Editor’s note: Use recipes and instructions at your own risk. Extreme caution is advised, as mixing listed ingredients can lead to chemical reactions that could cause serious injury or death.

In olden days, making soap for the family was often done at the same time the family butchered the hogs in the fall.

“They used to render out their own lard for soap. They would make it at pig butchering time out in the yard with big kettles,” said Rosina Foster of Willow Springs, who created the Naturally Yours homemade beauty product line and assists her sons with their Two Frogs on a Log product line.

Making soap is easier today.

“We can now buy our lye,” said Foster. “People used to use wood ashes, which produce potassium hydroxide. The potassium hydroxide will produce a softer, more pasty-like soap.”

Foster noted that all true soap is made with lye.

“If it doesn’t use lye, it is a detergent or beauty bar,” explained Foster.

Foster shared how to make soap using a cold process.

The process starts with selecting the fats or oils you wish to use.

“You would want to figure out what combinations of fats and oils you want to use to make your soap, and then measure out each kind by weight, not by volume,” said Foster.

Then, using a saponification chart, determine how much lye (sodium hydroxide) by weight is needed for each type and amount of oil or fat used.

Set aside the measured amount of lye for later.

Foster noted that the amount of lye affects how the soap turns out.

“If you make it 100 percent soap, then it will be a little dry like your grandma’s old lye soap,” said Foster. “However, you can put in about 3 to 6 percent less lye to make it more moisturizing. That is called superfatting.”

Once everything is measured out, the fats and oils are liquefied.

“You would melt all fats and oils, and then set the oil mixture aside,” explained Foster.

Next, it is time to dissolve the lye in cold water.

“The water part is a little tricky. I use about one fourth of the amount of the oil being used,” said Foster.

“The water needs to be cold,” cautioned Foster. “The reason you want it cold is because when you add the lye to the water it will get very hot. It’s a chemical reaction. If you added the water to the lye, you would have a volcano. You have to be very careful.”

Add the lye to the cold water, stirring carefully, until is dissolves. Do not use metal utensils. Stainless steel pots and plastic spoons are recommended.

“Let it (the lye water) sit and cool a couple of hours,” said Foster. You want to bring the lye water and the oils to about the same temperature between 100 to 110 degrees.”

Once cooled and while stirring, the lye water is slowly added to the oil mixture.

“Again, this will get very warm,” said Foster. “Continue to stir. The length of time depends on the oil and fats you use.”

While continuing to stir the mixture, look for a trace.

“When you stir the mixture, it will become thick. Continue to stir until it makes a trace,” said Foster. “Trace means that when you spoon some up and pour it back into the mixture it makes a line or trace in the mixture.”

At this point, add color, scent or any other additive,” added Foster. “Then, quickly pour it into your soap molds because it will set up fast.”

The mold(s) should be set aside overnight, or approximately 10 to 12 hours.

“Then, you can pop it out of your mold and set it to cure. If you poured it into a big block, you would want to score, break or cut it into smaller pieces at this time,” said Foster.

Curing means to dry out all the excess moisture, a process that typically takes four to six weeks.

Other processes for making soap including hot process, oven process, melt and pour, whipped and hand milled.

Foster urges anyone making soap take safety precautions, including safety goggles and gloves.

“If you were to splatter any lye water or soap mixture on your skin, rinse it immediately with cold water and vinegar,” advised Foster. “The vinegar will neutralize the lye, so you don’t get an acid burn.”

Naturally Yours and Two Frogs on a Log products are available at Yellow Brick Toys & Book Store in the Howell County News office or by calling Rosina Foster at (417) 469-0588.

Area resident Connie Rabun shared a method for making lye (potassium hydroxide).

“This is how my grandmother told me they did it. They had a V-shaped trough with a crack at the bottom of it,” said Rabun.

“They would dump their hardwood ashes into the trough. Then, they would pour water on the ashes and let it drip down through it,” said Rabun. “You want it to slowly leach through the ashes.”

Rabun cautions against using a metal bucket or container, because the lye water will eat through the metal.

The water can be tested to see if it has enough lye.

“She (her grandmother) said if it would float an egg, it was strong enough to make soap,” recalled Rabun. “If it wasn’t strong enough, they would run the water back through the ashes again.”