About Lather & Lye
A calm, careful guide to making your own soap for people who have never worked with lye before. We cover the gentle on-ramp of melt-and-pour, then how cold-process soap really works, the lye safety that keeps you and your kitchen safe, how to read and trust a soap recipe and run it through a lye calculator, choosing oils for a bar that lathers and lasts, scenting and coloring naturally, and how to fix a batch that seized, separated, or never set, so you go from a wary first try to smooth, hard-cured bars you're proud to use and give.
Lather & Lye is an independent resource focused on soap making for beginners. We publish practical, carefully researched guides for readers who want clear answers without the fluff — whether you are just getting started or looking to sharpen what you already know.
What we do
Every article is written and edited to be genuinely useful: accurate, easy to follow, and grounded in real-world experience. We cover topics across Getting Started, Melt & Pour, Cold Process, Ingredients & Recipes, Scents & Colors, Troubleshooting & Safety and update our guides as best practices evolve. We are not affiliated with any of the brands, products, or organizations we may reference; mentions are for the reader's benefit, not an endorsement.
Who writes Lather & Lye
Lather & Lye is written by Maeve Corcoran. Maeve makes cold-process soap in small batches and writes safety-first guides for working with lye at home.
How we stay free
Lather & Lye is supported by advertising. We display ads (including ads served by third parties such as Google AdSense) so that our content can remain free to read. Advertising never dictates our editorial recommendations. See our Privacy Policy for details on how ads and analytics work on this site.
Editorial standards & disclaimer
Lather & Lye is an independent soap-making resource. Our guides are researched and written in-house; we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any oil, lye, fragrance, mold, or supply brand we mention. Cold-process and hot-process soap making use sodium hydroxide (lye), a caustic chemical that can cause severe chemical burns and blindness and releases fumes when mixed with water: always wear goggles and gloves, work in a ventilated space away from children and pets, add lye to water (never water to lye), and run every recipe through a reputable lye calculator before you make it. Our oil amounts, percentages, and cure times are general starting points that vary with your recipe and conditions, and finished bars must cure and test safe (a zap test or pH check) before use. Information here is general crafting guidance, not professional chemical-safety advice.
Our content is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Always use your own judgment and consult a qualified professional where appropriate.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, or feedback are always welcome. Reach us at runbookify@gmail.com or visit our contact page.