Until around 1916, making soap at home was commonplace. Using wood or plant ashes and leftover animal fats, families produced their own soap for cleaning their clothes and themselves. During World War ...

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Walk into any beauty store with artisan soap and you may wonder what it would be like to craft your own.

It’s possible to make bar soap at home using ingredients such as lye and oils. Following a recipe and knowing which precautions to take can help make bar soap making a fun and generally safe activity.

Learn how to make lye from ashes using a lye-leaching barrel to help filter rainwater through hardwood ashes to make lye for the soap-making process. If it hadn’t been for the help we got from the ...