The fundamental principle is to keep it simple. Once you have practical experience of the process and can prepare soap effortlessly, you will be able to commence adding alternative components and thus make your own formulas based on what you desire from a home-made soap.

Here is a record of the chief ingredients vital for the novice.

What you must have:

Canola Oil

Coconut Oil

Palm Oil

Lye (5% super-fatted) - PLEASE CHECK THE SAFETY INFORMATION BEFORE PROCEEDING

Water

Remember Safety Matters

Point 1 below is an absolute essential from the safety point of view, so please do recognise the need for the correct safety gear.

General Instructions:

1. Be sure to be wearing safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure you are working in a well-ventilated position.

2. Carefully add the lye to the water. Stir well, taking care not to breathe in the fumes. Put your mixture to the side and let it to cool to about 110 degrees F. Put the mixture outdoors if you are not in a well ventilated area.

3. Add the oils together and warm them until they melt. Allow them to cool to approximately 110 degrees F or to within 5 degrees F of the lye/water.

4. Add the lye/water mixture to the melted oils carefully and stir with vigor until “trace” happens. Trace looks like a thin pudding. A stick blender helps speed trace formation. If you only mix by hand, it can take up to an ho tour get trace.

5. Pour the traced soap mix into your moulds. Pop out after 3 - 5 days and allow to sit for  4 to 6 weeks to cure and complete the saponification process.

Some more things you need to know:

- Bubbles; coconut oil produces large, fluffy bubbles. Soap made with coconut oil will give lather even in sea water. Olive oil is safe for your skin and provides silky bubbles.

- Each of the oils demand a different amount of lye in order to produce soap

- Fake tracing can occur as a result of the temperature of the mix falling below the melting point of the mix. This is because the fat solidifies and not the soap, so it will be necessary to keep the temperature at approximately 110-115 degrees F.

- A suitable blender can make the fat molecules and the lye mix well and reach the trace stage more quickly. However, upright blenders are able to whip air bubbles into the soap which is unwanted. Hand-held blenders will bring even vegetable oils to trace in a couple of minutes.

- Your soap should be around a value of pH7. So, if it is higher than that, permit it to sit for a further seven days. As lye sits properly, the pH will fall. There are myriad soap recipes obtainable online and in books and as you gather know-how, you can even cobble together and do your own. You can make soaps while experimenting with many differing colours and scents. You may also produce soaps with your favourite ingredients which can include herbs.

Just do it; this is [1] how to make home made soap

There is more here about [2] how to make soap at home