Making and using hand-made soap is a rewarding experience and a natural way to keep your family clean. If you are new to soap making, it can be tricky to figure out how to create a bar of soap that is harder in texture. There are certain methods that can help you harden bath soap, which can help soap create a better lather during bathing.
Add more coconut oil to the soap recipe. During the soap making process, if you add a greater proportion of coconut oil to the mixture it can help create a denser, harder soap that lathers easily. Coconut oil can be purchased at any health food store, but for soap making it is usually more cost-effective to purchase coconut oil in bulk.
Allow the soaps to cure for a longer period of time. Once the soap mixture has been prepared and poured into the soap molds, place the molds in a cool, dark room. Let the soaps rest there for at least 6 weeks. This length of time is necessary to allow the soap's ingredients to combine chemically, creating a harder bar of bath soap. To ensure that the soaps are cured completely, cure the soaps even longer than 6 weeks.
Remove ingredients from the soap recipe that will loosen or soften bath soap. These ingredients are typically moisturizing butters and oils that are very rich, such as Shea butter, cocoa butter, and emu oil. Replace rich ingredients with highly cleansing ingredients that harden the soap during the curing stage, such as olive oil and palm oil.
