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My Favorite Cold Process Recipes

Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

Cold Process Soap is amazing and produces a better bar of soap than most store-bought soaps. It does require research before diving in. If you are not familiar with sodium hydroxide or CP soapmaking, please watch the Soap Queen TV Video on lye and how to use lye properly, or read the lye safety section in the Soap Crafting book. These are my favorite 3 Cold Process soap recipes that I tend to stick to when making soap for classes, family and friends.

The Avocado Moisturizing Bars from the Soap Crafting Book.

Lots of Lather
(my most favorite, tried and true, teach this in every class, really, really hard soap bar)
16 oz. Coconut Oil
16 oz. Palm Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
2 oz. Castor Oil
16.5 oz. water
7.3 oz. lye
Recommend 3% superfat for best bubbles

Moisturizing
4 oz. Avocado Oil
8 oz. Coconut Oil
1 oz. Jojoba Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
8 oz. Palm Oil
4 oz. Shea Butter
13.5 oz. water
5.6 oz. lye

Nourishing
2 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
2 oz. Avocado Oil
8 oz. Coconut Oil
2 oz. Hempseed Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
8 oz. Palm Oil
4 oz. Shea Butter
2 oz. Wheatgerm Oil
2 oz. Vitamin E
14.5 oz. water
6 oz. lye


If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

For more on Cold Process soaping, check out the following resources:

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151 Comments

  1. Hi!

    I am starting to make powdered laundry detergent from scratch and have been using Dr. Bronner’s castile bar soap, I would like to start making my own castile soap from scratch to add to the laundry detergent. I have looked and tried to find good recipes but there are so many! I also noticed that some said to use “butters” but Im not sure if that would be a good thing to use for laundry or not. I was curious to see your thoughts on what recipes might be good or comparable to Dr. Bronner’s for laundry and if I should use butters or not?

    Thanks!

  2. Thanks so much for your site and and all of your help! I have made all three of these recipes and loved them all. I’m new to all of this and they still turned out great. The nourishing recipe was our favorite. I would like to make it again but with some fragrance this time. Because of all of the different oils it seems to already have a slight fragrance. Do you have a fragrance you would recommend? One that would mix well with those oil scents already present? We have both male and female users so I don’t want anything overly masculine or feminine.

  3. Hi! I just can’t get RSPO palm oil and I was wondering if you could tell me what could I use to replace it. I am going to replace it on all of the recipes I have, but I want to get the same hardness on the bar as well as the lather. Thanks and greetings form Mexico 🙂

  4. I have only made one batch of cp soap so far and it turned out great. I am looking forward to trying your recipes. My question is – do you have to compensate for temperatures for low flash point of essential oils?

    • Good morning, Carolyn!

      We haven’t found that you have to compensate for the low flash point of essential oils, and we’ve never found it to make a difference. And, you might notice that the low flashpoint oils naturally don’t do as well in cold process soap (Orange Valencia for example). But if you were worried about it, soap at 100 degrees to be on the extra safe side! 🙂

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  5. hi again,thinking of trying Lots of Lather recipe as my first attempt as I guess i just can’t keep reading about soap making i have to get into it,but I wanted to know a few things like I only have Raw 100% Organic Virgin Coconut oil,I only have Pure 100% Extra Virgin Olive oil{first cold pressed}are these going to be ok to use as I have I have read that it’s not the best for soap making do you suggest I try to get cheap stuff?also I was told and I did buy Frymaster 100%vegetable blended edible vegetable oil that this was the same as palm oil,few people have told me this, would this be true? nearly finished,if I wanted to add pure essential oil i have Lemongrass from Oil Garden Aromatherapy it does say 100%pure though or another that says the same it’s Frankincense,plus I have lavender oil and tea tree oil,can I and how much would I use? I have a 5lb wooden soap box hubby made me does the recipe make that much?if not could you tell me how much more ingred. I would need to add for this size box.Gosh i hope I haven’t confused you but these are the type of dilemmas I get myself into too,

  6. Hi,I seem to find that lye cal quite hard to work out,do I have to put in superfat on the bottom some sites say recipes are already supperfatted well how can you tell and what percentage do I put in where it asks and some say not to use virgin oils can I use copha instead of coconut oil as I only have virgin,and don’t know where to get a small amount from,in Australia we don’t seem to have the availability in a lot of ingred.,palm oil some say supermarket has superfry in red wreapper and palm oil in yellow wrapper,shea butter is very expensive over here and I can’t seem to find many places who have it

  7. I have been stalking your site and reading lots of posts on cold process soap making. I will be giving the lots of lather bars a go next week. I will be getting all the oils from the super market. but I would love to know the most inexpensive place to order from in the United States. I live in Atlanta, GA if that matters at all.

    Also when it comes to palm oil cani use something else or will the soap not be as good? What does palm oil do for this particular soap? Also will evco be okay touse instaed of egular coconut oil…idint see it at my localstores. Sorry if this has been asked but I can’t get all the previous posts to load.

    • Good morning, Keita!

      We are so happy that you are getting into soaping, you are going to have so much fun! Since you are just starting soaping, I’d keep the Palm Oil in this recipe as it really helps to harden up your bars of soap. But, if you don’t want to use it, you can always use a bit of Sodium Lactate to help harden you bars. Just make sure to use the lye calculator to adjust your recipe if you change anything.
      https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx

      When looking for Coconut Oil, make sure you are using 100% Coconut Oil with no additives. If you are unable to find it locally, we sell it on Bramble Berry’s website (where you can also find other soaping supplies).
      https://www.brambleberry.com/Coconut-Oil-P3196.aspx

      I hope this helps! 🙂
      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  8. some great recipes, i would like to try these myself 🙂 however this may seem like a silly question but i do not like the idea of using lye in the soap, and i know it is essential however i have been lead to belive that you can compensate for lye with more oil is this correct or is it the lye that gives the soap its later :/

  10. Hi, (sorry – complete beginner!) do you need to recalculate the lye if you add small amounts of nutrient and fragrance oils to the recipes (eg 10 – 15 ml of each)?

    Thanks

    p.s. this is a great blog!

  11. Hi – what is the superfat discount recommended for the moisturizing soap? I need to reduce the total recipe and not sure what to use in the lye calcuator. Thank you!

  12. Hello, I have a question about adding essential or fragance oils, and yes, I’m new to soap making. Do I need to modify the recipe at all if adding them? I made one batch of soap without essential oils and it turned out great, and the second batch I made I added 1.3 ounces to my 2 pound batch and the soap is very oily in comparison. Both have been curing for only 3 days but the batch with essential oils is not yet completely firm to the touch.

    • I don’t modify the recipe. I use about .7 oz. per pound of finished soap. Which essential oils did you use? Is it possible trace wasn’t as thick when you poured? Or maybe did you use citrus essential oils?

      • Thank you for your answer. I used your “Energy” fragrance oil, which must have citrus in it. Will that cause it to be slower to firm up?
        And yes, I definitely poured the second batch at a thinner trace than the second batch. Thanks so much for you response and help. I’m sooo enjoying my new found hobby.

        • Sorry, meant to write: I poured the second batch at a thinner trace than the FIRST batch (which was quite thick).

  13. Thanks…whoops I said Tarrow instead of Talow. Freudian slip. Thanks again, and I definitely will be checking out the site for some extra ingredients once I try a basic recipe.

  14. Great Blog. I am about to try my first recipe because I have an overabundance of beef fat from the raw food I make for my dog. For the recipes listed here would I just substitute the palm oil with the tarrow?

    Thanks,

    David

  15. Anne-Marie, can I ask you a question please?

    I know that when we label our soaps, we cannot put any type of claims such as ‘Anti-aging’ and stuff like that.

    But when we list our soaps on our websites, in the descriptions of them can we put information like:

    Contains Shea Butter which is said to…..

    Contains Hemp Seed Oil which is said to….

    Is that the same as making claims or is it just providing information about the product say from the websites of the suppliers we get the product from?

    It’s rather confusing but I want to make sure that I’m doing this by the book

  16. I ran the numbers on your Lots of Lather recipe through Soap Calc. It came up with results that don’t match your experiences with the bar. For example, it comes up as rather high on the cleansing scale (meaning harsh/drying, and in only the mid 20’s (below the mean avg of 30ish for both bubbly and creamy.

    I am not denying your assessment of the recipe…just wondering why the numbers on soap calc don’t reflect actual bar characteristics.

    My usual recipes are mid to upper 30s on creamy and bubbly, and still..more would be nice.

    • Interestingly enough, I don’t use INS numbers when I’m formulating soap. I haven’t personally found them to be useful. It’s an interesting theory – I read the book when it came out 10ish years ago – but never found it to correspond with what I liked in a soap or the results I got.

      If you make the recipe, let me know what you think. =)

  17. Hi again from across the pond,
    I want to try your lots of lather soap but am out of olive oil can I substitute rapeseed oil for it? If I can how will it effect the end soap (hardness & lather)
    also if I wanted to add abit of shea or mango butter to it how much should I add and do I discount the other oils/fats and is there any benefit to the end result.
    thanks so much all knowing wise one 🙂
    lindsey

  18. Ann-Marie,
    For the “Lots of Lather” recipe, I would love to sub coconut milk for a 50/50 mix. Would you still suggest soaping at 120 or should I drop the temps? Also, can I still use the low end of the liquid amount or do you suggest full amount? Love your recipes btw!! Thanks so much! 🙂

    • You are going to want to lower the temperature a bit, as Coconut Milk has been known to cause what we call a soap volcano if it gets to hot! You can still use the low end of the liquid amount, as it really depends on your preference! 🙂
      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  19. Hi Anne Marie, I made a batch of soap using the “Lots of Lather” recipe, superfatted at 5% with hempseed oil. It turned out fine but developed a white film on top of the loaf – do you know what this could be? Additional details: I used palm kernel oil (along with olive and coconut in the amounts suggested) and scented with lavender, peppermint, sweet orange, and ylang ylang EOs. The loaf is topped with dried lavender and rose petals. I Ph-tested it inside and out (including white area) and all tested fine (around 8). Please let me know what you think – I could email a picture if that would help too. Thanks – great blog!

    • Sounds like soda ash? If it is soda ash, the soap is still perfectly good (hence the pH tests) so no worries there. You can prevent soda ash in the future by either covering your soap with saran wrap so that it’s touching the soap (no air exposure) or you can liberally spray with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. If you’d like to get rid of it on your soap, you can rinse it with water and rub it with nylon pantyhose, then allow it to dry. Should get rid of a good amount of it! =)

  21. Can I substitute the water for goats milk? I live making these recipes they turn out great and want to know if i use 16oz of the milk if that will work our okay? Thanks!!!

    • You can sub the GM for the water – just know that the soap will smell pretty foul for about a week AND might be a darker tan color. Go for it – the soap will turn out wonderfully!

  22. Thank you for sharing your recipies! I am anxious to try one out and will do so this weekend!

  23. I recently made a batch of CP soap and let it hit light trace. Normally I mix a little longer but usually have to spoon it out as it becomes thick. This time after it hit light to medium trace I poured it into mold. Its been 2 days and its still soft and can’t be cut yet. Is it just going to take a little longer to harden up or do I have to do something else to it? Whats the difference between light and heavy trace?
    Thanks
    Scott

    • Too soft? It might be the recipe? I wouldn’t worry about it until you get past the five day mark =)

      Light trace versus heavy trace – think pudding (heavy trace) versus a hemp milk latte (light trace) or cake batter (thin heading to medium trace).

    • Aw, thanks for letting me know. I am so glad that you’re finding the information helpful =)

  25. I am so new at this that I haven’t even bought any supplies yet! I have literally spent the entire month of January reading as much as I can about making CP soap. My question: is there an ideal room or outside temperature for making soap and particularly for curing the soap. How about humidity? I live by the Atlantic Ocean and we get rather humid. Any advise would be appreciated. You have the most informative blog! Thanks.

    • No, there’s no ideal outside temperature for making soap. You will find that your soap does change from winter to summer because of the ambient temperature, humidity etc… but they are small changes. If you make CP soap, humidity won’t be your enemy unless your drying area (the rack that you put your soap on to to dry) is particularly wet and humid. If it is, you’ll want a dehumidifier. That said, we’re right by the ocean too and don’t notice any issues. Have a fun time with your foray into soap. You’ll find it’s addicting!

    • A range is listed because the less water you use, the faster the soap traces AND the faster it dries out during the curing time. If you’re new, I’d go with the higher amount to ensure that you have the maximum amount of time to work with your soap.

  27. AM – I LOVE LOVE LOVE your Lots of Lather recipe. I want to make it on a larger scale…could I get the recipe in percentages?

  28. Hello Anne Marie,

    Sorry for that confusing last email. I am a very big fan and also a customer. I have a question about color. I have only worked with CP soap and I would love to marble my cp soap. I’ve tried oxides example:(red) even very small amount bleeds and my bubbles are pink. I purchased a liquid blue, however, no color change.I usually use green clay for color and the bubbles are still white, but I would love to try another color that my bubbles will not change colors. What are a few colors that will not bleed in cp soap when washing? I will incorporate the colors in your moisture recipe.

  29. same but it will still be a lovely moisturizing soap.
    Hello Anne Marie,

    Very big fan and also a customer. I have a question about color. I have only worked with CP soap and I would love to marble my cp soap. I’ve tried oxides example: (red) even very small amount bleeds and my bubbles are pink. I usually use green clay for green suds are white, but I would love to try another color. What are a few colors that will not bleed in cp soap when washing with it? I will incorporate the colors in your moisture recipe

    • Any soap colorant will lather bubbles if you use too much – and red iron oxide is incredibly powerful. Perhaps the problem is that you’re trying to get super bright colors with colorants when you’re coloring CP soap which is naturally white. White soap + red = pink so no matter how much color you use, you’ll end up with lathering bubbles.

      Today, I made soap with 3 mini scoops (approximately 1/4th tsp) of Cappuccino Mica in 12 ounces of CP soap and that was a nice color that will not lather brown. If I had done that same amount with Red Iron Oxide, it would lather red.

      My favorite colors in CP soap are:

      Merlot Mica
      Cappuccino Mica
      Yellow Mica
      Blue Iron Oxide
      Cellini Blue (for a good purple)
      Fuschia Labcolor
      Pink Oxide

      all from BrambleBerry.com I hope this helps =))

  30. For the “Lots of Lather” Recipe, what temperature should the oils and lye water be prior to mixing.

    Also, I’m very new to cold process so I am a bit confused about the 13-19oz of water, would 16 be a good place to start?

    Is there an advantage to less or more water?

    Finally, when figuring the oil to lye ratio…I want to use 2oz of Brambleberry’s Oatmeal Milk & Honey Fragrance Oil, will those 2 oz throw off the lye ratio? How does one compensate for 1-2 oz of fragrance oil in a recipe?

    Your videos are wonderful and Brambleberry is the best! Thank you so much in advance.

    Sincerely,
    Christina

    • If you’d like to use a temp range, I like 120 (give or take 10 degrees for the lye water and oils).

      That’s a range of water. You can use all the way up to 19 ounces and all the way down to 13. The lower range will provide a soap that moves faster in the mold (not good for a newbie) but also gets harder faster curing the curing and drying process. For you? I’d start at the 16-19 ounce range for sure.

      You do not need to take into account the fragrance oil when working with the lye. The fragrance oil does not act like a fixed oil in the soap recipe.

      Keep me posted on how your first batch goes! =)

  31. Ok I believe I have the cold process technique ……. I want to add color and fragrance now….. So do I take my oil that’s hot from my pot & put some in a little bowl & then add color till desired? Then mix my lye into oils, get trace, add fragrance & color?

  32. Me again…. I did tried the lots of lather recipe a second time, and it worked perfectly. BUT, I have tried making the moisturizing recipe three times now (along with a blend of sandalwood cybilla and jasmine dreams) and I keep running into the same problem.
    I reach trace fine when blending it all together, it goes into the mold nicely, I insulate it and wait 24 hours. When I unmold the soap and test the outside of it with a ph strip, it tests very high, in the 12 – 14 range. But when I slice it up and test the inside it tests in an acceptable 8 – 10 range. What would cause the outer edges to be a higher ph level than the inside? I have read that if the soap tests higher than 12 it should be thrown out. Any thoughts? I really appreciate the help.

    • How does it test out after 4-6 weeks of cure time? My first thought is that the soap in the middle went through gel phase so neutralized faster?

      • Hmmm, that’s possible, I’ll let it cure for a few weeks and test it agan. Thanks for the help and fast response 🙂

  33. Ok here’s another question…with my 18 bar wooden box since I have a lid is it necessary tomstill cover with a towel?
    Thanks
    Diana

  34. I’ll try this question again and hopefully get an answer……

    I would love to try your Moisturizing recipe and have everything but Jojoba. I wanted to order some but its super expensive! Is there an alternative to this oil that will give me a similar outcome? Thanks so much!

      • Thank you Courtney…..I guess my real question is I bought an 18 bar birchwood box with dividersfrom bramble berry, and I wasn’t sure if I needed to line the dividers? Is that a stupid question? The first batch I made was a little difficult to get out maybe I should have put it in the refrigerator? And if so for how long? Or can I grease the dividers with olive oil? Thanks Courtney
        Diana

        • You do not need to line the dividers – just make the lining for the box and put the liners in. The dividers are a little difficult to get out. I use needle nosed pliers and rock ’em back and forth to help get them out after a few days of the soap being in the mold =)

  36. I would love to try your Moisturizing recipe and have everything but Jojoba. I wanted to order some but its super expensive! Is there an alternative to this oil that will give me a similar outcome? Thanks so much!

  37. Just went to my nephews & their baby is not agreeing with a soap they are using. (something from the store) I thought I would make them some to give it a try> Does anyone have a recipe for a baby cold processed soap. Qwentin is 6 months old, full of laughs, but needs a little help with his soap.

    • Oh definitely! I 100% love love love a Castile soap base (100% Olive Oil, 6% or higher superfat) but the key is to infuse the Olive Oil with Calendula petals (http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/2009/07/making-skin-soothing-oil-infusion.html). You can go all the way up to 20% for the superfat – the higher the superfat, the less the lather so keep that in mind. Also, the longer it takes to trace. And the softer the soap is. For my baby, I’d probably do a 10-12%? But it’s totally a personal preference. Good luck – and let me know how it goes! =)

  38. I adjusted the ‘lots of lather’ recipe to fit a 2lb mold here’s what I used:
    Castor Oil 1.00oz 04.5%
    Coconut Oil (Fractioned) 7.00oz 31.8%
    Olive Oil 7.00oz 31.8%
    Palm Kernel Oil 7.00oz 31.8%
    3% Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) Amount 3.825oz
    Distilled water 7.26oz
    along with 1.2 ounces of Arabian Spice FO from Brambleberry

    I added the lye solution to my oils and began to blend with my stick blender, and the mixture began to get *very* thick right away only where the stick blender was, so I ended up with a pudding like consistancy on the bottom of the pot, with liquid still on top of it. I continued to blend and stir to get everything mixed together but it was so thick (like a thick pudding) that the mixture was lumpy, I used a whisk to smooth things out and then spooned it into my wooden mold. I’m sure this was due to the palm oil, as I’ve read this speeds up trace but my question is this – will the soap still be safe to use, or is it possible there will be pockets of lye in it some how? (since part of the mixture became very thick before all the liquids and oils were blended together)Can I just slice it up and test it with PH strips like usual, or am I better off to toss out this batch and try again? Also, where did I go wrong?
    Thanking you in advance for your help!

    • Okay, I jut got home today and took the soap out of the mold…. and there are wet spots which means lye. Any advice? It was all mixed together and very thick, how do I avoid this in the future?

      • I’m not sure that’s what it is. Do you want me to look at a photo? You can email it to me at info at brambleberry dot com

        Arabian Spice doesn’t tend to be too difficult to work with but it can accelerate trace a bit. It sounds like the stick blender staying in one place may be the culprit?

        Generally, I turn my stick blender on in pulses and then move the stick blender around a lot to ensure that there is never an area that gets too thick too fast.

        • Oh shoot, I threw the stuff out already, you’re very kind to offer to look at a photo though.
          I seriously just turned the blender on and right where it was the mixture was instantly thick – so then I tried to mix mix mix like a mad woman to get everything blended in. Maybe my temps were off somehow and the soap siezed? I don’t know, it was not my first soap batch but it was my first try with palm oil, I guess I’ll just have to try again!

  39. Hello,

    My husband and I have a small business & have been using MP for the past couple of years. We are ready to take the next step to CP but have silicone molds that are specific to our product…will we be able to use our silicone molds with CP? Thank you!

  40. My soap was a success with # 1 batch. However, ordered some Palm Oil & was shipped coconut. Thought I would try making more with long weekend. Should I be searching for a certain Palm Oil if I try to find in stores tomorrow, I do not recall find in grocery stores though. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes
    Connie

    • Eeek! From Bramble Berry? I am SO sorry – that is horrible. I wonder if it’s the wrong product or mislabeled? Palm Oil is really yellow. Coconut is more white.

      Palm Oil … you won’t find in stores, I don’t think. It’s not a normal oil that you’ll typically see in my experience.

    • Sorry – hit ‘return’ too soon. But you can do recipes without Palm Oil. Just make a recipe with Coconut, Olive and the other oils you have and use the lye calculator at Bramble Berry so you can work with what you have =)))

      And if we made a mistake on your order, email us ASAP and we’ll get you fixed right up on Tuesday when we’re back in the office.

      I am sooooo sorry about the mistake if it was us.

  42. I’m still just doing research so sorry for this question, but when you say recommend 3% superfat, what exactly do you mean? I thought the superfats are worked into each receipe? LOL – and YES I’ve watched all your videos, but I just want to ensure I understand everything before I try.

    Thanks!

  43. Hi I’m new to cp soap making but really wanted to try these 3 out…just wanted to know how much EO/FO can I add to these batches? Thank you!! 🙂

    • I like to start at .5 to .7 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of finished soap. Then, once you’ve tried the fragrance or essential oil, you can do more or less depending on the strength.

      • Wow such a fast response! Thank you for that I’ll be following your advice. So glad I came across your site from bramble, its the best one I’ve come across

  44. Hi – What is a good oil or butter to add to cold process soap to make the soap glide across your skin? I’ve noticed my soap drags a little on my skin. Also, what value does cocoa butter give to the soap?
    Thanks.
    Sandi

    • Glide across the skin? I’d go with a 10% superfat and try with Avocado Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Shea Oil (not the butter) or Hempseed Oil for that full 10%. Cocoa Butter adds to moisture. It’s a lovely butter but I usually keep it to 5-10% or so because it’s not great with lather.

  45. Thank you for your response. I really enjoy making soaps.

    There are lots of things to learn and to know who to ask. In you I have complete confidence because I have so many things already learned and applied.
    Not everyone is willing to share their knowledge.
    Once again, thank you.
    Suzana,
    Serbia

  46. I hope it does not matter what I continue with questions below this recipe, but I’m interested is another matter. The soap calculator, there are three kinds of coconut oil. I am interested in based on which of these three types of I calculated the percentage of water and sodium hydroxide. In our market can get cosmetic coconut oil.

    Suzana,
    Serbia

    • You probably want to use the 76 degree Coconut Oil. Fractionated Coconut Oil is liquid at room temperature and I doubt that is what you are getting. And the other, warmer degree melt point is pretty rare to find. =)Enjoy!

  47. I made soap for the first recipe. I made a mistake so I account for the total discount of 8% fat. The soap is already 24 hours in a mold and is too soft to go outside. I could take it out, but would not have a nice shape of the mold. Is it a cardinal mistake that I made? Can I use it for another purpose?

    • 8% is a pretty high superfat, which will probably end up being a soft bar of soap. As soon as it’s hard enough to unmold (which may be another couple of days), cut it and get it on the curing wrack. It may harden up in 4-6 weeks.

      Courtney from Bramble Berry

  48. hi, just wondering if adding colorants to any of these recipes (especially the first) is okay to do, and if so, when and what amound would be appropriate for these recipes. Thank you.

  49. I’ve tried a bunch of your melt and pour recipes… Time to try one of the cold process ones, me thinks! The recipe I’ve been using is very crumbly when sliced, and the lather’s not great, so I’m hoping for better results now :). Thanks for sharing.

    • Good luck with one of Anne-Marie’s favorite recipes. I’m sure it will turn out great and let us know if you need help along the way =)

      Courtney from Bramble Berry

  50. Debbi- You can just leave that oil out. But make sure to put the recipe in the lye calculator again to make sure you’re using the correct amount of lye.

  51. Is there a substitute for the wheatgerm oil – I have everything else but that? Thank you,

  52. I was wondering — is the wheatgerm in the nourishing recipe wheatgerm oil, or actual wheatgerm flakes? Thanks!

    • It’s easy to figure out the size of any recipe. Just add up the oils + the lye + the water and divide by 16 and that will give you the weight of the total batch. =)

  54. Hi @pril,

    I don't notice that the Lots of Lather leaves the skin dry at all. The moisturizing recipe has decent size bubbles that last a while.

    I'd recommend making all the batches and then deciding which one you like the best. My personal preference right now is the Moisturizing recipe but to be honest, I like all of them (or else I wouldn't have shared them).

  55. For the lots of lather recipe, how dry does that leave the skin? For the moisturizing recipe, how is the lather? How do these 3 recipes compare quality wise to the Mememememe luxury recipe on the teachsoap site for lather, moisturizing and hardness, etc? I would like to use a really good recipe for all my soaps. Thanks!

    @pril
    Raleigh, North Cackalacka

  57. Hi Anne-Marie – thank you! I've already tried two of these and they were fabulous! QUESTION – I want to use Lanolin in the "Lots of Lather" bar…how much should I use and how does this change the amounts of the other ingredients?

  58. hi Anne-Marie. looking forward to trying your recipes. im new to soap making and quite addicted to it and your blog. im liking cp more than mp because i find it makes a lot more layher… anyway i think you provide a lot of creative ideas and great info. thank u for your answer 🙂

  59. I add them all together at the beginning and do not hold out any for 'superfatting.' Each recipe does have a superfat built into it and you do not need to hold out any oil for adding separately later. =)

    If you're a new soaper, you can also find other tips and tricks over at the TeachSoap.com forum. =)

    I hope you love the recipes when you try them.

  60. hi. I have a question…in the nourishing and moisturizing recipes do you add all the ingredients (oils and shea) together at the beginning or do you add some of them at trace? thanks

  61. Vitamin E oil doesn't saponify like the rest of the vegetable oils so I would recommend no more than than 1 oz. per pound of soap as a superfatting ingredient rather than replacing any of the oils with it.

  62. Hi, I have a question on the Nouishing soap recipe. If I wanted to substitute the 2 ounces of Vitamin E oil which oil should be use?

  63. It is extremely interesting for me to read this blog. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.

  64. You could try the 'Lots of Lather' or re-do it in the Bramble Berry Lye Calculator with decreasing 4% of the Palm Oil and subbing it with Sweet Almond Oil so you'd have Coconut, Palm, Olive, Sweet Almond and Castor then. =)

    Use a nourishing essential oils like Lavender or Egyptian Geranium and it'll be a great bar!

  65. Hi, just wanted to know if any one of these soap recipes make good shampoo bars if not do you have a shampoo bar soap recipe to share or someone who does? I have always wanted to make them.

  66. Hi Anon – Sorry I took so long to get back to you. Shame on me =)

    VCO is different (typically) than regular Coconut Oil. VCO tends to be fractionated (liquid) coconut oil and has a different SAP value than 76 degree melt point Coconut Oil. So don't mix and match them without re-doing your recipe =)

  67. Anne Marie, I made my first batch of cold process soap using your recipe 'Lots of Lather'. It turned out beautifully. What a great recipe! Now just waiting for it to cure. I think I'm addicted already as I'm ready to start making my next batch. I'm a little low on coconut oil can I use virgin coconut oil to make up the differnce as I can buy it at wal-mart?.

  68. Oh wonderful! Very helpful :0)
    I was up late last night reading through your posts. I hadn't come to these yet so thank you!

  70. Hi Jennifer –

    Watching the process is the easiest way:

    https://www.brambleberry.com/Learn-To-Make-Cold-Process-Soap-Dvd-1-DVD-P3591.aspx

    Or you can make do with the written word (I did when I started making soap almost 17 years ago). This is a great book to start with:

    https://www.brambleberry.com/The-Everything-Soapmaking-2nd-Edition-1-Book-P4400.aspx

    Tutorials can be found on this blog (search for Christmas soap or look up last November) and at http://www.teachsoap.com I think you'll really appreciate having a book or a DVD. =)

    Welcome to the hobby!

  71. I am brand new to soap making…I have never made a single batch before! Do you have any instructions available on how to go through the whole process to make your lots of lather? I am wanting to make Christmas gifts and figure I better start now just in case I never figure this out! haha :0)

  72. I am brand new to soap making…I have never made a single batch before! Do you have any instructions available on how to go through the whole process to make your lots of lather? I am wanting to make Christmas gifts and figure I better start now just in case I never figure this out! haha :0)

  73. Lots of Lather makes around 19 bars – 76 total ounces of product (you need to add the lye and the water) to start with. And then it evaporates out 15-20% of its weight during cure time. =)

  74. Hi, how much does the 'Lots Of Lather' recipe make? I'm thinking about 3lbs but I am new at this. I'm going to try my first batch of cold process soap using this recipe. Thanks for posting them.

  75. Canola would not be a good substitute for Palm. You could sub Canola for Olive but it would not react the same way in soap as Palm Does. You could do Tallow if you're not opposed to animal fat. Have you ever considered that? There are instructions for rendering tallow here: http://teachsoap.com/tallow.html

  76. Hello,
    I know that I am commenting on an older post, but I have made your soap recipe (CP Lots of Lather) multiple times and love it. But, could you give me a suggestion as to what to use besides the palm oil? I have access to canola, but am afraid to use it because this makes such an awesome bar. I live in a rural area and have to have everything shipped, practically. Thanks, Elizabeth

  78. On your first recipe do we need to add additional oils to get the 3% superfat for the best bubbles? Thanks so much.

  79. The less water you use in the recipe, the more temperamental the soap is when working with it. So, if you're using a fragrance that accelerates trace, you don't want to short the water.

    Also, the less water you use, the harder the bar of soap will be more quickly.

  80. Thank you for this post! I've been reading your blog for quite a while now and I really appreciate the helpful info you share with us.

    How would the variation in water amounts affect the finished bar?

  81. Oh thank you so much. I'm a novice CP soapmaker and I've been wanting to try new recipes but nervous to just make something up. Can't wait to try these!

    • I wanted to try some new ones myself, so am going to have fun with some of these and see what happen. thank

  82. Always good to know someone else's tried-and-true recipes (whether it be food or soaps, LOL!). Thanks!

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