This recipe is for the basic soap. To make your lye solution, add 11/2cups of lye to 5 cups of cold water in your wide-mouth jar, stirring until your lye crystals are completely dissolved. The lye heats the water up. Place jar in cold water to bring the temperature down to about 90-95 degrees. In an enamel pan, slowly melt 6 pounds of lard. Place that enamel container in cold water & bring the temperature down to about 120-130 degrees.

When temperatures for both solutions are right, slowly add the lye solution to the melted lard, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring continuously for about 30 minutes. Add the scented oil & pour into greased molds. Cool overnight.

If you use just one container for a mold instead of individual molds, you need to cut the soap into bars the next morning. Remove the soap from the mold after several days. Age the soap for about 2 weeks before using. Remember that aging only improves your soap.

Miracle Cottage Industry Soap Recipe

This recipe is great for dry skin. It lathers up wonderfully. I call it my miracle soap because I use it to wash my hair with too & it is great for the skin. This soap does not get hard fast, so don't feel that you have failed if it does not harden quickly. The temperature is important for this recipe & so are the measurements & weights. You might fail if either is incorrect. Make sure you have an accurate scale to weigh your ingredients. If you don't have one, you need to add one to your equipment list. This recipe makes about 7 pounds of soap.

Ingredients needed for miracle natural Cottage Industry soap are

101/4 ounces of lye crystals
4 cups cold water
27 ounces of coconut oil
34 ounces of olive oil
3 cups of vegetable shortening (not lard or butter or margarine) 1 tablespoon scented oil
1 wide-mouth jar
1 enamel or stainless steel pan
1 wooden spoon

Measure 101/4 ounces of lye in a plastic container. Slowly & cautiously add the lye to 4 cups of cold water in the wide-mouth jar. Stir until lye crystals are completely dissolved. Place the jar in a shallow pan of cold water to start bringing the temperature of the lye water down between 95-98 degrees. The temperature cannot be hotter or colder than this for the recipe. Use the thermometer to continue taking the temperature until the proper temperature is reached.

This cooling process takes a little time, so place your shortening in the enamel pan & melt that. Add the olive oil & the coconut oil after you have melted the shortening. You may need to place this in cold water to bring the temperature to between 95-98 degrees. If either solution is too hot or too cold, you may have to heat it up or cool it down to proper temperatures. When both solutions are ready, slowly add the lye solution to the oils in a steady stream, stirring constantly.

Keep stirring until the mixture traces. This means that the spoon lifted from the soap mixture will be able to trace a design on the creamy soap. This design will stay visible for several seconds before disappearing. If you have stirred for about 30 minutes & the soap does not trace well, it is still able to be used. It will just take a little more time to harden after you pour it into the molds. Before pouring into the molds, add the scented oils. Cover your molds with a folded blanket & place them on a level surface, sheltered from any drafts.

Allow to set for 24 hours. Uncover & allow to set another 24 hours. If your scale & thermometer read correctly, you should have a batch of beautiful soap. Carefully following instructions & having equipment that reads correctly always ensures a good batch.

This recipe makes soap that is pliable when removed from the molds. At that time, you would be able to make it into different shapes, designs, & sizes. It will.have the consistency of soft cheese & be easy to roll into balls or shape into animals for the kids. You can become quite artistic in design. A mend of mine even makes hers into suggestive shapes for her husband's personal use. The soap may be easier to carve into shapes after it has had a chance to set more firmly.

Easy Natural Herbal Cottage Industry Soap Recipe

Place 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon verbena or lavender into 2 tablespoons warmed glycerin. Place in a warm area for several days. Strain & finely grate 12 tablespoons of unscented soap or soap flakes & melt in top of a double boiler. Remove from heat & add the scented glycerin to the melted soap. Add 1 tablespoon of honey. Mix well. Pour into greased molds. Allow to set until the soap is cool & hardened.

Related Information on Cottage Industry Soap

Back to Cottage Industry cameleer recipes section

HOME || cameleer & Read Articles || Contact Us || Beautiful Shopping

Online TV | English Girls Make Up | Learn English | Learn French | Learn German