For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make soap from scratch.  By that, I mean making soap using only the basics of water, fats, and lye.  Yes, lye.  As much as I had the desire, I was scared of the process and the perceived dangers.  I had visions of suiting up in a sick room outfit suitable for treating a patient with Ebola.  That said, with some time on my hands, I decided to do some in-depth research, mostly to get up the nerve to try.  I read blogs, ordered some books, and watched dozens of YouTube videos.  I convinced myself and I could do this and so I did.  The rest is history.

Something I learned right away was that making soap can be a useful, budget-friendly hobby or it can be a money pit, especially at first. As a matter of fact, I used over $30 worth of essential oils in my first 3-pound loaf of soap, and that does not include the cost of the various fats I used, all of the highest quality. 

My very first batch of soap made with lye turned out fantastic, but clearly, as a hobby, I could not afford to continue to spend that much money when making soap just for the fun of it.   So, after a few months of experimenting, I came up with foolproof recipe for making a budget-friendly soap using commonly available, grocery store ingredients.  This is a basic soap.  It cleans well, is sufficiently moisturizing, and pleasant to use.  The use of fragrance is optional and honestly, there is a simplicity in pure, unscented soap that I find attractive.

With that, let me introduce you to crafting homemade soap using the hot process method.

For the longest time, I have wanted to make soap but was intimidated by the process.  I envisioned donning my pandemic-ready overalls, goggles, and three layers of gloves so that I could safely work with lye.  I have since learned that with care, I do not have to go quite that far but still, I was just not ready to take that step.

About six months ago, I learned about something called melt and pour soap base.  Melt and pour base is a block of premade soap with nothing added.  All of the work to create soap from oils and lye has been done, leaving the fun part of adding color, fragrance, and molding into bars to you.  The more I read, the more I was hooked so I purchased some supplies and got started. 

There was no looking back.  I have learned that making hand-crafted soap from melt and pour base is addictive and is both a highly creative process and superbly rewarding hobby.  I just can’t stop making soap and love giving my precious bars away to friends for no reason at all.  Just because.

One of those friends loved her soaps so much that she asked for more.  And then she asked me to teach her how so she could make her own and give them away to her friends.  So there I was, one day, teaching my friend Nancy to make soap and within an hour or two, she was an expert.  Her husband told me I created a soap-making monster.  Now I don’t know about that but with all of that experience behind me, I decided to memorialize a beginners guide to making soap.

Given that pursuing your passions, including hobbies, is part of living a strategic life, I share with you what I know so far about making no-lye soap, along with some tips and tricks that will pretty much guarantee success.