Homemade Lavender Organic Soap

 

If you’ve seen my recent Bathroom refresh you’ll know that as part of the makeover I’m trying to reduce plastic and chemicals in our household. It’s not as easy a task as I first expected it to be to be honest. One thing I do know though is that this is a great move. You see, as a family we all suffer with sensitive skin. There’s always someone with hives or a rash, or an eczema flare up. Couple that with middle RFW having OCD and constantly washing his hands and you can see why I’ve been on the lookout for a kind and gentle soap. The trouble is good soap is expensive. So I thought, why not try making my own. So here’s my super easy, fun to make recipe for homemade lavender organic soap.

 

 

The base I’m using for the soap is made by Stephenson’s and can be bought online relatively cheaply. I went for this one as it’s the only one I could find easily that’s organic. It’s a highly moisturising formula, has a 100% vegetable base, with no artificial colours added and has not been tested on animals. It’s also certified organic and is free from foam boosters and preservatives. It contains no alcohol or harmful products to dry your skin. In fact it produces a luxurious lather that gently cleanses without upsetting the skins delicate pH balance. Sounds good doesn’t it? Shall we begin?

 

 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE YOUR HOMEMADE LAVENDER ORGANIC SOAP

 

 

A Chopping Board

Sharp Knife

Melt And Pour Organic Soap Base

Soap Mould

A Baking Tray For Each Soap Mould

Pyrex Jug

Microwave

Spoon

Lavender Essential Oil

Dried Lavender (Optional)

Grease Proof Paper

Double Sided Tape or Sticky Dots

Scissors

 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOMEMADE LAVENDER ORGANIC SOAP

 

 

STEP 1

Assemble everything you need and then turn out your Melt and pour soap onto a chopping block. You have to sort of release the sides first as it really doesn’t want to come out of it’s container. Then slice a 2cm slice off the block and cut it into chunks. Place the chunks into your soap mould and keep adding them until the mould is slightly over filled. This will give you an indication of how much soap base to use for the amount of bars you would like to make. Once all your mould are filled transfer the chunks to a microwaveable jug and cover with cling film. I could only fit 3 moulds worth in my jug at a time.

 

 

STEP 2

Pop the jug in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time. After each 30 seconds give it a stir and replace the cling film. Keep repeating this step until all the base soap is melted. It took mine around two and a half minutes but it will vary depending on how much you are trying to melt. Along with how powerful your microwave is. Try not to let it boil put at the same time make sure it is hot enough. If you don’t get the temperature just quite hot enough you will know because the meted mixture will form a skin far too quickly.

 

 

STEP 3

Whilst your waiting for your mixture to melt in the microwave your silicon soap moulds onto your baking trays. This is a really important step as they are quite flimsy. And you won’t be able to move them to the fridge once they are full  of mixture if you don’t include this important step. Next sprinkle a few dried lavender flower heads (optional) into the moulds of one tray.

 

 

STEP 4

On the final ping of your microwave check that the soap base is completely melted by giving it a stir. Now’s the time to add you essential oils. Now I have to be careful what I use so I’m keeping my fragrance simple. As two of my boys are autistic they can be over sensitive to stimulus including aromas. But you can blend away to your hearts content. For each batch of soap I added 40 drops of lavender essential oil. To be honest I did it by smell though. I added 5 drops at a time, gave it a good stir and then took a sniff. Forty was about right to hide the soapy smell without becoming over powering.

 

 

STEP 5

Now the mixture is ready to pour into the moulds. I did two versions. The first just a plain soap. And the second as I mentioned earlier with an added layer of dried lavender in the base of each mould. Pour in your mixture slowly dividing it equally between the moulds. And then transfer them to the fridge and leave to set for a hour or so.

 

STEP 6 

Once the soap is set nicely it’s time to remove them from the fridge and then their moulds. They are really easy to remove, just pop them out. My soaps do have a few bubbles on the bottom which apparently you can get rid of with a spritz of surgical spirit. But to be honest I think it adds to their charm.

 

STEP 7

All that’s left to do now is wrap the soap in grease proof paper. There is a reason for this beyond appearance. This soap has quite a high glycerine content. And as a natural humectant (draws in moisture) the soaps will go soft if you don’t wrap them to preserve them. Use sticky tape or sticky dots to secure the paper in place. And then pop a label  on each soap too. So you know which one is which. Especially if you’ve made a mixture of fragrances. And voila! Your soap is complete.

 

 

So what do you think? Stunning aren’t they? Is it something you fancy having a go at? I love to hear your thoughts, please do leave a comment. The lather is so rich and creamy and moisturising too. And they smell wonderful to boot. All in all including buying the moulds which are reusable my first batch cost around £18. Having said that subsequent batches will cost me less than a tenner! Not bad for a handmade lavender organic soap. They only took a little over a hour to make too and that’s including setting times. Oh! And as all your equipment is now covered in soap you can imagine just how easy it is to clean everything up. Simples! BTW, if you enjoyed this ‘How To’ check out my homemade Lavender bath Salts and DIY Amber Bottles too, they’re divine!