Soapmaking
Practical Action
To improve hard soap
Better-quality soap may be made by re-melting the product of the first boiling and adding
more fats or oils and lye as needed, then boil the whole until saponification is complete. The
time required for this final step will depend on the strength of the lye, but 2 - 4 hours' boiling
is usually necessary. If pure grained fat and good quality white lye are used, the resulting
product will be a pure, hard white soap that is suitable for all household purposes. Dyes,
essences or essential oils can be added to the soap at the end of the boiling to colour it or to
mask the 'fatty lye' smell and give a pleasant odour.
Hard soap recipes
The simplest and cheapest type of soap is plain laundry soap, but a few inexpensive
ingredients can be used to soften the water or to perfume the product and create fine toilet
soaps too. The following recipes are a few examples of easily made soaps. There are many
more recipes in the information sources given at the end of this Technical Brief.
Simple kitchen soap
Dissolve 1 can of commercial lye in 5 cups cold water and allow it to cool. Meanwhile mix 2
tablespoons each of powdered borax and liquid ammonia in ½ cup water. Melt 3 kg fat, strain
it and allow it to cool to body temperature. Pour the warm fat into the lye water and while
beating the mixture, gradually add the borax and ammonia mixture. Stir for about 10 - 15
minutes until an emulsion is formed, and pour the mixture into a mould to cool.
Boiled hard white soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg potash lye in 5 litres of cold water. Let mixture stand overnight, then pour the
clear liquid into a second 5 litres of hot water and bring it to a boil. Pour in 2 kg of hot
melted fat in a thin stream, stirring constantly until an emulsion is formed. Simmer for 4 - 6
hours with regular stirring, and then add 5 litres of hot water in which 1 cup of salt is
dissolved. Test to ensure that the mixture is saponified by lifting it on a cold knife blade, to
ensure that it is ropey and clear.
Labour-saving soap
Dissolve 0.5 kg soda lye and 1 kg yellow bar soap cut into thin slices in 12 litres of water.
Boil for 2 hours and then strain. Clothes soaked overnight in a solution of this soap need no
rubbing. Merely rinse them out and they will be clean and white.
English bar soap
Use 5 litres of soft water, 0.5 kg of ground (or agricultural) lime, 1.75 kg soda lye, 30g
borax, 1 kg tallow, 0.7 kg pulverised rosin and 14g beeswax. First bring the water to a boil,
and then gradually add the lime and soda, stirring vigorously. Add the borax, boil and stir
until it is dissolved. Pour in the melted tallow in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Add the
rosin and beeswax, and boil and stir until it thickens. Cool in moulds.
Transparent soap
Any good quality white soap may be made transparent by reducing it to shavings, adding one
part alcohol to 2 parts soap, and leaving the mixture in a warm place until the soap is
dissolved. It may be perfumed as desired.
Bouquet soap
Shave 14 kg tallow soap and melt it in 2 cups water. When it is cool, add 14g essence of
bergamot, 30g each of oils of cloves, sassafras and thyme. Pour it into moulds.
Cinnamon soap
Shave 23 kg tallow soap and melt it over a low heat in 1.2 litres water. Cool and add 200g oil
of cinnamon and 30g each of essences of sassafras and bergamot. Mix and add 0.5 kg finely
powdered yellow ochre. Mix well and pour into moulds.
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