Make Ash Soap
Long before brightly colored and sweet-smelling soaps became regular items in homes and stores, people knew how to make ash soap from the most basic of ingredients. Ash soap was made from things that colonial people had around their homes, namely wood ashes (an alkali, called lye) and animal fat from the rendering (by cooking fat out of fatty meats) of wild-game or farm animals. Ash soap could accomplish the same thing as the modern-day soaps, breaking the chemical bonds of "dirt", and getting people and laundry clean. The general consistency of ash soap is softener than today's commercial soap, and it tended to be tan/brown. If you want to make ash soap on your own, you need three ingredients, which include water, lye (that you could make), and fat.
Steps
- Understand that the basic ash soap making process involves a chemical reaction of adding a fatty acid (oil) to a base (lye) to get "a salt" (soap). Too much of the alkaline part can cause the soap to be caustic and cause skin burns. Too much fat can cause the soap to be greasy.
- Choose and buy the type of lye that you will be using for the ash soap preparation.
- Homemade lye comes from wood ashes and can be made by making an ash hopper and allowing the lye to leech out of the ashes. The ashes are added to the hopper and periodically soaked with water. The lye is collected as it seeps out of the hopper. This lye is less caustic than store-bought lye and is composed of potassium hydroxide.
- Commercial lye is composed of sodium hydroxide and may be purchased as granules. To properly make soap, the lye should be pure sodium hydroxide and there should be no flecks of gray or black on the crystals.
- Obtain the fat needed for the ash soap making process.
- You may choose to render your own fat from butchered animals by cleaning the lard from pigs or the tallow from cattle. The rendering of fat is done by putting equal amounts of lard and water in a pot over an outside flame and boiling until all fats are melted. Remove from the heat, and add an amount of water equal to the first. Allow this to sit overnight. The hardened fat that forms will clean of all impurities. This may also be done with leftover cooking grease.
- You may also choose to buy purified lard from the store.
- Lard may be either animal or vegetable based.
- Choose any preservatives, oils, or fragrances that you want to add to the soap.
- These can be bought online at soap making sites, or in a hobby/craft supply store that has soap making supplies.
- Find soap molds to pour your soap in for shape. Make your own with items around the house such as the bottom of a round, plastic container, or buy shaped molds at a craft supply store.
- Pour 3 cups of distilled water into a 2-quart pot. The water should be very cold, and you may wish to refrigerate it the night before. The pot should be glass or enamel.
- Heat the water on the stove, and slowly add 1 can (12 ounces) of sodium hydroxide lye. Stir with a long wooden spoon.
- Add fragrance and oil.
- Cool for 1 hour.
- Add the lye mixture to room-temperature lard in a large dishpan. Melt the lard.
- Stir for 15 minutes.
- Pour into molds, and allow the ash soap to cool and harden completely.
Tips
- Add salt after the soap making process to harden the soap.
- Vegetable "lard" is more commonly known as "shortening." Crisco is one brand name. These are made from tropical oils such as coconut, palm, or palm kernel oils which are solid at room temperature.
- Animal lard may also be called "tallow."
Warnings
- Lye is very caustic and may burn your skin and eyes. Wear protective gear, such as gloves and goggles.
- Do not use tin, aluminum, Teflon, or copper soap molds as they will react with the lye.
Things You'll Need
- 1 can (12 oz) sodium hydroxide lye
- Fat
- Preservatives (optional)
- Soap oils (optional)
- Fragrances (optional)
- Soap molds
- Distilled water
- 2-quart pot (glass or enamel)
- Wooden spoon
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