About this module
This module trains you to make soap that is safe, good and legal to sell. You learn by doing: most of the time is spent at the work bench, and every unit ends with a practical task and homework.
Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate, aged 18 or over. The level is National Proficiency I, the first level of Ghana's TVET qualifications, where a trainee does routine tasks under close supervision.
Why 18 and over. Ghana's Children's Act sets 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which includes manufacturing where chemicals are used. Soap making uses caustic soda and sulphonic acid, both of which burn skin and eyes.
The products. Liquid soap is what most Ghanaian soap trainings teach first. Bar soap and traditional black soap use palm oil, palm kernel oil and cocoa-pod or plantain ash from the farm.
CTVET has its own Soap Making programme. CTVET lists Soap Making at National Proficiency I among its approved competency-based programmes. Its curriculum was not available online, so this module is not that curriculum. It follows CTVET's published format. Before running an official course, ask CTVET for the Soap Making occupational standard and match this module's units to it.
How the module works
Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria (what you must show you can do), the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent on each unit by being watched at work, answering questions, and showing your logbook. About 70% of the time is practical, following CTVET's Oil Palm programme, which uses about 30% in school and 70% at the workplace.
Unit 1 · Work safely with soap chemicals
Caustic soda turns oil into soap, and it also burns skin and eyes. Every soap maker learns the safety rules first, and follows them every time.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Dress for the job | puts on goggles, gloves, apron and long sleeves before opening any chemical |
| 1.2 Mix lye safely | adds caustic soda to water, slowly, in a lye-safe container, with the head turned away |
| 1.3 Store and clean up | stores chemicals locked and labelled; cleans spills; disposes of waste safely |
| 1.4 Give first aid | states and shows first aid for splashes on skin and in eyes |
Range. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and sulphonic acid; work room and outdoor bench. Evidence. Observation every session; oral questions; safety checklist in the logbook.
What can hurt you
| Chemical | Danger | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide, lye) | Causes severe skin burns and serious eye damage. Corrosive to metals. Harmful to water life | NaOH Safety Sheet |
| Sulphonic acid (LABSA) | Causes skin burns and eye damage; harmful if swallowed; very toxic to water life; gets hot when it meets alkali | LABSA Safety Sheet |
The rules
- Always add caustic soda to water. Never add water to caustic soda, and never add it to hot water.
- Turn your head away while it dissolves and do not breathe the fumes.
- Wear goggles, rubber gloves and an apron. The safety sheet adds a face shield and full protective clothing.
- No aluminium. Caustic soda attacks aluminium, tin and zinc, and on aluminium it makes flammable hydrogen gas. Use stainless steel, enamel, heat-proof glass or lye-safe plastic.
- Keep children out of the room.
- Store chemicals locked up, labelled, away from food.
- Fresh soap is still caustic. Handle new soap with gloves until it has cured.
First aid
- Eyes: rinse with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes, then see a doctor.
- Skin: take off soaked clothing and wash with plenty of water. Burns from sulphonic acid must be treated by a doctor.
- Swallowed: do not make the person vomit; rinse the mouth and get medical help.
Milk or vinegar? An old Ghana village manual says milk will neutralise caustic soda in the eyes or if swallowed. The chemical safety sheets say only water, for a long time, then a doctor. Vinegar is for wiping lye off a table, not skin. Follow the safety sheets: water only.
Waste
Throw soap-making waste outside the house, never into the drain. Keep sulphonic acid and caustic soda out of drains and streams; they harm water life.
Spot the danger
Your trainer describes six things happening in a soap workshop. For each, say if it is safe or unsafe, and why.
Safe lye mixing (with plain water first)
- Put on goggles, gloves, apron and long sleeves.
- Set up: scale, stainless or plastic jug of cold water, lye-safe bowl, spoon, eyewash bottle within reach.
- Practice round: do the whole routine using plain salt instead of caustic soda, until your trainer says you are ready.
- Real round (with trainer): weigh 50 g caustic soda, add it slowly to 150 g cold water, stir with your head turned away. Feel the outside of the bowl get hot (gloves on).
- Label the bowl "LYE – DANGER" and leave it to cool.
- Clean up and record the session in your logbook.
Safety poster
Make a poster for your workshop wall with the five most important safety rules, in your own words and pictures. Bring it to class.
Unit 2 · Weigh and calculate a recipe
Each oil needs a set amount of caustic soda to become soap. Too little and the soap is soft and greasy; too much and it burns the skin. So soap makers weigh, and calculate.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Weigh accurately | uses a scale to weigh oils, lye and water to the gram; zeroes the scale |
| 2.2 Calculate lye | uses SAP factors to work out caustic soda for a recipe, with a 5% superfat |
| 2.3 Calculate water | works out water for the lye solution |
Range. Palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, shea butter; batches of 0.5–2 kg of oil. Evidence. Calculations in the logbook; observation of weighing.
Why weigh?
The amount of caustic soda an oil needs (its SAP value) is measured per gram of oil. Cups and spoons are not reliable: the same cup holds different weights of different oils.
Caustic soda per gram of oil
Codex, the international food standard, gives the SAP range of each oil. Converted to grams of caustic soda per gram of oil (calculated from the middle of each Codex range):
| Oil | Caustic soda per g of oil | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut oil | 0.183 g | Codex Oil Standard |
| Palm kernel oil (PKO) | 0.173 g | Codex Oil Standard |
| Palm oil | 0.142 g | Codex Oil Standard |
| Shea butter | 0.128 g | Soapery SAP Values |
How much lye does palm kernel oil need? Codex gives a SAP range that works out at about 0.164–0.181 g caustic soda per gram. A soap supplier's chart gives 0.145. Ghanaian crude PKO measured at the University of Ghana came out in between. Local oils vary, which is why soap makers leave a superfat (below) and test every new oil with a small batch.
Superfat and water
Superfat means using a little less caustic soda than the oils need, so a little oil is left free and no caustic soda is left over. A common choice is 5% less caustic soda. Water is often about twice the weight of the caustic soda (a 33% lye solution).
Worked example: 1 kg of oils
| Step | Sum | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Oils | 800 g palm oil + 200 g PKO | 1,000 g |
| Caustic soda with no superfat | 800 × 0.142 + 200 × 0.173 | 148 g |
| With 5% superfat | 148 × 0.95 | 141 g |
| Water (33% solution) | 141 × 2 | about 286 g |
All calculated from the Codex figures above. Before you make a new recipe for sale, check it with an online lye calculator and make a small test batch.
Calculate a batch
(1) 500 g palm oil + 500 g coconut oil: how much caustic soda with a 5% superfat? (2) How much water? (3) Why is the coconut batch's caustic soda higher than the palm-only batch?
Weighing drill
- Zero the scale with an empty bowl on it.
- Weigh exactly 800 g of palm oil, 200 g of PKO, and 286 g of water. Your trainer checks each on a second scale.
- Weigh 141 g of salt (practising for caustic soda).
- Record each weight in your logbook.
Price the oils
Find the price of 1 litre (or 1 kg) of palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil at your local market. Record them for the costing in Unit 7.
Unit 3 · Make bar soap (cold process)
Bar soap from palm oil and palm kernel oil uses products from Ghana's oil-palm farms. A village manual from Asawinso in the Western Region used 80% palm oil and 20% palm kernel oil.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Prepare | sets up PPE, tools and weighed ingredients before starting |
| 3.2 Make the soap | mixes cooled lye into the oils and stirs to trace |
| 3.3 Mould, cut and cure | moulds, unmoulds, cuts and sets the bars to cure; labels with date |
Range. Palm oil and PKO recipe from Unit 2; hand stirring or stick blender. Evidence. Observation; batch record; finished bars.
Steps
- Weigh everything (Unit 2).
- Make the lye: caustic soda into cold water (Unit 1). Let it cool.
- Melt the palm oil and PKO gently; let them cool.
- Pour the lye into the oils.
- Stir (or use a stick blender) until trace: the mix thickens like a thin pudding and a drip leaves a mark on the surface.
- Pour into the mould.
- Unmould after 1–2 days. Old Ghanaian practice leaves soap in the mould 24–36 hours to harden.
- Cut into bars and set them on a rack to cure, with air around them.
How long to cure? Soap suppliers say 4–6 weeks for cold-process soap. Practical Action says at least 3 weeks for hard soap. The Asawinso manual says 1–2 weeks for palm/PKO box soap. Longer curing makes a harder, milder bar. Test the pH (Unit 6) before you sell.
Batch record
Draw a batch record sheet with: date, batch number, each oil and its weight, caustic soda weight, water weight, superfat %, time to trace, mould, unmould date, cure start date, cure end date, pH. You will use it in the practical.
Make 1 kg of bar soap
- In your group, make the Unit 2 recipe (800 g palm oil, 200 g PKO, 141 g caustic soda, 286 g water), with full PPE.
- Fill in your batch record at every step.
- Mould, label the mould with the date and batch number, and leave it.
- Unmould, cut and set to cure. Record how many bars you got.
Compare shop soap
Buy (or look at) one bar of soap from a shop. Copy the label: name, ingredients, weight, maker's name and address, batch and dates, FDA number. Bring your notes for Unit 7.
Unit 4 · Make black soap (alata samina)
Ghana's traditional black soap is made with lye from the ash of cocoa pods or plantain leaves, boiled with palm kernel oil. It turns farm waste into a product. Ghana has a standard for it: GS 289, Anago soap, otherwise known as Alata Samina.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Make ash lye | dries and burns pods or leaves; soaks the ash and collects clear lye |
| 4.2 Boil the soap | adds ash lye to hot oil little by little, stirring, until soap forms |
| 4.3 Finish | forms balls, dries and records the batch |
Range. Cocoa pod or plantain leaf ash; palm kernel oil, with or without palm oil. Evidence. Observation; batch record; finished black soap.
The traditional way
A Tema producer describes it: boil palm kernel oil on high heat, mix cocoa-pod or plantain-leaf ash with water, add the ash water to the hot oil while stirring, and keep adding and stirring until the mix becomes sticky; then cool and form into balls.
The CRIG method
The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana tested a method with cocoa pods:
- Sun-dry cocoa pod husks on concrete for about 2 weeks, turning them; burn them to ash. 100 kg of fresh husks gives about 10 kg of ash.
- Soak 40 kg of ash in about 100 litres of water; drain for 24 hours.
- Boil the liquid down.
- Heat palm oil or palm kernel oil until very hot, add the potash a little at a time, and boil until soap forms.
- Form into balls and sun-dry for 2 days.
How strong is the ash lye?
Ash lye strength changes from batch to batch. A simple test: lye strong enough to float a fresh egg can be used as a standard strength. Soak the ash 12–24 hours and pour off the clear lye. Ash lye is weaker and slower than caustic soda, but it still burns skin and eyes: wear full PPE.
Aluminium pots for black soap? The CRIG pilot used aluminium cooking pots and the Asawinso manual lists an aluminium kettle. Safety sheets say lye attacks aluminium. Use stainless steel or enamel pots.
Make a small batch of black soap
- With your trainer, burn dried cocoa pods or plantain leaves to ash (outdoors, away from buildings).
- Soak the ash in water overnight; pour off the clear lye; test with a fresh egg.
- Heat palm kernel oil in a stainless or enamel pot.
- Add the ash lye a little at a time, stirring all the time, until the mix becomes sticky soap.
- Cool, form into balls, dry, and record the batch.
Ask an elder
Ask an older person in your community how black soap was made in their village: what ash, what oil, how long it boiled. Write it down and compare with this unit.
Unit 5 · Understand and test liquid soap
Ghanaian "liquid soap" is really a detergent: sulphonic acid is neutralised with caustic soda or soda ash, then thickened, coloured and perfumed. It needs no curing, which is why it is popular.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Know the ingredients | names each ingredient and its job |
| 5.2 Make it safely | follows the trainer's tested formula, weighing everything, with full PPE |
| 5.3 Check it | measures the pH of every batch before bottling |
Range. Sulphonic acid, caustic soda or soda ash, SLES ("texapon"), salt, thickener, colour, perfume. Evidence. Observation; batch record with pH; oral questions.
What each ingredient does
| Ingredient | Its job |
|---|---|
| Sulphonic acid (LABSA) | The main cleaning ingredient, in acid form. It must be neutralised to work |
| Caustic soda and/or soda ash | Neutralise the sulphonic acid; soda ash also softens hard water |
| SLES ("texapon") | A second cleaner; gives foam |
| Salt | Thickens the mix |
| CMC or Natrosol | Thickener |
| Colour, perfume, preservative | Look, smell and shelf life |
The ingredient list is common to Ghanaian and Nigerian liquid-soap trainings.
Why the amounts matter
Sulphonic acid is strongly acid: a 1% solution has a pH of about 1.5, and it gets hot when it meets alkali. About 125 g of caustic soda, or about 165 g of soda ash, neutralises 1 kg of sulphonic acid (calculated from its chemistry on the safety sheet). Too little alkali leaves the soap acid; too much leaves it harsh. One recipe published online uses far too little caustic soda and would stay acid (calculated). That is why you test the pH of every batch.
Use only your trainer's tested formula. No reliable published formula for small-scale liquid soap was found, only online videos and blogs. Recipes measured in "cups" of caustic soda are unsafe. Weigh everything, and check the pH before bottling.
Make and test liquid soap
- With full PPE, follow your trainer's formula exactly, weighing every ingredient.
- Add sulphonic acid slowly, stirring, because it heats up as it is neutralised.
- After mixing, test the pH with a strip (Unit 6) and record it.
- Let it rest as your trainer says, then bottle and label with the batch number and date.
Read a bottle
Look at two bottles of liquid soap sold near you. Copy the ingredients and the label details. Which one gives more information? Which follows the FDA labelling rules in Unit 7?
Unit 6 · Check soap quality
Good soap is hard, lathers well, and is gentle on skin. Simple tests tell you if your batch is ready to sell.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 6.1 Test pH | tests pH with a strip on a soap solution and records it |
| 6.2 Read the signs | names faults from how the soap looks, feels and smells |
| 6.3 Decide | decides if a batch can be sold, must cure longer, or must be rejected |
Range. Bar soap, black soap, liquid soap. Evidence. Quality record for each batch; oral questions.
pH
Handmade bar soaps tested in a study had a pH of about 9–10.5. Mix a little soap in water and dip a pH strip. A much higher reading suggests too much caustic soda: cure longer and test again.
Do not "taste-test" soap on your tongue. Some online guides suggest it; use pH strips instead.
The plate test
Put a drop of the soap mix on a cold plate. Clear when cool: ready. A grey skin all over that slides off: too much lye.
What faults look like
| What you see | Likely cause | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hard, brittle soap; clear liquid pockets when cut | Too much caustic soda | Practical Action Soapmaking |
| Oily layer on top | Too much fat or too little caustic soda | Practical Action Soapmaking |
| Soft, spongy soap | Too little caustic soda, too much water, or too much soft oil | Practical Action Soapmaking |
| Rancid smell | Poor fat, too much fat, or too little caustic soda | Practical Action Soapmaking |
| White powder on the surface | Hard water or undissolved caustic soda | Practical Action Soapmaking |
Good soap has a good, bright colour, medium-hard feel, and gives a free, lasting lather.
Test your batches
- For your bar soap (Unit 3) and black soap (Unit 4), test pH each week while curing, and record it.
- Check hardness, colour, smell and lather; note any fault from the table.
- For each batch write: sell / cure longer / reject, and why.
pH at home
Test the pH of three things at home with a strip your trainer gives you: tap water, a shop soap, and your own soap. Record the results.
Unit 7 · Label, cost and sell legally
To sell soap in Ghana you need the right label and FDA registration. Costing tells you if you are making money.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 7.1 Label | prepares a label with all the items FDA requires |
| 7.2 Know the rules | names the FDA, GSA and EPA steps for selling soap |
| 7.3 Cost and price | works out the cost of one bar or litre and sets a price |
Range. Bar soap, black soap, liquid soap; micro or cottage producers. Evidence. Label; costing sheet; oral questions.
FDA: cosmetic or household chemical?
The FDA treats products for cleaning the skin and hair (toilet soap, black soap, hand soap) as cosmetics, and detergents for the home (laundry soap, dishwashing liquid) as household chemical substances. Registration lasts 3 years; local makers need a certificate of analysis from a recognised public analyst. Any product that claims to treat a disease is a drug, not a soap.
What the label must show
FDA's labelling guideline asks for:
- product name and ingredients
- net content
- batch number
- date of manufacture and expiry or best-before date
- directions, warnings and storage
- maker's name, postal and premises address
- country of origin
- "keep out of the reach of children"
- the FDA registration number
Household chemicals (like dishwashing liquid) must also show how to dilute and use it, first aid if swallowed, how to dispose of the container, and hazard symbols.
Fees
What does FDA registration cost? An FDA form from 2020 gives a cottage-industry product registration fee of GH¢300 and a yearly manufacturing licence of GH¢50. The 2023 fee law (L.I. 2481) appears to give GH¢100 for micro producers. Ask the FDA for current fees before you budget.
FDA also runs a progressive licensing scheme that lets small makers start with a licence and improve their premises over one or two years.
Standards and permits
- Ghana Standards for soap include GS 131 toilet soap, GS 167 laundry soap, GS 229 liquid detergent and GS 289 alata samina.
- Ghana's environmental regulations list "soaps and cleaning compounds" among businesses that need EPA registration before starting. FDA asks for the EPA permit "where applicable". Ask the EPA if your size of business needs one.
Costing
Cost of one bar = (all ingredients + packaging + labels + fuel + a share of equipment, PPE and transport) ÷ number of good bars. Price = cost × (1 + your profit margin), then check against market prices. Spread the FDA fees over the 3 years of registration.
Cost a bar
A 1 kg batch uses: palm oil GH¢30, PKO GH¢12, caustic soda GH¢8, fuel GH¢5, wrappers and labels GH¢11. It makes 12 bars. (1) What does one bar cost? (2) What price gives a 40% margin? (3) Two bars crack and can't be sold. What does each good bar now cost?
Label and cost your soap
- Design a label for your bar soap that has every item on the FDA list (write "FDA No. pending" for the number).
- Using your homework prices, cost your Unit 3 batch and set a price.
- Show your label and costing to the class.
Market check
At a market or shop, record the price, weight and brand of three bar soaps and three liquid soaps. How does your price compare?
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Caustic soda | Sodium hydroxide; the lye that turns oil into bar soap |
| Competent / Not Yet Competent | The two possible results of a CBT assessment |
| Cure | Leave soap to dry and become milder before use |
| Lye | A strong alkali solution: caustic soda in water, or ash water |
| pH | A number showing how acid (low) or alkaline (high) something is |
| PPE | Personal protective equipment: goggles, gloves, apron |
| SAP value | How much lye an oil needs to become soap |
| Sulphonic acid | The acid used to make liquid soap |
| Superfat | Leaving a little oil unreacted, so no lye is left over |
| Trace | The point when the soap mix thickens like a thin pudding |
Logbook
Copy these pages into an exercise book. Your logbook is part of your assessment evidence.
- Unit 1: safety checklist signed each session; lye-mixing record
- Unit 2: recipe calculations; weighing drill
- Unit 3: bar soap batch record
- Unit 4: black soap batch record with egg test
- Unit 5: liquid soap batch record with pH
- Unit 6: weekly pH and quality record; sell / cure / reject decisions
- Unit 7: label design; costing sheet
- Every homework, dated
Self-check quiz
- Do you add caustic soda to water, or water to caustic soda?
- Name three pieces of PPE for soap making.
- Why must you never use an aluminium pot?
- Lye splashes in someone's eye. What do you do?
- Why do soap makers weigh instead of using cups?
- What is a superfat?
- What is trace?
- How do you make lye from cocoa pods?
- Why must sulphonic acid be neutralised?
- What pH do handmade bar soaps usually have?
- Name five things an FDA soap label must show.
- Who must be 18 or over to make soap with caustic soda, and why?
Further reading and sources
Best next reads: the FDA's registration and labelling guidelines for cosmetics and household chemicals; CTVET's Soap Making programme (ask CTVET for it); Practical Action's soapmaking brief.
What this module does not cover: medicated or antiseptic soaps (these are drugs or have their own standard), large-scale boiled soap, a tested liquid-soap formula, and laboratory tests such as total fatty matter.
Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.