DIY Cold Process Coconut Oil Soap: Nourish Your Skin Naturally

About the author: Jinane Doughan is a professional make-up artist with a degree from the French Fashion Institute ESMOD Dubai. She specialized in natural handmade skincare and haircare products.
Her YouTube channel, Jinane World, has 600+ educational videos and 100K+ subscribers.
She is an accredited Master Trainer and gives courses at a reputed academy that has 16 branches worldwide. She sells online courses about natural skincare.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical advice. Use any natural skincare or haircare products at your own risk and perform a patch test before use.

If you’re looking for a natural and eco-friendly alternative to commercial soaps, making your own DIY cold process coconut oil soap is a great option. This soap is made with only three ingredients: pure coconut oil, distilled water, and sodium hydroxide.

By making it yourself, you can be sure that it contains no harsh chemicals, artificial fragrances, or preservatives.

In this article, we’ll show you an easy recipe to make your own cold process coconut oil soap at home. Not only is it better for your skin and the environment, but it also makes a great gift for your family and friends. Let’s get started!

Important Safety Measures

Before we list the ingredients and tools you’ll need, we need to go over some safety measures. This is because we’re using the cold process soapmaking technique in this guide. That said, here are the mandatory safety measures you should take during the process:

• No part of your skin should be exposed at any time during the process (a long-sleeved shirt and an apron are good ideas here)
• Don’t let any children or pets come near your soapmaking work table
• Your soapmaking table should be in a ventilated area at all times (an open window is a good idea )
• Latex gloves, safety goggles, and face masks should be worn at all times
• Only use silicone, plastic, and stainless steel tools

Ingredients Needed

• Pure coconut oil
• Distilled water
• Sodium hydroxide (also called caustic soda or lye)

Tools Needed

• Face mask (mandatory)
• Latex gloves (mandatory)
• Safety goggles (mandatory)
• Electric mixer
• Scale to help you measure quantities
• Plastic or stainless steel containers
• Silicone spoon
• Measuring cups
• Silicone soap mold

Note: Once you use the electric mixer and the containers and utensils for soapmaking, you should not use them for anything else. Keep them only for soapmaking.

Steps: DIY Cold Process Coconut Oil Soap

1- Ensure that you apply the necessary safety measures before starting.

2- Add 21 grams (0.74 oz) of sodium hydroxide to a container.

3- Pour 50 grams (1.76 oz) of distilled water into another container.

4- Slowly empty the container containing the sodium hydroxide into the container containing the distilled water:

• Start with a small amount and mix; continue until you add all of the sodium hydroxide
• It is important not to do this in the opposite way: it’s dangerous to pour the distilled water on top of the sodium hydroxide!
• In the end, you should have 1 plastic container containing all of the sodium hydroxide mixed with the distilled water (we’ll call this Container 1)

5- Wait until the temperature of Container 1 (the mix of the water and caustic soda) reaches room temperature. While waiting, ensure that you keep the container out of reach of children and pets.

6- Add 150 grams (5.29 oz) of coconut oil to a second container (we’ll call this Container 2).

7- Melt the contents of Container 2 (the coconut oil) in a hot water bath (bain-marie): just place the container in a larger pot of hot steaming water. The idea is to melt the contents slowly with indirect heat.

8- Slowly pour the contents of Container 1 (the mix of water and lye) into Container 2 (the melted coconut oil) while continuously stirring. Don’t pour in the opposite way.

When all the contents of Container 1 have been poured into Container 2, continue mixing for 10-20 seconds. Now, we have all the soap mix in one container.

9- Mix the contents in the container with an electric mixer until they slightly harden.

Don’t let the contents harden too much, as this will make them difficult to pour into the soap mold.

10- Pour the mix into the soap mold. With the quantities of the ingredients we used, this should yield 2-3 soaps.

11- Wait 24 hours for the soaps to harden completely before you remove them carefully from the mold.

After you remove the soaps from the mold, you have to allow 4-6 weeks for the sodium hydroxide to fully dissipate – only then you can use the soap.

And there you have your natural DIY cold process coconut oil soap!

Benefits: DIY Cold Process Coconut Oil Soap

Coconut oil soap has many benefits such as:

• Exfoliates your skin: Coconut soap can exfoliate your skin by eliminating dead cells and encouraging cell regeneration.
• Moisturizes your skin: Coconut soap can hydrate and nourish your skin, making it feel soft and supple.
• Tackles many skin conditions: You can use coconut soap to combat skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
• Is very environmentally friendly: Because coconut soap is made with natural and organic ingredients, it’s a greener alternative to other soaps.

More articles on DIY natural handmade soaps in this sub-category.

Video How-To on My Channel | Jinane World

The steps to make the DIY cold process coconut oil soap are demonstrated in this video.