Homemade Lard Soap
Create your very own soap using only a few
ingredients and the main one being Lard!
This is my favorite recipe on how to make your own soap at home! It’s extremely frugal for us because we raise our own organic pasture raised pigs, so we get LARD!! Once I render that Lard I’m able to make soap with a few ingredients and a bit of time. Learn how to Render Lard
Can you believe you can make soap with LARD? It’s amazing and it works great! I give these as gifts and people just love them. I no longer buy soap unless it’s for my Homemade Laundry Soap/Detergent which I really should try and use this because I bet I can.
Prefer to BUY instead of make it? You bet! I sell it on ETSY and Direct!
Learn how to make soap with using Lard, water, and Lye.
Items Needed:
Soap Mold
Lye
Dedicated -Pan, Immersion Blender, Glass Jar, Thermometer, Stirring Stick, Small container to measure the Lye
Rendered Lard
Kitchen Scale
Essential Oil
Note: I use dedicated equipment for Soap making since using Lye sodium hydroxide is a caustic substance and require special handling. ****You can use VINEGAR to neutralize any spills or wipe down all your equipment***
Ingredients:
2.2 pounds of Lard (about 2 quarts)
4.7 oz’s soap making Lye
9.4 oz’s distilled water
1.06 oz’s Essential Oil of your choice (optional, when I do use I use .30 oz)
Directions:
1.Weigh the distilled water into a glass container (half gallon jar is what I use). In a separate beaker or container, this can be plastic or glass, weigh your Lye crystals.
2. Go outside (for ventilation) -combine the water and lye by pouring your Lye into the water and stir. (Do NOT pour water into the Lye, make sure to pour the Lye into the water). This creates a chemical reaction and releases noxious fumes so please take caution and stand back while stirring or please wear a mask. I turn my head and lean away while stirring so I do not breathe in any fumes. Allow to cool to 120 degrees F. Use your thermometer to keep track of the temperature.
3. Meanwhile while the lye mixture is cooling, place your pre weighed lard into a stock pot and slowly melt. Do not allow it to burn so make sure it’s a gentle heat. At this point you can weigh out your essential oils if using.
4. When the Lye has reached 120 degrees F you can then pour the Lye mixture into melted Lard slowly.
5. Using your immersion blender you will want to blend the mixture. Do NOT run it on constant, stir it in between bursts of your immersion blender. Blending for 10 seconds and turning off for 30 to 45 seconds.
Right when I hit the “Trace” Point (read below) I will add in the Essential Oils and use the blender for approx. 10 seconds to mix in.
How to tell if it’s ready? You’ll want to take your immersion blender and dribble the soap mix on top of the batter in the stock pot and if it leaves a “trace” on top where you can see the squiggly lines this is called the “trace stage”. At this point you can pour into the soap mold. If not, keep the bursts and stirs up. You will see this thicken up as it gets closer.
6. Pour your soap into the mold. Cover the top with a lid (I use cardboard that I traced the size of the mold) and place it on top and leave it in a warm area for 24 hours.
7. After 24 hours the soap should be hard enough to remove it from the mold. The soap should still be soft enough to cut into bars with a dedicated kitchen knife of soap cutter. (It will still be soft enough for 2-3 days as well)
8. Allow to dry out on your counter uncovered with airflow for approx. 10 days to cure.
How to Store: I place in my cupboard in my bathroom and replace as needed.
Want to Make Your Own Laundry Soap?
