Creating your own soap is an enjoyable and rewarding craft that allows you to add a touch of luxury to your daily bathing routine. One of the most popular and beneficial soap recipes you can try at home involves the use of lavender and oatmeal. This cold process soap recipe not only provides a soothing and calming scent, but also offers various skin benefits, making your bath time a more luxurious experience.
Lavender has been used for centuries for its aroma therapeutic properties. It is known for its calming and relaxing scent, which can help reduce stress, anxiety, and promote a good night’s sleep. On the other hand, oatmeal is highly regarded for its skin soothing properties. It can help relieve dryness, reduce inflammation, and gently exfoliate the skin.
So let’s get started on creating your own luxurious lavender and oatmeal cold process soap.
Ingredients:
- 10 ounces of coconut oil
- 8 ounces of shea butter
- 8 ounces of olive oil
- 4 ounces of castor oil
- 12 ounces of distilled water
- 4.3 ounces of lye (sodium hydroxide)
- 2 ounces of lavender essential oil
- 1/2 cup of ground oatmeal
Instructions:
- Start by preparing your workspace. Soap making requires precision, so make sure all your utensils and ingredients are ready. Use gloves and goggles for safety as lye is caustic and can cause burns.
- Slowly pour the lye into the distilled water (never the other way around) in a well-ventilated area or outside. Stir until dissolved and set aside to cool.
- While the lye solution is cooling, melt the coconut oil and shea butter in a large pot over low heat. Once melted, add the olive oil and castor oil.
- When both the lye solution and oils have cooled to around 110-120°F, slowly add the lye solution to the oils while stirring constantly.
- Continue to stir until you reach ‘trace’, which is when the mixture thickens to a consistency similar to thin pudding.
- At this point, add your lavender essential oil and ground oatmeal. Stir well to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a soap mold, cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and insulate with towels.
- After 24 hours, remove from mold and cut into bars.
- Leave bars out to cure in an area with good air circulation for about 4-6 weeks before using.
Making homemade soap using natural ingredients like lavender and oatmeal not only ensures that you are using products that are free from harmful chemicals but also allows you to customize according to your preferences – whether it’s adjusting the amount of fragrance or adding other beneficial ingredients like honey or almond milk.
This lavender and oatmeal cold process soap recipe will surely elevate your bathing routine into a more luxurious experience while providing numerous benefits for your skin – relaxation from lavender’s calming scent, gentle exfoliation from oatmeal, moisturization from shea butter, and more.
So why not give soap making a try? It could be your new favorite craft!
