Can I make cold process soap with oils from my local grocery store?

The answer is YES! If you are new to soap making, or want to keep it small without ordering special oils from suppliers, there is a lot you can do with ingredients you purchase from your local grocery store. If you have an accurate scale handy that can measure small weights, lye, and distilled water, you can easily pick up all of your other soap making oils and even some additives at your grocery store.

The following soap recipes are for anyone who wants to try something new, and all ingredients can be bought at your grocery or health food store. These soap recipes are for soapers that feel comfortable with the soap making process. If you need basic soap making instructions, please read the basic soap tutorial and our lye safety tips, as these are simply recipes without directions. Each recipe calls for one pound of oils, which is a fairly small soap batch that is good for testing purposes or as a starting off point if you wish to "tweak" the recipes to find the perfect one for you.

*Note--All recipe measurements should be measured by weight, not fluid ounces unless otherwise noted.

All Vegetable Moisture Soap

The Coconut Oil in this soap recipe makes a wonderful hard bar, while the Olive and Corn oils contribute great moisturizing properties. This soap recipe makes basic unscented bars of soap. If you have skin safe fragrance or essential oils, feel free to add them at trace before pouring your soap.

Lye Mixture:
2.4 ounces lye
5.7 ounces distilled water

Oils:
5 ounces Coconut Oil
6 ounces Olive Oil
5 ounces Corn Oil

Moisturizing Soap with Lard

Lard is a wonderful ingredient in soap. If you are not looking for an all vegetable soap, consider using lard. It has great lathering properties, and is an excellent moisturizer and cleanser. This soap recipe makes basic unscented bars of soap. If you have skin safe fragrance or essential oils, feel free to add them at trace before pouring your soap.

Lye Mixture:
2.3 ounces lye
5.4 ounces distilled water

Oils:
3 ounces Coconut Oil
9 ounces Olive Oil
4 ounces Lard

Tea Tree Cleansing Soap

Tea Tree Oil in soap has excellent cleansing qualities. It can have a strong scent, so you may want to use a reduced amount in your soap at first and work your way up until you find a concentration that you like. Tea Tree Oil has antibacterial, anti fungal and skin healing properties, and can help with conditions such as acne and oily skin. The scent of Tea Tree Oil is strong, yet soothing to some, and definitely will pick you up in the morning. It all depends on personal taste. You may use this soap in the shower or as a facial cleanser for troubled skin. In addition, if you are in a wooded area, using a Tea Tree Oil soap is an excellent bug repellant.

Lye Mixture:
2.3 ounces lye
5.6 ounces distilled water

Oils:
4 ounces Coconut Oil
6 ounces Olive Oil
6 ounces vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

Add at trace:
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Tea Tree Oil as preferred

Green Tea Shortening Soap

Green Tea has long been used in tea and known for its antioxidants. When the body ages, it goes through an oxidation process, producing wrinkles and other signs of aging. Using products with antioxidants helps slow down the aging process and promote a healthy body. When Green Tea is used in soaps and other beauty products, it can have the same effect on the skin. This is a soothing and gentle soap for the skin, mildly exfoliating, and great for mature skin types. This soap recipe calls for brewed Green Tea in place of plain water, and will have a very mild but pleasant scent of Green Tea.

Lye Mixture:
2.3 ounces lye
5.5 ounces strongly brewed Green Tea. Brew distilled water with about 6 Green Tea bags and cool to room temperature before mixing with lye.

Oils:
3 ounces Coconut Oil
4 ounces Olive Oil
9 ounces vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

Add at trace:
2-3 capsules powdered Green Tea. Open capsules and empty into soap mixture.
OR
1-2 Green Tea bags. Tear open bags and empty the tea into your soap mixture.

Salt Foot Scrub

This soap recipe is extremely exfoliating for rough skin areas, especially feet. It is made with Epsom Salts added to provide heavy duty exfoliation where needed. In addition, Epsom Salts will relax tired, aching feet and relieve pain. This soap recipe is an answered prayer and will smooth and soften rough, dry feet. Hello sandals!

Lye Mixture:
2.8 ounces lye
6.6 ounces distilled water

Oils:
12 ounces Coconut Oil
4 ounces Safflower Oil

Add at trace:
1/2 cup Epsom Salts

Gentle Aloe Soap

Aloe has incredible skin benefits. It sooths and moisturizes skin, can assist with sunburns, minor scrapes and burns, and more. Use this soap all over to sooth the skin and assist with sunburn.

Lye Mixture:
2.4 ounces lye
3 ounces distilled water
2.7 ounces Aloe Juice (not aloe gel)

Oils:
5 ounces Coconut Oil
5 ounces Safflower Oil
6 ounces Olive Oil

Castile Soap

Castile soap is soap that is made with 100% Olive Oil. It is the mildest and most gentle bar of soap. This soap recipe takes a longer cure time to harden, but is well worth the wait! It is gentle enough to use on even the most sensitive skin, and is perfect for bathing babies and children. This soap also works great as a mild facial cleanser.

Lye Mixture:
2 ounces lye
5 ounces distilled water

Oils:
16 ounces Olive Oil

Strawberry Tea Soap

Fruit Tea soap is made by brewing your favorite fruit/herbal tea and using the brew in place of plain water and adding 2 tablespoons of fruit puree at trace. This soap recipe will give you all of the nice benefits of the tea and herbs, and also will provide a light and pleasant aroma and a pretty color in the finished soap. In the following soap recipe, you can use the tea suggested or come up with your own blend.

Lye Mixture:
2.3 ounces lye
5.5 ounces strongly brewed fruit tea. Brew distilled water with 6-7 bags of Strawberry herbal tea and allow to cool to room temperature before mixing with lye.

Oils:
3 ounces Coconut Oil
5 ounces vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
8 ounces Corn Oil

Add at trace:
2 tablespoons strawberry puree or strawberry baby food

Oatmeal Milk & Honey Soap (OMH)

OMH soap is a soothing classic! It has grown so popular in the past couple of years. Everyone loves the warm, sweet smell, the moisturizing oatmeal, and skin nourishing benefits of the milk and honey. This is definitely a household favorite that everyone can enjoy!

*Note—Honey and milk can make temperatures rise high in saponifying soap, which can sometimes cause curdling inside your soap log. To avoid this problem, either leave mold uncovered during the saponification process, cover lightly, or put in the fridge to avoid the gel stage altogether.

Lye Mixture:
2.3 ounces lye
5.5 ounces distilled water mixed with 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

Oils:
3 ounces Coconut Oil
7 ounces Olive Oil
6 ounces vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

Add at trace:
¼ cup quick oats finely ground in a food processor
1-2 tablespoons pure honey