As an essential oil lover, I like to create with essential oils. This DIY essential oil soap recipe is fun and super easy!
In my home, I’ve been slowly replacing all toxic cleaners, soaps and chemical household products with natural alternatives. Hand washing is no exception! We use a combination of my foaming hand soap, and these homemade soap bars.
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The simplest way to achieve a DIY essential oil soap is by using a melt & pour soap base. This leaves minimal room for error, and is a super easy choice for beginners.
Then, you’ll need to decide on which essential oils or essential oil blend you want to use in your recipe. I have a bunch of tips for you on that, too.
If you follow this recipe, you’ll be left with 6 handmade essential oil bar soaps. The soaps smell nice, work well, and are overall a joy to have around.
Soap making is an amazing hobby that can provide you with a whole lot of joy. It’s also a lot easier than you may think; so I encourage you to try it today!
Why Homemade Soap?
Your skin is the most significant organ of your entire body. Treat it well! Homemade essential oil soap isn’t just simple to make, but are excellent for your skin also. In the majority of cases, using natural soap will keep your skin healthier compared to using chemical products.
Gorgeous skin can be achieved by making good choices for your skin, like using cosmetic products, cleansers and soaps that are truly natural and most gentle on your skin.
When you embark on your homemade soap making journey, you’ll get to use the freshest product ingredients, and experiment with soap bases that suit your particular skin type’s needs.
You also get to use the essential oils, or essential oil blends that you like best! If you own a s, it lets you make use of all that goodness in your bottles!
How to Make Natural Soap with Essential Oils
Soap making is a whole art in and of itself. Before crafting my own recipe, I’ve scoured the internet for hours trying to find a soap recipe that I liked. Hopefully I can avoid that for you now. I can tell you that liquid soap making is the easiest technique around and the most foolproof. For a beginner, the easiest way to get started is to use a melt & pour soap base.
The only thing you need to do with it is as the name says: melt it and pour it into your mold of choice. Amidst this process, you’ll add your essential oils or essential oil blend. Voilà, your homemade soaps are complete!
In my step-by-step guide below, I’ll show you the exact process. This no-fuss three-ingredient recipe is easy to complete and fun to share as gifts with anyone. Give it to your family, friends, or hosts/hostesses at any party you’re invited to!
Ingredients
To make homemade essential oil bar soap, you’ll need only three ingredients:
- Melt and pour soap base (like this one here)
- Essential oils or oil blend of choice (like these ones here)
- A soap mold base (like this one here)
Supplies
In my recipe, I used my standard kitchen equipment to make these DIY soap bars. I wasn’t concerned about anything getting “stuck” on my tools or wrecking anything since it’s just soap that we’re talking about. It washed off just fine under hot water, so no special equipment was necessary.
I used:
- A pot and stainless steel bowl to make a double-boiler (a glass bowl would’ve worked, too, but not a plastic one)
- A wooden spoon (again, no plastic, to avoid contamination)
- A kitchen knife
How To Make It
The soap making process I used is incredibly easy.
- Prepare a double boiler on your stove at home.
- Melt 12 oz (1.5 cups) of melt & pour soap base.
- Fully melt the soap base. If you cut the soap base into smaller chunks, they melt more evenly.
- Remove from heat.
- Add 30-40 drops of essential oils (depending how strong you like the scent of your bar soap to be)
- Fill into your soap molds. You’ll want to do this quickly so that the mixture doesn’t become solid or curdled during the process.
- Cool for 1 hour, remove from molds, enjoy!
How to Use Essential Oils in DIY Soap Making
I used Plant Therapy essential oils for my soaps. Some of their oils are kid-safe, so I am not concerned about anyone in my home using the soap, or it being too aggressive on their skin.
You can definitely use other essential oils of your choice, but make sure they’re kid-safe or gentle enough for little hands should you have children at home (or frequently visiting). If that’s not a concern, use any oils you wish!
As long as you stay within the recommended number of drops of essential oils, you’ll be good to go with this recipe!
Best Essential Oil Blends for Soaps
Choosing which essential oil to use for your homemade soap is where the whole magic lies. The scent and personality of your soap has to work, of course! Lavender essential oil is always a go-to since it is so popular and smells so incredible!
If you want some quick & easy inspiration, here are my favorite essential oil combos and blends to use in DIY soaps.
You will need a total of 40 drops of essential oils for your recipe. Combine this with 1.5 cups of melt & pour soap base, and you’re all set!
- Relaxing: 20 drops Lavender, 10 drops Ylang-Ylang, 10 drops Frankincense
- Calming: 25 drops Lavender, 15 drops Cedarwood
- Uplifting: 20 drops Grapefruit, 5 drops Lime, 15 drops Lemon
- Germ Fighter: 40 drops of Plant Therapy’s Germ Fighter blend (or their KidSafe Germ Destroyer alternative)
- Cleansing: 20 drops Tea Tree, 8 drops Pine, 12 drops Lemon
- Orange Bliss: 30 drops Sweet Orange, 10 drops Frankincense
- Girl Soap: 15 drops Geranium, 15 drops Palmarosa, 10 drops Bergamot
- Love: 20 drops Ylang Ylang, 10 drops Clary Sage, 10 drops Patchouli
- Lemon and Lime: 20 drops Lemon, 20 drops Lime
- Spicy: 5 drops Nutmeg, 10 drops Clove, 10 drops Bergamot, 15 drops Ginger
Final Thoughts
I hope you liked this simple, 20-minute essential oil soap recipe. Soap making is really a fun hobby that lets you work towards full customization of your personal skin care routine.
If you’re looking for more aromatherapy DIY ideas, please visit my recipe archives here. You may also wish to join a guided 21-day challenge that helps you use your oils in DIY recipes. You can join here!
If you choose to try making this DIY soap recipe, I’d love to hear how you made out! Please share your experience in the comments section below.
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