Soap Recipes

Some "fruit cake" bars by a F&D Mold customer who has embedded some soap trimmings from prior batches in some new bars. Yummy!

The following recipes assume you already know the basics of soapmaking, and that you are using a 4LB batch-size mold like the F&D Mold sold on this website. The following recipes are also designed primarily for use with our SoapQuick blended oil mix, but you can substitute your own mix of oils, calculate your own lye and water, and still get decent results (but probably not as good as you would get if you were using our mix!). All the recipes can be scaled upwards or downwards for a different batch size. (Got a good recipe you'd like to contribute? email it to us and we'll put it up if we like it!)

NOTE: These first 6 recipes are designed for folks who would like to make some simple soap from easy-to-find ingredients on a low budget. Some of the fragrances used in these first recipes are not mainstream soapmaking choices. Store-bought extracts and perfumes often are diluted with alcohol, but they will work fairly well in soap and do not cost a lot. Recipes beginning with #7 are of the more classic, essential-oil-based variety.

Soap On Budget #1 :  Savon de Parfume

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:
Use  a small bottle  of some surplus perfume you have about the house, or which you have procured from your local "dollar" store. Combine with soap mixture near trace and whisk thoroughly into soap mixture.

Other Additives: Use 1/2  tsp of liquid blue food color added to soap near trace and whisked completely into the mixture

Comments:  Perfumes vary in strength, but they are all by manufacture skin-safe. Perfumes usually contain alcohol, and may be flammable, so be careful with them and do not work around an open flame. This soap will turn out to be  pink-purple color.

two-toning

Soap On Budget #2 :  Savon de Limon

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:   6 ounces of lemon extract from the supermarket whisked into soap near trace.

Other Additives:  1/2 tsp of yellow liquid food color from the supermarket whisked into soap near trace.

Comments: Makes a nice yellow bar. Lemon scent will not hold well (like most citrus scents in soap), but it will be good for a while.
 

Adding some dried herbs to the top of a fresh soap batch
in the famous F&D Mold, lined with freezer paper.

Recipe: Soap On Budget #3 :  Almond / Oatmeal

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:   6 ounces of almond extract from the supermarket whisked into soap near trace.

Other Additives:  About 1/3 cup of oatmeal, gently ground (not powdered!) in a coffee grinder and whisked into soap near trace.

Comments: A little scrubby.

Recipe: Soap On Budget #4 :  Savon de Coconut

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:  3 ounces (or less if you want)  of Coconut flavor from baking section of supermarket, whisked thoroughly into soap near trace.

Other Additives:  About 1/3 cup of shredded dried coconut whisked into soap mixture at trace.

Comments: Nice!

Soap On Budget #5 :  Savon de Vanilla

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:  4 ounces (or less) of Vanilla extract from market.

Other Additives: None.

Comments: The vanilla will turn your soap a tan/brown color. This is unavoidable with real vanillas.
 

Removing freezer paper mold liner and un-molding two-toned  batch with dried herbs on top of soap. I think this was a combination of some type of mint (the white part) and lemon.

Soap On Budget #6 :  Savon de Amor

This soap is a little more complicated than the others, as it requires you split your soap batch in half near trace, color and fragrance the halves separately, then re-combine them in the mold. Plan ahead.

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:  1/2 the batch: 3 ounces of Vanilla extract from market whisked into soap. The other 1/2 of the batch: small bottle of an inexpensive, "floral" perfume whisked into soap.

Other Additives:  Put about 1/4 tsp of red food color in the half of the batch that contains the vanilla. Leave the other half (with the perfume) plain. The red food color won't stay red - it will turn brown, but that's OK.

Comments:  Pour the separate halves of this recipe at a fairly thin trace (no thicker than a thin pancake batter) into the mold one at a time, the second bucket poured from about 12 inches above the mold such that the 2 parts then "swirl" around a bit in the mold.
 

finished bars of two-toned soap with dried herbs.

#7 :  Holiday Spice (100% essential oil soap)

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:  4 ounces of 5-fold orange oil; plus 1/2 ounce of cinnamon leaf essential oil; plus 1/2 ounce of clove bud essential oil.

Other Additives: None.

Comments: Look for a quick trace once you have mixed the essential oils into your soap pot. Be ready to pour quickly! Finished color of this soap is yellow (from the orange oil).
 

#8 :  Basic Lavender (100% essential oil soap)

Base Oils:
4 LBS SoapQuick
9.4 ounces of lye
20 Ounces of distilled water

Fragrance:  4 ounces of lavender essential oil whisked into soap near trace.

Other Additives:  1 heaping TBS of dried lavender buds, whisked into the soap near trace.

Comments:  Coloring is optional. Blue food color often times turns out to be close to a lavender color in finished soap, but powdered oxides are more dependable.