It is made of oil, water, salt and lye (sodium hydroxide). The oils can be either animal or vegetable. The animal fats commonly used are lard or tallow. Vegetable oils commonly used are olive, soybean, coconut, rice bran, sunflower, and safflower. You will often see butters like cocoa butter and shea butter used as well to help create a more moisturizing product. (Susan Soaps 2020)