Ingredients:

1. Weigh lye and set aside in pitcher. In the other pitcher weigh water.

2. Slowly pour the lye into the water. Very carefully so you don’t splash up. Try not to breath in the fumes. Stir.

3. Put a thermometer in the lye solution and check temp.

4. Weigh the oil and heat to 100 degrees in the pot (it’s easy to go over, try not to)

5. When both the lye solution and the oil are at 100 F stir the oil while pouring in the lye solution.

6. Continue to stir till all the lye has been absorbed. Stir in a smooth pattern until you can see what are known as trailings. This is easiest to see by lifting your spoon out of the pot and drizzling a string of soap across the surface.

7. Gently pour soap mixture into plastic storage. Scrape the sides of the pot to make sure you get it all in.

8. Put the lid on the container and wrap with a towel. Place in a warm place.

9. Now the soap will need time to cure. 3 weeks.

10. If your soap doesn’t stay together you will need to stir it twice a day for the first week, wrapping it up again after each stirring.

Now you have a castile soap base ready to be milled.

Milling Soap:

1. Grate 12 oz of soap base and melt with 9 oz of water in a saucepan.

2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of an herb or a few drops of essential oil.

3. When well mixed pour into molds, and put in freezer.

4. After half an hour in the freezer remove from soap molds and place on white butchers paper to dry for another week.

5. After soap is dry it should be kept in an air tight container to preserve it.