How soap used to be made
Simpler ThymeŽ boiled soap kettle demonstration
at the Delaware Water Gap National Park
from the Good Huswife's Jewel by Thomas Dawson:
"To Make good sope first you must take half a strike of ashes, and a quart of lime, then you must mingle both these together, and then must fill a pan full of water and seeth them well, so done, you must take four pound of beastes tallow, and put it into the lye, and seeth them together until it be hard"
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Soap Making
Long before there was a "superstore" in almost every town, before bulging supermarket shelves, even before the small town general store carried brown unwrapped bars, soap making was a homestead chore usually done in the spring when animal fats were rendered and then the melted fat was boiled with lye water leached from the winter's ashes to produce a harsh jelly like "cooked" soap.
Today's "back to natural" trend has spurred a resurgence in the art of handmade soap. Unlike in the past, information is readily available in book form, classes, soap making kits, Internet mailing lists in addition to local herb, craft and hobby shops.
Soap is nothing more than the mixture of melted animal fats or vegetable oils with lye (sodium hydroxide NaOH) and water. Their transformation into soap is called saponification, where if formulated properly, no longer contains the individual ingredients. Only the newly created product which is soap and glycerin should be present in the finished soap. The type and quality of ingredients used and in the proper proportions is what determines the quality of the finished soap.
Making your own soap is the only way to really know what you are using all over your body. "True soap" which is defined by the FDA soap exemption does not have the requirement to list ingredients. Most of the bar soaps sold today are filled with synthetic and petroleum products and are not even called soap but bath or beauty bars, synthetic detergent or syndet bars. Clear glycerin and melt and mold type "soap" is not a true soap, but soap that has been dissolved in solvents to give it clarity. Why do you need transparent soap with additives? Fine for what they are, but you have a more natural and longer lasting alternative.
Buy a quality handcrafted soap such as Simpler ThymeŽ all natural herbal soap or learn how to make it yourself and develop your own unique formula. There are endless recipes for soap, being similar to cooking, not all recipes are as good as others. Soap is a consumable and hopefully everyone will use it.
There is a huge market for a unique, quality product. 
If you have never made soap before, you need to first respect the ingredients you will use. The ingredient demanding the most respect is sodium hydroxide or lye. Lye is caustic. It burns. Lye mixed with liquid or straight from the can if splashed into the eyes or on the skin or clothing can cause severe burns and permanent damage. Loosing your sight over a bar of soap is not a gamble you want to take. Proper precautions must be taken. The heat and fumes generated when lye is added to water are dangerous. This is not something you want to attempt with or around young children or animals NEVER ADD WATER TO LYE
Always wear protective goggles, gloves and other safety clothing when handling sodium hydroxide. The temperature of the mixture can exceed 200 degrees.
Proceed at your own risk. We assume no responsibility for the misuse of these recipes which are provided for reference purposes only. If you choose to experiment with these recipes you do so at your own risk.
Most soap was made in the home until around the middle of the last century. Memories of grandmother and great-grandmother standing over a hot fire and watching lye water in an iron kettle are remembered. The lye water had to be boiling when they poured grease into the kettle.
Making soap today is much easier since we are able to buy concentrated lye and don't have to go through the trouble of making our own. The following recipes gleaned from our vast collection span from olden times of not too specific hand-me-down "receipts" to modern vegetable based recipes with precise measurements.
Traditionally, soap was made with animal fats and these recipes are included. Simpler ThymeŽ does not use animal fats in our soap and have only included them here for informational purposes only.
DISCLAIMER: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained on this web site is accurate. However due to conditions beyond our control, tools, ingredients and individual skills we cannot guarantee the information is applicable in your situation. We are not responsible for any injuries, losses, or other damages that may result from the use of the information available here.
Use of these recipes is at your own risk and understanding of these hazards and liability.
These recipes are from long before saponification calculators and may not make the best soap but are here for historical purposes.
Always double check any recipe with a lye calculator before making soap to ensure it has correct amounts of ingredients. Many are available on line.
It's best to check your results with SEVERAL of them since results vary.
lye calculator search
Continue only if you understand the safety requirements...
Basic Soap Making Guidelines and Recipes
