Make Homemade Soap Without Lye. No Lie!

Written by Ronilee Amy Small in Making Soap,Melt & Pour,Rebatching

how to make homemade soap without lye cover image

Can you make homemade soap without lye? Yes! There are two ways to make homemade soap without lye: Melt and pour, and Re-batching.

Both offer an ideal opportunity to make your own custom soap. Let’s start with melt and pour…

Melt and Pour Soap Base (MP)

MP is touted as the easiest way to make soap without lye. Also known as glycerin soap, melt and pour allows the soap maker to select the desired soap base and customize it to whatever extent they wish. Following is a quick video of how to create melt and pour soap in a microwave.

https://youtu.be/FTcnD1etGKs
Source

Please don’t confuse easy for less than optimal. Bars made from melt and pour soap base can be incredible works of art that do an incredible job cleaning and moisturizing your skin – depending on the type, of course.

MP also comes in many types and “flavors” to choose from.

All-natural, organic and detergent-based are among the types of melt and pour base. Coffee, oatmeal, shea butter, goat milk and aloe are just a few among the many “flavors” available.

Between all types and flavors you can create just about any finished soap product you want. You can even buy glycerin soap (another name for melt and pour) in a form called ‘like cold process’. This means it does not produce glycerin due any more than cold process (aka sweat) and looks and feel like cold process soap.

Rebatching Cold Process Soap

Although most people assume that melt and pour is the easiest way to make soap without lye, I don’t find that to be the case. Rebatching cold process soap is just as easy.

Also known as hand milling, rebatching cold process soap involves breaking large chunks of soap into small pieces, heating them until they melt, and putting them in a mold. Sound familiar? If you have ever done melt and pour, it will seem very familiar.

You can buy rebatch soap base from most soap suppliers so it’s easy enough to try. It can also be done in a Crockpot or microwave so you probably already have the equipment to try it.

make soap without lye

Melt and Pour vs Rebatching

There are several advantages and disadvantages to both making soap via melt and pour or the rebatch process. Each process is straightforward and easy to learn. Let’s touch on the main considerations that most soap makers tend to care about.

MP Soap Making Considerations

Melt and pour soap can seem to have the appearance of sweating when in a humid environment. This is because the soap has glycerin added during the manufacturing process. The glycerin is natural and an excellent cleaner. However, it is also very good at attracting any moisture in the air. When that moisture builds up on the side of the bar, it forms a dew-like layer that looks like sweat. You can buy low sweat melt and pour bases to avoid this problem.

Another potential disadvantage with melt and pour soap lies in perception. Because it is so much quicker and easier to make beautiful soap using glycerin base rather than cold process, there is not typically as much monetary value placed on the effort. This is not always the case. Just be aware that some folks who specialize in cold process or hot process soap making expect you to charge less for melt and pour handmade soap.

As far as advantages go, there really is no limit with melt and pour. It is…

  • Very convenient
  • Free from any of the risks associated with using lye
  • Easy to use, even for a beginner
  • Able to pick up even the most intricate details in molds
  • Very affordable once you factor in the time savings
  • A source of instant gratification, in that there is no curing time needed
  • The only way to get truly transparent soap if you so choose

Rebatch Soap Making Considerations

Re-batch soap is simply cold process soap that you are shredding, re-melting and molding. While it has already undergone the saponification process and it is ready to use soap, you will still need to let it harden for several weeks depending on how much liquid you added during the re-batch process

Hand milling can be time-consuming and tiring without the right tools. The reason re-batch is also known as hand milling is because the soap must be shredded or otherwise cut into very small pieces in order to be evenly melted using minimal amounts of added liquid.

Having personally hand milled hundreds of pounds of cold process soap over the years, I can tell you this can be quite tiring. The day I found an old Salad Shooter was one I still celebrate.

There are plenty of advantages to cold process soap and all of those can be found in re-batch as well. Re-batched cold process soap is…

  • Exactly the same as cold process or hot process soap.
    • If you want to have thinner, a more fluid, pour into the mold – simply add more liquid during the re-batch process.
    • If you want this to harden quickly, like hot process soap, keep the liquids to a minimum.
  • High quality cold process soap without any of the risks or concerns associated with using lye.
    • If you want to make cold process or hot process soap, but don’t want to work with lye – rebatching can be the answer!

No Sweat Melt and Pour Insider Tip

Aside from low sweat melt and pour options there are also bases that mimic cold process closely. Although the product is as easy to use as typical glycerin melt and pour, most people that see and feel it would naturally assume it was made via cold process.

Stephenson is one of the top melt and pour soap base manufacturers in the world. They offer a No Sweat base.

Like Cold Process Insider Tip

SFIC is also one of the most popular melt and pour manufacturers in business today. They offer a Like Cold Process melt and pour soap base that is easy to use and provides outstanding results.

Rebatch Soap Base Insider Tips

Stephenson offers cold process soap for rebatch at this link. Just be sure to read the description to see if it is pre-shredded or if you have to d o that part. If you must do it, consider using a cheese grater or Salad Shooter. They both work well for this purpose.

Geedel makes a very reliable hand crank model that costs $30 to $37 depending on options. It is available on Amazon at this link. Here is a video of this model at work.

https://youtu.be/rzlXq3xzmEw
You Can Buy It Here

Hand Milling Insider Tip

If you plan to do a lot of hand milling, for rebatch, it’s worth investing in a grinder type vegetable and cheese grater or purchasing a Salad Shooter type appliance. Hand crank models can be purchased for about $25 while electric models are usually $35-$45. If you do a lot of re-batch work, it might be money well spent.

Where to Go from Here

There are several information packed posts on this website available for you right now. I will link to those I think you will find most helpful depending on where you would like to go from here.

Melt and Pour & Rebatching Internal Links

When You’re Ready to Sell Your Soap

In Closing

Whether you want to create homemade soap for you and your family or if you want to sell it to the world, there are more opportunities available today than ever before in history. It is no exaggeration to say that making your own handcrafted soap, without any of the risks of lye, is within your grasp.

A good friend of mine has a respiratory condition that makes it nearly impossible to work with lye. She started her business working with just melt and pour soap bases. Although that became profitable she found even more opportunity by using no sweat melt and pour as well as hand milling soap for re-batch.

Many of our visitors have no interest in selling their goods. They simply enjoy making homemade soap for their friends and loved ones. Regardless of what category you find yourself in, starting with melt and pour or re-batch is a smart way to go.

As always, Happy Soaping!

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