How to make Pure Soap without Caustic Soda

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It is well known that many commercial soaps contain animal fats and a lye made from caustic soda which can be an irritant. Vegans and other health-conscious people wish to avoid using these soaps. The following is for ecobiters who may like to make their own soap without using animal fats or caustic soda.

A pure soap were once made in Ireland by McClintons and Colleen soaps from coconut oil and wood-ash. The exact process of manufacture was a closely kept family secret.

Here is a recipe that we have tried without using animal fats or caustic soda.

First make a lye using one part of white wood-ash to six parts of water.

Boil for half an hour and allow to cool.

Place 2 kg (4 1/2 lb) of coconut oil into a metal pot. Add 1 kg (2lb 4 oz) of the lye.

Place the pot on the stove. Stir well and boil for one hour.

Take the pot off the stove and skim off scum which has floated to the surface.

The clean liquid remaining is then poured into a pan and allowed to harden.

When cold and hard it is cut into blocks of convenient size.

There is no need to add coloring agents, perfumes or other chemicals. Soap should be used for cleaning purposes only and these substances serve no useful purpose. Soap is simply a detergent which combines with and floats dirt and grease off the skin, thus allowing them to be washed away with water.

Try making your own soap. You may need to experiment a little using various proportions of wood-ash and vegetable oil in order to obtain the kind of soap you want.

Comments (6)

Hello,
What is exactly white wood ash, is this burn wood, so the material coming out of it has black color, or you meant for something else?

Best regards,
Raffi

- ED'S COMMENT - White ash is derived from the left-overs of a wood fire. White ash is the light grey flakey powder as distinct from the lumps of charcoal. The white ash has many uses including as a pest deterrent. The ash is sprinkled around the border of garden beds to repel snails and slugs. This will need to be applied after rain.

I remember my dear Gran using wood ashes that she poured into a wooden feed trough and placed hay or straw near the drain and poured rain water from the tank onto the ashes. Gran would let it stand and later drained it off for soap making.

I remember my dear Gran using wood ashes that she poured into a wooden feed trough and placed hay or straw near the drain and poured rain water from the rain water tank, onto the ashes. Gran would let it stand and later drained it off for soap making.

Old fashioned lye soap is made using lard and lye water. The lye water is made by letting water leach through WOOD ASHES. Using wood ash is not different than using lye.

This article is so helpful.

Soap made in this method have been used in Africa for 100s of years. especially in the western Africa, we call it black soap. If you do not want to make your own, then you can find a wide range of black soap from www.sheabynature.co.uk , in bar and in convenient liquid form