I have been wanting to make my own soaps for at least a decade, but was terrified of using lye. So I moved onto other things, like lip balm and hand bound books, and placed my dreams of soap making on the back burner. That is, until this past summer when I began looking for things to do during #the100dayproject and came across a few hot process soap recipes. They looked easy enough and even had VIDEOS showing what it looked like when adding lye to water.
So I invited a friend over while Anna was at school to make a batch, We ended up making coconut oil shampoo bars (which I absolutely LOVE and still use). My friend and I both found the process to be easy and enjoyable and were thrilled to be using a product we had made ourselves.
With that first attempt being such a success, I decided to give it another go. This time opting for a bar that I could use in place of our body wash. I settled on a very basic bar using a mix of olive and coconut oils to get a baseline for what made my skin the happiest. I also wanted to play around with scents since we opted to keep our shampoo bars unscented.
I am fairly happy with how this batch turned out. It leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturized while also smelling lovely in the shower. The only thing that I would change is the amount of lather it creates. Perhaps I’m just used to the shampoo bars which have the most luxurious lather around, but these take a bit more work to get the bubbles out.
Are you a fan of hot process soaps? What’s your go-to soap recipe?



How To Make Coconut + Olive Oil Hot Process Soap
Supplies:
- Crockpot*
- Digital scale*
- Lye* (aka sodium hyrdoxide)
- Gloves*
- Long Sleeved Shirt
- Mask*
- Plastic mixing spoon*
- Glass measuring cup* and bowls*
- Immersion blender*
- Soap mold or bread pan (small shoe box, Pringles container, etc will also work)
- Vinegar
*This is an affiliate link. I make a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase it through the link.
For a general overview of how to make hot process soap (and my absolute favorite shampoo bar recipe), check out this tutorial from Mommypotamus.
**THIS POST WAS UPDATED ON 10/5/2020 TO CLARIFY THE STEPS AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THE RECIPE WAS MORE BALANCED AND INFORMED. PLEASE USE THIS VERSION FOR FUTURE BATCHES.**
From SoapMakingFriend.com:



9 Comments
Carmen
October 4, 2020 at 10:26 pmHi I am Carmen and would like to know if I have to put your Coconut + Olive Oil Hot Process Soap recipe through soap calculator or you have already did? I am new to making soap and want to learn how to make this soap.
Emily
October 4, 2020 at 10:53 pmHi! It’s always a good idea to run any soaping recipe through a soap calculator. That way you can learn about the qualities of the soap and also make sure your lye amount is within a safe range.
Carmen
October 4, 2020 at 11:29 pmEmily I am having a very difficult time using the soap calculator cannot figure it how to use it. I have mess 3 times making soap and wasted a lot of money making soap if you have any great video on using the soap calculator would greatly appreciated if you can assist me thank you.
Emily
October 5, 2020 at 7:30 amWhere do you seem to be struggling with your soap making? What do you mean when you say making a mess?
As for soap calculators, my favorite is SoapMakingFriend. I find it really easy to use.
There are also several great beginner soap making groups on Facebook that have a ton of resources.
Carmen
October 5, 2020 at 2:18 pmWhen I made my first batch the soap didn`t harden it stood liquid. The second batch of soap it stated to crumble like granola the third batch the bar when I used it it started melting in the bathroom when I wet it with water it was very soft. I just checked the soap making friend and this what is says. https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/soap-making-recipe-builder-lye-calculator/“
Emily
October 5, 2020 at 9:02 pmHow are you making the soap? Are you doing hot process soap or cold process soap? How are you bringing it to trace? And what is your cure time? All soap needs to cure for best results. I know that I said you *could* use the soap right away, but you’ll get the best results after a 4 week cure time. (I’m going to update the post to reflect that.)
Whatever you sent me through SoapMakingFriend didn’t come through. Sorry I can’t help you there. I did plug in the info into the calculator myself and it come up with different information. So I’m updating the post to reflect that and will be adding some photos to the post to clarify what properties the soap has and percentages to use (since that seems to be easier). Thanks for having me relook at this because it clearly needs to be updated. It’s one the very first soaps I made, so didn’t have much knowledge about soaps when I made it.
A few courses/groups I’d recommend looking into:
The Ultimate Guide to Hot Process Soap from Ashlee Greene
Soap Queen
Saponification Nation FB Group
Soap Making For Beginners Worldwide FB Group
Carmen
October 5, 2020 at 9:37 pmThis was the cold press soap I made and this the recipe and let it cure for a month in a half and didn`t turn out right.
30 oz olive oil
5 oz coconut oil
13 oz cold water
4.3 oz lye
1 teaspoon dried peppermint leaves
0.25 oz rosemary essential oil
0.75 oz peppermint essential oil
Stephanie Trump
April 1, 2021 at 10:21 pmIf I wanted to make a larger amount, could I just double the ingredients, or would I have to do something different?
Emily
April 1, 2021 at 10:30 pmI would suggest using a soap calculator to verify you have the right amount of oils and lye.