Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Before beginning ensure that you can work undisturbed for 1-2 hours. Kids and pets should be away from any soaping adventures. Make sure you are wearing your safety gear.
Weigh out all ingredients
- In separate containers, weigh out tallow, water and lye. I like to use a large stainless steel bowl for weighing out the tallow, a heat proof measuring glass for the water and a smaller glass bowl for the lye.
Melt fat and make lye solution
- Set the tallow (either in the stainless steel pot/bowl or in a crockpot) to melt over low - medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Working in a well ventilated area, carefully pour the lye into the water (snow falls on the lake), stir continuously until the lye has dissolved. Set aside lye solution in a safe place to cool.
Check the temperatures
- Once the tallow has fully melted, check the temperature of the tallow and lye solution. If they are both under 140 degrees and within ten degrees of each other proceed to making your soap batter. Otherwise, allow them to cool longer.
Make your soap batter
- Pour the lye solution into the melted fat. Pour over the shaft of your immersion blender to reduce air bubbles in the fat. Burp the immersion blender to remove any trapped air.
- Pulse the immersion blender for 30-60 second bursts, stirring in between. Repeat until the fat and lye solution has fully emulsified and the batter has reached trace. It'll look a bit like gravy or pudding.
- Add essential oils if using, blend.
Mold, cut and cure
- Pour the soap batter into your mold. Cover the mold with a towel, blanket or even cardboard to keep it insulated while it goes through saponification.
- After 12-24 hours, unmold the soap and cut into bars. Each 1" bar will weigh between 4-5oz before curing.
- Store bars in a well ventilated area out of direct sunlight for four to six weeks (the longer the better) before use.