the bucket over the stainless steel container. 

5.     Boil some water .

6.     Pour the boiling water over the ashes and what come out is a very weak lye water.

7.     Reduce the water over a fire WARNING: MUST BE DONE OUTSIDE harmful vapors will be coming out of the water.

8.     You will know when finished boiling the water by putting and egg in it, (if the egg floats you are finished).

As you see making your own lye is easy and dose not take very much equipment or expense. Just remember don't use any aluminum or iron pans for the lye or bad results will happen. of course you can by you lye from a local supplier and save yourself the effort of making it.

There are many great lye calculators on line and I recommend you use them to verify your measurements are correct, or your first batch of soap might be a mess. Here is the recipe I have been using successfully. If you add any fragrance to the mix check with the supplier that it wont cause the soap to trace too soon. The measurements are weight and not liquid so you may want to get a scale that can measure in the weights given accurately.

·        12.5 oz water

·        5.6 oz lye

Or use 18.25 oz of the lye water you made

·        20 oz lard

·        8 oz olive oil

·        12 oz coconut oil

Melt all of your fats together (lard, olive, and coconut) and get the temp to about 125 degrees. Mix your lye with the water and wait till it is close to the 125 degrees as the water (if using the lye you made heat it up to 125 degrees). This does not have to be exact, but close. Pour the lye water into the oil and with a stick blender blend till you get trace and put into molds.

40 oz Soap molds

This recipe is basic and makes a little over 40 oz. so use a 40 oz mold and have a smaller one ready for any excess. 

Finished product

Let is set for 24 hours and remove the soap from the mold.  Cut the soap int bars and let dry for at least 3 weeks. You can use the bars of soap after the 24 hours but it will be soft and won’t last as long as waiting.

Remember when making soap work in a well ventilated area and take all the necessary precautions to keeping yourself safe.