Amish women make soap once a year. One batch — soap for the whole family for 12 months.
Ingredients
Fat (pork, beef — from fall butchering). Lye (sodium hydroxide — NaOH). Water. That's it. Optional: essential oils, herbs, oatmeal.
Cold Process
Melt fat. Dissolve lye in water (carefully — exothermic reaction). When both at 40°C — pour lye into fat in a thin stream. Stir to 'trace' — when mixture thickens like pudding. Pour into molds. Cut after 24 hours. Cure 4–6 weeks (saponification completes, lye neutralizes).
Safety
Lye is caustic. Gloves, goggles, ventilation. Never pour water into lye — only lye into water. Finished soap (after curing) is completely safe — no free lye remains.
Result
Natural glycerin (byproduct) stays in the soap — moisturizes skin. Industrial soap extracts glycerin to sell separately. That's why homemade soap is gentler on skin.