Category Archives: Natural Soapmaking

How to Make Herbal Soap Without Handling Lye {+ triple aloe melt & pour recipe}

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chamomile oatmeal soap favors and dried bundles of lavender

Learn how to incorporate herbs, flowers, essential oils, and other natural ingredients into melt and pour soap base, no handling of lye required! Possibly the most often expressed sentiment I hear when it comes to soap making, goes something like: “I want to make soap, but I’m really scared of the lye!” That is a completely justified fear and one that I shared for a very long time. It took months of research before I … Continue reading →

Coconut Laundry Soap & Stain Stick {+ laundry detergent recipe}

 
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Blue and white bowl filled with grated coconut laundry soap with grater and soap sticks nearby

Learn to make a homemade laundry soap and stain stick using just three ingredients. Also included is my easy recipe for laundry detergent. Unlike my other natural soap recipes, this one is intended for laundry purposes only. It has no extra oils or fats in it, making it better suited for cleaning tough stains on clothes rather than using on your skin. You can turn it into homemade laundry detergent, and/or cut it into stain … Continue reading →

Homemade Dog Shampoo Bars Recipe {with neem oil}

 
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Homemade Dog Shampoo Bar with Plantain Leaves & a Sunflower

These natural homemade dog shampoo bars feature neem oil, which is especially helpful at repelling fleas and treating a variety of skin complaints. Since neem has a fairly strong aroma, I also included some lavender essential oil to help mellow the scent and to add a calming note to bath times. After washing your dog with a shampoo bar, follow with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse (1 part vinegar to 1 to 2 parts … Continue reading →

Soap Books & Resources {à la carte}

 
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on left side is handmade soap naturally colored with rose clay; photo on right is freshly poured soaps in soap molds

While my Natural Soapmaking Ebook Collection continues to be a best seller, I’ve also received a lot of requests from readers wanting to purchase individual items from the set. This weekend, I dug into my online shopping cart system, made some tweaks and changes, and finally made that happen! If you’ve ever wanted to just purchase one ebook at a time from me, then you’re at the right place. Each item is listed separately below, … Continue reading →

How to Add Lanolin to Soap Recipes

 
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jar of lanolin with borage flower and sprig of thyme

Learn how to adjust for and add lanolin to soap recipes, plus guidelines for using it. Kimberly asked a great question the other day, about how to include lanolin in a soap recipe she’d recently made. She also wanted to try including it in my Dandelion Scrub Bar recipe, but wasn’t sure what changes to make. I thought it might be helpful to type up my answer here, in case anyone else has the same … Continue reading →

What’s Wrong With My Soap? {troubleshooting cold process soap problems}

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what's wrong with my soap? soft soap and crumbly soap

We all have soapmaking fails. This ultimate troubleshooting guide breaks down the reasons and solutions for 30+ common cold process soap problems. On a daily basis I receive emails from readers about problems and questions encountered while making soap. (Currently, I have 70+ of those emails in the queue to answer!) A few months ago I realized that I’ve been writing variations of the same answers over and over for several years now, so it … Continue reading →

Red, White & Blue Swirl Soap with Natural Colorants

 
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red, white and blue swirl soap

This red, white & blue swirl soap is naturally colored with botanicals and clays, and scented with a blend of essential oils. Credit for the design inspiration goes to Kapia Mera Soap Company (see their lovely soap video HERE), only instead of cutting a thin layer to use for rimmed soap, I cut a thin layer off  the top to show the design better and then cut into regular bars. Natural Soap Colorants Notes Creating a … Continue reading →

Why do you need lye to make soap? (FAQS)

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Learn why you need lye to make soap and how to handle it safely. Our great great grandmothers made soap without having to use a caustic chemical, so why do we? The short answer is that our grandmothers manufactured their own caustic chemical of sorts, called potash, by combining hardwood ashes and water. This created an extremely strong alkaline substance that was considered ready when it would dissolve a chicken feather. The caustic wood ash solution … Continue reading →