Cold Process Egg Soap Recipe (with

Egg Yolks)
© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients:
3.92 oz. palm kernel flakes
3.6 oz. 76° melt point coconut oil
9 oz. sustainable palm oil
10.8 oz. pomace olive oil
4 oz. safflower oil
1.08 oz. castor oil
3.6 oz. rice bran oil

11.5 fluid oz. distilled water

4.9 oz. lye/sodium hydroxide

2 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon white kaolin (cosmetic) clay
2.25 oz. fragrance oil of choice, optional

Egg Yolk Soap Notes:

Water as % of oils=32%
Superfat/Discount 6%
This homemade cold process egg soap recipe will yield 10-12 bars of
soap approximately 4 oz. each depending on how they are cut and
fits inside my DIY wooden loaf soap mold.

There is zero egg smell to this cold process egg soap recipe once it
has cured. I noticed a slight smell when I first cut my homemade egg
yolk soap into bars, however it had completely dissipated by the next
day and smelled only like the fragrance oil I’d used for my own batch.

Instructions:
To make this homemade cold process egg soap recipe, you’ll need
to follow your basic cold process soapmaking method instructions. (If
you’ve never made cold process soap before here’s a good,
inexpensive beginner’s cold process soap recipe you can try.) Be
sure to take all proper safety precautions when working with lye
including goggles and gloves.

You’ll need to begin with eggs that are room temperature so I

suggest removing your eggs from the refrigerator ahead of starting
the soapmaking process. Crack the eggs open and separate the
whites and yolk from two eggs. You’ll only be using the yolks for this
egg yolk soap recipe so feel free to scramble up the whites in an
omelet! Alternately you could simply use one egg in its entirety – both
the white and yolk – for a somewhat different result. While egg yolks
serve as a fat in a cold process egg soap recipe, the protein in egg
whites are believed to have an astringent effect on skin.

Once your eggs have reached room temperature, you are ready to
begin the soapmaking process.

Begin the soapmaking process for this egg soap recipe by first
measuring out the distilled water in fluid ounces. (Alternately you can
use rosewater in place of the distilled water if you’re after a face
specific soap.) Pour into a heat safe pitcher. Next, using a digital
scale weigh out the lye. Slowly pour the lye into the water in a well
ventilated area and stir until all the lye has dissolved. Set aside to
cool.

Now weigh out the palm kernel flakes, coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil,
safflower oil, castor oil and rice bran oil using a digital scale and
combine in a stainless steel pot. Heat until all of the oils have
melted, then remove from heat and set aside.

Next weigh out your fragrance oil, if you’re choosing to scent your

egg soap, and set aside. (You can also use essential oils in lieu of a
fragrance oil, but you’ll want to use half the amount.)

Now measure out the kaolin clay and set aside.

Once the lye-water and soapmaking oils have cooled to around 90°F

you’re ready to make this egg soap recipe.

You’ll need to begin by tempering your egg yolks. To do this remove

about a cup of oil from your cooled soapmaking oils into a cup or
bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix well with a whisk, fork or even a
stick blender. Set aside.

Now slowly pour the lye-water into the soapmaking oils. Mix with
a stick blender until you reach a light trace, then add the clay,
fragrance, and egg-oil mixture. Mix again until the soap starts to
thicken again and all ingredients are fully blended into the soap, then
pour the soap into your prepared mold.

Lightly cover the soap with cardboard but don’t insulate the soap loaf.
After 24 hours you can unmold your egg yolk soap loaf and cut it into
bars. Allow your egg yolk soaps to cure 4-6 weeks before use, then
wrap and label as desired.

Create Custom Egg Yolk Soap Recipes

Want to try eggs in your own homemade cold process soap recipe?
Give it a try! Just be sure to bring your eggs to room temperature and
temper your eggs in your cooled soapmaking oils to avoid an eggy
smell or scrambled eggs. Then add the tempered eggs at a light
trace in your own custom egg yolk soap recipe.

More Cold Process Egg Soap Recipes

Looking for more cold process egg soap recipes to try? Explore some
of my other homemade soap recipes for making egg yolk soaps.

 Sea Salt Shampoo Bar Recipe with Milk & Egg

 Coffee, Cocoa & Egg Soap Recipe 

Or give one of these other cold process soap recipes with food

ingredients a try!

For more of my homemade soap recipes as well as bath and beauty

DIY’s, you can follow me on Pinterest. You can also find and follow
me on Blog Lovin’, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or  sign up to
receive an email whenever I share a new post!

Egg Soap

Whole eggs, egg yolks, and especially egg whites have been added to soap for at least
100 years.

The venerable Swedish soap Lanolin-Agg-Tval (1) contains egg white. These tiny (50
gram, 1.75 ounce) bars are touted as the Swedish secret for a lovely complexion. In
1908, authors W.H. Simmons and H.A. Appleton were less enthusiastic:
 "...The use of albumen [egg white]... in soap has been persistently
advocated in this country [the United States] during the past few years.
The claims attributed to albumen are, that it neutralises free alkali, causes
the soap to yield a more copious lather, and helps to bind it more
closely... Experiments made by the authors did not appear to justify any
enthusiasm on the subject, and the use of albumen for soap-making in
this country appears to be very slight, however popular it may be on the
Continent...." --Simmonds and Appleton, Handbook of Soap Manufacture,
1908.

Egg yolk supposedly adds richness or thickness to the lather, perhaps due to the 1 gram
of lecithin per yolk. Lecithin, an emulsifier and surfactant, is thought to slow trace when
working with accelerating fragrances. Some say it helps a little; others say it does not
slow trace and also softens the soap. There is only a small amount of lecithin in egg yolk,
so it is unlikely to have much effect either way.

So far, I have used only whole eggs in my soap, but you can use just yolks or whites as
you please. The egg soap batches I have made seem to saponify and harden in the mold
about the same as non-egg batches. I do not see any obvious difference in the hardness,
lather, and other qualities of the finished cured soap. Like Simmonds and Appleton, I do
not think egg is a miracle additive, but it is fun to include and adds label appeal.

How much to use

I suggest 1 whole egg or  1-2 egg yolks  or 1 egg white per pound (or per 500 grams) of
fats.

1 large whole egg supplies 5 grams of fat and 38 grams

of water
1 large egg yolk supplies 5 g of fat and 9 g of water
1 large egg white supplies zero fat and 29 g of water
(2)

 
Adjust for the water in egg

Egg yolk will add 4% to 8% additional water to a batch of soap, if you add 1 yolk per
pound or per 500 grams of fats.

Whole egg or egg white will add considerably more water. One whole egg per pound or per
500 grams of fats will supply 15% to 30% of the total water needed to make the soap and
the white alone will add almost that much.

To account for this added water, use your usual lye concentration (or water:lye ratio) to
calculate the total water needed for the soap batch. Next, calculate the total water added
by the egg. Finally, subtract the water in the egg from the total water in the batch to get
the additional water needed. Here is an example --

My latest egg soap recipe has a total of 1600 grams of

fat
Total water = 510 grams based on a 33% lye concentration
(2.0 water:lye ratio)
I added 3 whole eggs, so the water from the eggs = 3 x 38
 = 114 grams
Additional water needed = 510 - 114 = 396 grams

 
Adjust for the fat in egg

A whole egg or egg yolk per pound (or 500 grams) of fats adds only a small amount of fat
to the recipe. Whether you ignore this added fat or not is up to you. If you want to include
the egg fat in the soap recipe calculations, here is how --

Many soap recipe calculators,

including SoapmakingFriend.com, Soapee.com,
or SoapCalc.net, do not have an entry for egg fat, but
there is a work-around solution for that. The
saponification value of egg fat is the same as for canola
oil -- about 0.133 -- so use canola oil as a stand-in for
the egg fat.

Enter 5 grams of "canola oil" for every egg yolk you want
to use. This will trick the calculator into calculating
the correct weight of NaOH for your recipe.

Canola oil does not have the same fatty acid profile as
egg fat, so the fatty acid profile of your recipe will be
slightly off. The fatty acids in egg fat are roughly
comparable to emu oil.

 
How to add eggs to soap

A few points to remember --

Curdling happens when egg proteins are able to clump

together during cooking to form unpleasant lumps. Prevent
curdling by starting with cool ingredients,
by diluting the egg with other liquids before soaping
(3), and by letting the soap warm up gradually during
saponification. These tips will help prevent hard bits,
nasty odors, and weird colors in your egg soap.

All ingredients should start at room temperature to

just slightly warm (below 105 F or 40 C).

Cold process (CP) soap making works fine, even if the

soap eventually gets warm enough to gel. I have not
personally tried hot process (HP), so I cannot say how
that works. I have seen a photo of HP soap that contained
egg yolk. This soap was a light tan, indicating the yolk
color may darken during the HP cook.
Here is the method I have used --

Crack the egg(s) into a small bowl. If you want just the
yolks or whites in your soap, separate the egg and
reserve the unwanted part for another use.

Stick blend the egg until smooth. There is no need to

pick out the chalaza (the white ropy bit on one side of
the yolk) or any other membranes.

Check that the fats are cool enough. Pour the blended egg
into the fats. You can pour the egg through a strainer to
catch any small bits the stick blender missed.

Stick blend for a few seconds to bring the eggs and fat
to a consistent temperature. The mixture will quickly
separate after you stop mixing, but that is okay.

Make sure the lye solution is cool enough. Add the lye to
the fat and egg mixture. Make the soap as normal. Right
after adding the lye, the batter may darken and there may
be an ammonia or "rotten eggs" odor for a short time.
These changes are typical.

Allow the soap to saponify. I do not insulate the mold

nor add extra heat (CPOP, heating pad, etc.) I only
lightly cover the mold to help the surface of the soap
stay a bit warmer and keep the dust off. My goal is to
let the soap warm up slowly on its own.

Even without insulation or extra heat, all my batches of

egg soap have gelled. There have been no lingering odors
or unexpected color changes.
By blending the eggs with the fats and soaping on the cool side, I have noticed only a
small whiff of odor right after adding the lye, but I have not observed any weird colors,
hard lumps, or lingering odors that other soapers sometimes mention.