The Basics of Making Soap, Part 5

This soap can be used for all bathing, hair washing, dishwashing and clothes washing purposes. (It’s what our ancestors did). To dissolve and make very weak suds, try using a knife to shave off flakes or a cheese grater to grate some of the bar soap into the water. You may want to make a couple of different types of soap so that you are not using your softening body soap to wash the dishes or clothes.

Soap-making is also a skill that could be of trade value or useful in a barter situation. It’s possible that a neighbor who hunts or butchers hogs will provide the fat, while another neighbor may provide the lanolin. Then the one with the soap-making skill would actually make enough soap to provide for the three households.

The Basics of Making Soap, Part 4

This soap is not antiseptic. You can add some pine resin or horseradish root to the mixture to make it antiseptic. You can also scent it with wild roses or lavender. Too much alkali or lye will cause the soap to be drying and harsh to your skin.

If you happen to have sheep nearby, lanolin, a type of wax, can be gathered from their wool as shearing time by pressing the wool or boiling it. Cook or boil the raw lanolin to remove any impurities, then it can be added to the soap to help it be softening to the skin. Recently it has been found that lanolin also contains antibiotic properties, but use it sparingly because it also contains allergens that can be irritating to some people.

The Basics of Making Soap, Part 3

The mixture will turn opaque and somewhat brown or tan, and then gradually get lighter. The soap is done when a drop of the soap dripped on the surface of the mixture is supported. It should actually be the consistency of yoghurt or sour cream.

Pour liquid into mold, pie tins, cookie sheets or on strips of tree bark to cool. Once the soap has hardened, it can be cut using a warm knife into bars. If possible store the bars uncovered for a couple of weeks to harden.

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Basics of Making Soap, Part 2

Next you will need some type of alkali, either lye that you purchased for this purpose or create your own with wood ash. Collect the ash from your campfire or fireplace. Sift it to remove any pieces of charcoal or unburned wood, leaving a fine powder.

Wash the ash with water and then strain it (a tee shirt works great). Mix the ash/alkali water with the rendered fat in a pot over the fire until it reaches a boil. Lower the heat or move to the side of the fire and allow the liquid to simmer, stirring occasionally, until all of the water has evaporated.

To learn more survival skills click here.