I had never thought about making Beer soap until a microbrewery in our area approached me…. and to my surprise, it has become one of my favorite soaps, and the beer soap benefits are so good…..who would have thought washing with beer soap would be so good.
So..what is beer soap made out of?
Well, beer…when making beer soap the water is replaced with beer and wow what an amazing soap! You would think it might smell of beer but it doesn’t. Instead, it takes on the aroma of the hops and extracts that are used in the beer-making process.
There are so many different types of beer giving you a great variety to choose from, each beer will give the soap a slightly different color or scent.
Making a bar of soap out of your favorite beer is just not as simple as replacing the water with beer. There is a process first to prepare the beer before making soap, read about the benefits, and then learn how to process your beer before making soap below.
This soap produces a nice lather and feels smooth and silky on your skin.
The benefits of Beer Soap
Hops are known to contain skin-softening amino acids, which can help to soothe irritated skin, and the brewer’s yeast used in making beer has antibacterial properties, which are said to help in the fight against acne.
The Vitamin B that is present in beer will help to moisturize your skin.
Some of the best reasons to use beer soap are its ability to help maintain the skin’s PH balance, its anti-bacterial properties to help kill the bacteria that can cause acne and its moisturizing properties, and the thick creamy lather.
Beer soap is made from all-natural ingredients; you will not find any dangerous chemicals in this soap.
Soaps made with beer are often used as a multipurpose soap to wash the body and hair and for shaving.
Different types of beers will give the soap different colors from a light to a dark brown.
Making soap with beer is a more advanced process.
If you are new to making soap, it is best to get used to making soap before getting into making beer soap.
There are a few extra steps when making this type of soap.
The water will be replaced with the beer, but because the beer is carbonated and that must be removed first.
If you were to add lye to beer that is still carbonated you would end up with a dangerous volcano of lye/beer mix.
Preparing your beer before making soap is very important! I cannot stress that enough.
Preparing the Beer
Prepare your beer before making soap follow the three-step process below:
1. After you have found the beer of your choice, pour it into an open container and let it sit for approximately 36 hours – stirring it now and again.
2. After this time place the beer in a pot and let it boil for 15 – 30 minutes. This will remove any carbonation that may be left.
Be sure to start with more beer than you need as more than half of the volume can be lost in the boiling, if you have lost more than you need after boiling you can always make up the loss by adding distilled water.
3. After the beer has been boiled let it cool down and then place it in the freezer for 6-8 hours. I have used ice cube trays or when making bigger batches, I put the beer in the container I will be using to add the lye to. I freeze it but not fully.
When your beer is frozen and ready you can start making your soap.
I also put my pitcher in a sink regardless of what kind of soap I am making. I do this because if the container ever split or broke at least it won’t be all over a counter or table but contained to the sink.
So with the pitcher in a sink put your beer ice in the pitcher and slowly start adding the lye. Make sure the area is well-ventilated and stir continually. As you add the lye the beer will begin to melt.
Your oils will be melted as usual and once the lye/beer mix and oils reach the required temperature they can be mixed as usual.
Basic Cold Process Soap Making Instructions
The recipe I use for making beer soap is as follows:
- 900 Grams of Olive oil
- 225 Grams of Coconut oil
- 150 Grams Palm Kernel
- 125 Grams of Palm Oil
- 125 Grams of Grapeseed Oil
- 208 Grams of Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)
- 381 – 572 milliliters or 1.78 to 2.37 cups of liquid
This recipe calculation calls for between 1.78 and 2.37 cups of liquid. I use two cups of frozen beer and find it works well. When preparing the beer I boil more than I need and only use 2 cups.
The above recipe will give you 12 – 14 nice size bars.
A little tip – I boil the beer ahead of time and once boiled I cool the beer down and then put it into two-cup containers in the freezer for future use.
When the beer soap is made, cut, and cured it will be ready to give as a gift or sell.
So there you go a recipe to make your own soap and enjoy beer soap benefits for your skin
Put your soap in boxes
Labeling the Eco-Friendly Way
Natural soap labels
The link below will take you to other soap recipes.
Soap Making Recipes
Before starting gather all the equipment and ingredients you will need for your soap
Mixing your ingredients:
- Put on your protective clothing, apron, safety goggles, gloves, etc
- Measure your water and pour it into the container you will be using for your lye/water mix
- Measure out your lye (sodium hydroxide)
- Slowly add the lye to the water, stirring to be sure it mixes well. This should be done in a well-ventilated area as the fumes can be quite strong. This will only last for 15 seconds or so. Stir until the lye is completely dissolved in the water. It will heat up to about 180 degrees and can now be put aside to cool down.
- While the lye/water is cooling use a scale and measure each of your soap oils and put them into your stainless steel pot.
- Place this pot on your stove or hot plate and turn on low to heat to approximately 130 degrees.
- Once the oils have heated to 130 degrees take off the stove or hot plate and let them cool down to about 100 degrees.
- When the lye/water mix and the oils are both cooled down to about 100 degrees they are ready to be mixed.
- Slowly add the lye/water mix to your soap oils and stir you can use a stick blender and hand mix. Mix the soap until it traces. This is when the soap begins to thicken; you can test this by using your spoon to drizzle the liquid into the pot. You will see the trace, as the drizzle will stay on the surface of the soap mixture.
- Once the soap has traced this is the time to add your scent and color.
- Mix the scent and color well
- Pour this mixture into the lined molds, cover it with a piece of cardboard or plastic, put it to bed (place a blanket over the soap mold) and let set for a day or two.
- Once it has sat for a day or two, remove the soap from the mold and cut and put it out to cure for 4 to 6 weeks.
#handmadesoap #naturalsoap #makingsoapnaturally #soapmaking #soapmaking #soaps #artisansoap #bathandbody #cpsoap #coldprocesssoap #etsy #soapbase #soapcrafter #soapmaker #soaping #soapcrafting #soaphandmade #soap #giftidea #christmas #barsoap #handmadesoap #natural #organic #skincare #coldprocess #beersoap #beersoaprecipe #benefitsofbeersoap
You might want to check this link out for some great gift ideas for those beer lovers.
Gifts for Beer Drinkers
© 2017 – 2023, Tes. All rights reserved.
