REQUIRED

Safety Equipment - laboratory goggles, old clothes & rags, shoes, long sleeved shirt, nitrile gloves or non-latex dish washing gloves that fit well.  Soap is best made in the kitchen for safety reasons.

Lye - Sodium Hydroxide, NaOH:  This is best ordered online, it needs to be pure sodium hydroxide with no added ingredients.  I use lye from Essential Depot.

Fats/Oils - A variety of oils can be used to make soap that are easily found at the grocery store.  Olive, Coconut, Avocado, Sunflower, Safflower, Soy, Lard, etc. I recommend visiting the grocery store and writing down the oils that are available with prices per ounce.  After we have created a recipe in class during the third week, then pick up the fats/oils.

Distilled Water (I have used tap water that was run through a Reverse Osmosis filter as well as  charcoal filtered well water without issue)

Equipment - Plastic spoon, rubber scraper, tall sided plastic bowl, tall plastic juice pitcher, soap mold (small boxes work great), freezer paper, stick blender.  These should be dedicated soap making supplies and not used for food after making soap. A digital scale that measures in grams and something to use as a weigh boat such as a plastic cup.  Thermometer - no glass.

OPTIONAL
Essential oils - Most essential oils do not remain after the saponification process takes place.  The following tend to do better than others:  Lavender, Eucalyptus, Folded Orange (I use Orange 10X), Rosemary, Anise, Lemongrass, Cedarwood, Peppermint, Spearmint

Fragrance Oils - These are synthetic, research before use and make the decision that best fits your family.  If you chose to use FO, make sure it labeled specifically for soap making.  Florals are unpredictable when used in soap, and should only be used by advanced soap makers.  If you're unsure about a specific FO, please ask!

Natural Colorants:  Poppy Seeds, Coffee Grounds, Alkanet Root, madder root, indigo, clays (pink, green, red, yellow), Activated Charcoal, Turmeric and other spices... there are many more, but this is a good example.

Decorations:  Coarse Pink Salt, dried flowers, molds to make small decorations out of soap. 

Lab Made "Natural" Colorants: Mica, Pigment, Oxide (I use Oxides)

Students should also have a camera (phone, tablet, digital camera, etc) available to record their cutting video to post to the classroom!