Your First Cold Process Soap Recipe
This is the batch to learn on: three easy-to-find oils, a forgiving 5% superfat, and a 2-pound loaf that fits a standard silicone mold. The lye amount below is calculated for these exact oils — do not swap oils without re-running the numbers through a lye calculator.
The Recipe (2 lbs of oils)
- Olive oil: 16 oz (454 g) — 50%
- Coconut oil: 9.6 oz (272 g) — 30%
- Shea butter: 6.4 oz (181 g) — 20%
- Sodium hydroxide (lye): 4.5 oz (128 g)
- Distilled water: 9.2 oz (260 g)
- Fragrance oil (optional): up to 1.3 oz (36 g) — about 4% of oil weight
Superfat: 5% • Lye concentration: 33% • Yield: about 10 bars (4 oz each)
Why these oils: olive oil makes a mild, conditioning bar; coconut oil gives cleansing and big bubbles; shea butter adds creaminess and hardness. It’s the classic beginner trio for a reason.
Equipment
- Digital scale (weigh everything — no volume measuring)
- Stick blender dedicated to soap making
- Two heat-safe pitchers (one for lye solution, one for oils) — stainless steel or heavy plastic, never aluminum
- Thermometer (infrared or probe)
- Standard silicone loaf mold (holds ~2–3 lbs)
- Chemical-splash goggles, nitrile gloves, long sleeves
- Spatula and a towel for insulating the mold
Step by Step
- Gear up. Goggles, gloves, long sleeves. Work in a ventilated area with everything within reach.
- Make the lye solution. Weigh the distilled water into a pitcher. Slowly pour the weighed lye into the water (never the reverse), stirring gently. It will heat up on its own to around 180°F. Set aside.
- Melt the oils. Weigh the coconut oil and shea butter into your pot and melt over low heat. Remove from heat, then stir in the olive oil.
- Cool both to 100–130°F. The lye solution and the oils should be in this range and within about 10°F of each other.
- Combine. Pour the lye solution into the oils. Stick-blend in short 3–5 second bursts, stirring with the blender off in between, until you reach light trace — the batter thickens slightly and a drizzle leaves a faint trail.
- Add fragrance (if using) at light trace and stir thoroughly by hand.
- Pour into the mold. Tap the mold firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. Smooth the top with a spatula.
- Insulate. Cover the mold with a towel or place it in a turned-off oven for 24 hours.
- Unmold and cut after 24–48 hours, when the loaf is firm enough to slice cleanly.
- Cure 6 weeks. Stand bars on edge with airflow between them, somewhere cool and dry. Use the Soap Cure Date Calculator to mark your ready date.
Beginner Tips
- Don’t rush trace. Short bursts with the stick blender, stir in between.
- Skip colorants on batch one. Learn the process plain first; add micas and swirls on batch two.
- If it seizes, glop it into the mold anyway — it’ll still be soap, just rustic.
- Weigh the lye twice. It’s the one ingredient where a mistake matters most.
Free Tools for This Recipe
- Lye Calculator — verify or tweak this recipe’s lye amount.
- Soap Mold Calculator — check whether your mold fits a 2-lb batch.
- Soap Fragrance Calculator — dial in your fragrance percentage.
- Soap Cure Date Calculator — your exact ready date.
