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How to Make Cold Process Soap from Scratch

By David Fisher, About.com

10 of 10

Clean Up and Let the Soap Set

After 24 hours, Unmold the Soap and Slic

Unmold and Slice Your Soap

David Fisher
Set your soap in a safe place and leave it alone until tomorrow. It will take about 24 hours for the soap to harden enough to take it out of the mold and slice it.

Put all of your ingredients and equipment away.

Keeping your gloves and safety goggles on, wash all of your utensils and soap pots with hot, soapy water. (Note: The oily raw soap residue that's left in the pan is still a bit caustic, and can cause irritation and burns.)

After your soap has set for about 24 hours, it should be hard enough to unmold and slice. Pop or slide the soap out of the mold. Slice it into whatever size bars you like, and set it aside to cure. While the saponification process will have stopped in several days and the soap will technically be safe to use, it really needs to cure for approximately four weeks until it's ready to use.

Once the soap is cured, grab a bar and head to the bath!

Congratulations! You've made a batch of cold process soap from scratch.

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