Mix together the glycerin, coconut milk, and distilled water in a medium sized bowl. (I like to use stainless steel. Avoid other metals as they may react with the lye. Certain glass bowls can break when heated rapidly through the chemical reaction that occurs when you mix the lye solution.)
Measure out the lye and add it to the liquid mixture in the bowl. Stir until the lye is dissolved and well incorporated into the mixture. This is best done outside or in a well-ventilated area. You should also use gloves and safety glasses when working with lye and the lye solution. Always make sure to add the lye to the liquid and not the liquid to the lye container. (For more safety tips and information about how to make soap, check out my post on making a beginner soap.)
The lye mixture will begin to get hot. Leave it outside to cool in an area where animals and children won't have access to it while you measure out the oils, butters, and wax.
Heat the oils, butters, and wax in a large bowl over a double boiler to help melt the wax and butters. You can remove them from the heat once the butters and wax have melted and you have mixed them all together.
Carefully pour the lye mixture into the oil mixture. (It may still be warm, so be careful not to burn yourself.) You can gently combine them at first with a stainless steel spoon.
Once the oils and lye solution have been combined, begin to blend them together with an immersion blender. As you blend the ingredients with the immersion blender, they will become thicker and more opaque. When you have reached the consistency of a thin mayonnaise, you can stop blending.
Add in any essential oils of choice to help add fragrance to your soap. I chose a combination of lavender and orange essential oils because not only do we love the scent of that combination, but both oils are thought to aid in healing skin irritations.
Once you've stirred in the essential oils, you can pour the mixture into your molds or glass jars. Leave the soap uncovered and untouched for at least 24 hours.
Because this soap uses mostly solid oils and butters, it should harden quite quickly, and you'll likely be able to unmold your soap after only a day. Check your soap for hardness, and unmold it if it has reached a hardness in which you can remove it from the molds without damaging it. If it's still soft, wait a few more hours or another day, as needed. Placing the molded soap in the freezer for about an hour will help you with the unmolding process. Not only will it help harden the soap, but it also slightly shrinks it to make it easier to remove it.
Once you've removed the soaps from the molds, separate them and leave them in an area to dry out and further harden for several weeks. It's a good idea to turn the soap over occasionally so that the soap will evenly dry out on all sides. If you've used glass jars, keep the lids off the jars to help allow the soap to dry. The saponification process will complete in the first few days after your soap is made, and you can technically use it immediately afterward. That said, the wait time will help form a harder bar of soap that will last longer and work better.