It’s not often that I accept guest posts, but today I’m super delighted to welcome Jan Berry of The Nerdy Farm Wife. Jan is sharing her recipe for Homemade Lavender Soap Bars.
This summer I’ve been indulging a bit in some fiction set in late 1800’s England. And all the girls were perfumed with lavender. It’s an old-fashioned scent that is calming and relaxing. This soap will soothe after a long, stressful day and is perfect for gift giving.
If you are not an experienced soap maker, you might want to begin by reading my post Basic Soap Making before going forward with the Homemade Lavender Soap Bars.
Homemade Lavender Soap Bars with Jan Berry
This simple lavender soap recipe is naturally colored with purple clay and scented with lavender essential oil. Be sure to use a light colored olive oil so the purple color really shines through. Alternatively, you can leave out the clay for a creamy white bar of soap.
The recipe makes 7 to 8 bars (2.5 lbs/1.13 kg)
Ingredients
Note that all ingredients are measured by weight, not by volume. A good kitchen scale is essential.
Lye Solution
8.75 oz (248 g) distilled water
3.95 oz (112 g) (recommended brands include Red Crown, ComStar, and Essential Depot)
2 tsp purple Brazilian clay (optional, for color, available from Bramble Berry)
Solid Oils
4 oz (113 g) unscented cocoa butter (or tallow/lard)
7.5 oz (213 g) coconut oil
Liquid Oils
12.5 oz (354 g) olive oil
4 oz (113 g) sunflower or sweet almond oil
Add at Trace
1 oz (29 g) lavender essential oil
How to Make Lavender Soap Bars
Step 1: Make the Lye Solution
Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully stir the lye (sodium hydroxide) into the distilled water until dissolved. Work in an area with good ventilation and be careful not to breathe in the fumes. Stir in the purple clay, if using. Set the lye solution aside to cool for about 30 or 40 minutes or until the temperature drops to around 100 to 110°F (38 to 43°C).
Step 2: Prepare the Oils
Gently heat the coconut oil and cocoa butter (or tallow/lard) on low heat until melted. When the solid oils are melted, take the pan off the heat and pour in the liquid oils. This helps cool down the melted oils, while warming up the room temperature oils.
Step 3: Mixing
Pour the cooled lye solution into the warmed oils. Using a combination of hand stirring and an immersion blender, also called a stick blender, stir the soap batter until it thickens and reaches a light trace. Trace is when the soap has thickened enough so when you drizzle a small amount of the batter across the surface, it will leave a fleeting, but visible imprint or “trace” before sinking back in.
Step 4: Add the Essential Oil
When the soap batter has thickened to trace or the consistency of warm custard, stir in the lavender essential oil for scent.
Step 5: Pour into Mold
Pour the soap batter into your soap mold. In order to fully develop the purple hue of the clay, cover lightly with wax or freezer paper, then a towel or light blanket for insulation. Peek at the soap every so often; if it starts developing a crack, uncover and move to a cooler location.
Step 6: Cut & Cure
Keep the soap in the mold for 1 to 2 days, or until it’s easy to remove, then slice it into bars when it’s firm enough not to stick to your cutting tool. Cure on coated cooling racks or sheets of wax paper for about 4 weeks before using. The soap is safe to touch 48 hours after making it but it needs the extra time to allow the excess moisture to evaporate out.
Love this recipe? Be sure to check out Jan’s book Simple & Natural Soapmaking for more great recipes.
More Posts That Will Interest You
How to Make Herb Infused Homemade Soap
7 Alternatives to Petroleum Jelly for Taking Care of Your Skin
Homemade Tallow Moisturizer for Natural Skin Care
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
donna says
What do you use for molds and to cut the bars? I have been using 1/2 & 1/2 containers as molds but every time I try to cut the bars I cannot get them straight! They always come out wonky and I want to sell some at a local fair so they kind of need to be consistent. Can you tell me what I can do/use? Thank you!
Jan - The Nerdy Farm Wife says
Hi Donna! For soap mold, I use a Crafter’s Choice Regular Silicone Loaf Soap Mold: https://www.amazon.com/Regular-Silicone-Loaf-Soap-Mold/dp/B0083ID7CE or a homemade wooden mold with similar dimensions.
I have the same problem with cutting terribly crooked bars! I can only get evenly cut bars by using a soap cutter like the ones you can find here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/budhaffner
Before that, I used a wooden soap cutter guide to help line up the bars. I still got crooked soaps, but my husband found it easy to use, so it might just be me. 🙂
Here’s a link to instructions to make your own or I believe you can find some ready made online as well: http://soapdelinews.com/2013/06/diy-soap-cutter-a-simple-guide-for-cutting-your-soap-into-bars.html
Good luck with your soap & hope you have many successful sales!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Donna! While I don’t have one, I know that many soap makers use a mitre box like this one: http://amzn.to/2hzBb00. Hope that helps!
Cate says
The very first part about the lye solution tells you to set it aside to “cool” but it never said to heat it. I am confused here. Do you heat the distilled water?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Cate, when you add the lye to the water the chemical reaction causes the solution to immediately heat up to as high as 200 degrees F. It’s crazy!
Sharleen Arnold says
I used this recipe and when I put my essential oil in at trace, why did the soap mix start getting thick like thick mashed potatoes. It was too thick to poor in the mold. I used Simple Serenity lavendar essential oil purchased at Michaels, was an ArtMind product. All was perfect until I put in oil. Was I too slow ??
Jan says
Hi Sharleen, I’m sorry to hear that happened! That reaction (seizing) is usually caused by a fragrance oil, so I wonder if the essential oil from Michaels wasn’t pure? That happens quite often – to cut costs, companies dilute the essential oil with synthetic fragrances & those don’t always behave well in soap. Pure lavender essential oil won’t behave that way.
I did some preliminary searches on the brand that you used and couldn’t find any tests that had been ran on it, but you might find out further information in a group such as this one:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EOConsumerReports/
Here’s another source of EO purity tests to investigate before you try a new brand:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13iBLV2gvywb6er1lfCH5FjdNVNS2St_V
I’ve had good luck with lavender from Bramble Berry, New Directions Aromatics & Bulk Apothecary. Many of the oils on Amazon are not pure so I’d avoid those if possible.
So, I don’t think it was anything you did, but most likely the lavender oil was the culprit. You could still use it, just maybe in something like bath bombs or lotion. Happy soapmaking! 🙂
Sharleen Arnold says
Thank you,
I found an essential oil for aromatherapy ingredients shows mixture of cedarwood, lavandin and lavender essential oils . It says it is natural essential oil. Do you know if this will work? Or does it have to say pure .
Jan says
Hi Sharleen! If you let me know the brand name or have a link to it online, I’ll take a look and see if I can find out. A lot of them are labeled pure, but aren’t necessarily – the companies are sneaking in the synthetic fillers, so it’s hard to know for sure unless a third party has tested them to see just what’s inside.
Sharleen Arnold says
Thanks. Bottle has label:
Essential oil for aromatheraphy
Relaxation
Cedarwood
Lavandin
Lavender
Purchased for $ 5.95 for 1 oz. Bottle at Walmart.
Made by Flora Classique Inc
Temecula, CA
Made in India
Bar code: 7551600613
I thought if I made a batch and put a drop or so in a small test amount I could tell if it would cause the thickness again. If it did I would just pore the full batch without lavender and sprinkle lavendar flowers on top. I appreciate the help.
Jan says
Hi Sharleen! Oils by Flora Classique were tested & the results were in the google drive link I posted in the previous comment. Here’s the specific link for them:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11-2FXPtb8vISqwuAwMEyXNT22JWEswfI
All of their oil test results say something similar along the lines of: “This oil was a completely fake, mainly synthetic fragrance oil that has almost nothing in common with true lavender oil.”
I’m sorry to say that this one could quite possibly cause problems too, though you could test it like you mentioned – that’s a great idea! However, if you’d like to keep your soap all natural, then that one wouldn’t be a good choice.
I know it’s so frustrating trying to find a good quality essential oil that isn’t too expensive! Your best bet for soapmaking is to buy essential oils for soap through a company like Bramble Berry or Bulk Apothecary – they have the best prices I’ve found and I’ve never had any problems with them in soap.
Sharleen Arnold says
Before I attempt another try at this recipe. When it calls for olive oil, is that pure oil or should it be extra virgin olive oil? Last time I used 100 % pure olive oil not virgin or extra virgin.
Jan says
Hi Sharleen! If you’re going to add the colored clay, then the light colored pure oil will be the best. Extra virgin is so lovely in soap, but it can have a yellow-green hue to it and that makes the natural colorants turn kind of muddy colored. Good luck with batch #2!
Paula Albuquerque says
Hello!
Can olive oil be substituted for another oil?
In dá-me quantity?
Thanks
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Paula, any time you want to make a substitution in a soap recipe you have to run the ingredients through a lye calculator to see if the lye amount changes. https://www.brambleberry.com/pages/lye-calculator.aspx 🙂
Brittany stockham says
Hi Susan,
I’m part of a living history group of the medieval ages (post fall of Rome-pre 1550’s) I have become interested in hour women made soap during this time and came upon your website. I am currently gathering my ingredients and will be trashing a crack at your lavender soap…
Thanks again for your wonderful website
Brittany stockham
Susan Vinskofski says
What fun, Brittany! I’m glad you found me, and were kind enough to comment. Hope all goes well with the soap making!
Brittany Stockham says
Well I just made my first batch…kind of anxious to see how it turns out
Susan Vinskofski says
Yay for you! Keep me updated when it’s cured and you use it!!!
Brittany Stockham says
Hi, I made it and it came out great (wish I could pay photos here) the only problem is that it crumbled…half the pieces broke in half and then crumbled further as I dry them…
Amy ideas what I didwrong or how to fix the crumbling?
Brittany
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Brittany, generally crumbly soap is the result of using too much lye. Is it possible that your scale is not accurate? The other thing I can think of is that the soap was kept in the mold too long and then it crumbles when cut.
Brittany Stockham says
Hi, I hope my scale isn’t bad it’s brand new…lol
I kept my soap in the mold for 48 hours…could it be that I didn’t keep it warm/hot long enough with towels?
Also I was about 3 cups short on the olive oil…could that have anything to do with it?
I’m going to try again next weekend and I’ll keep you posted
Susan Vinskofski says
Brittany, if you did not use all of the olive oil in the recipe, then yes, that is the problem. With soap making, it is very important to follow the recipe exactly because otherwise the lye will be off. Without that olive oil, there definitely would be too much lye in your soap, causing the crumbling.
Brittany Stockham says
Hi, thought threat might be the case… I tried to substitute coconut oil instead…
What kind of olive oil do you suggest I use?
I’m going to try again this weekendand I’ll let you know
Susan Vinskofski says
You have to be careful with substitutions because each type of oil requires a different amount of lye. Run the ingredient list through a lye calculator any time you make substitutions.
If you are adding the colored clay, then a light colored pure olive oil will be the best. Extra virgin is so lovely in soap, but it can have a yellow-green hue to it and that makes the natural colorants turn kind of muddy colored.
Brittany Stockham says
Hi, I made it again and it still crumbles… I measured everything very carefully and didn’t substitute anything…
Any suggestions.
Thanks
Brittany
Susan Vinskofski says
Brittany, I’m going to get Jan Berry, the author of the recipe in on this conversation. It may take a day or two.
Jan says
Hi Brittany! I’m so sorry to hear that the soap isn’t turning out as it should! I have some troubleshooting questions for you, so we can hopefully figure out what’s going on with it.
I notice you mentioned above about being about 3 cups too short of olive oil the first time you made the soap.
Are you using measuring cups to measure out the oils? Or weighing the oils?
Three cups is more olive oil than is in the recipe, so I want to double check if you’re doubling the recipe or increasing the amounts to better fit your mold?
What type of water did you use? (distilled or tap water, etc)
And can you let me know the brand of lye you used too?
Where it says: “4 oz (113 g) unscented cocoa butter (or tallow/lard)” – which one did you use? (cocoa butter, tallow, or lard?)
I saw from above that you kept the soap in the mold for 48 hours, covered with towels. That was perfect to do! A lot of people take their soap out too soon, but waiting 24 to 48 hours is ideal in most cases.
Sorry for all of the questions, but I want to be able to help you in the best way possible & the answers will really help. Thanks! 🙂
Brittany Stockham says
That would be wonderful!!!
There has to be a solution to this problem that I’m missing…
Thanks
Brittany Stockham says
Hi, sorry it took so long to respond my life kind of went sideways…
Yea I used measuring cups for the oil and I used extra virgin olive oil.
I used distilled water…
I use bramble berry (question does lye ever go bad like if it’s over the expiration date if there is one)
I use wild herb co. Deodorized cocoa butter, organic.
I also left it in the mold Ann extra 24 hours does that affect anything.
Thanks for taking your time and helping me with this.
Brittany
Susan Vinskofski says
Brittany, I’ll let Jan know that you replied, but I can see now why you are having a problem. All of the ingredients are to be measured by weight using your scale. So when it says 12.5 ounces of olive oil, you need to put your container on the scale, press the tare button so that the scale reads 0.0, and then measure your olive oil until the weight is 12.5 ounces (not 12.5 fluid ounces). I’m certain that this is the cause of your problems.
Jan says
Hi Brittany! Yes, I agree with Susan, using volume instead of weight gives a different amount of oil & that’s the likely culprit! The Soap Queen has a great article with photos that demonstrate what a difference it can make: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/a-guide-to-weight-vs-volume/
You’ll want to use weight only for oils, lye, and liquid in all soap recipes, and never a measuring cup.
Bramble Berry has a great lye, but all lye will eventually absorb water from the air and/or lose potency, so it’s good to use it up before the expiration date if possible. However, if it’s stored in a really dry and coolish spot, it might still be okay after expiration. A good way to tell if your lye is old is to check for clumps inside of it. That would indicate it has absorbed quite a bit of moisture and is past its prime. When this happens, you end up weighing that extra water along with the lye, and it would skew the recipe. Usually when that happens though, your soap would be too soft, since it didn’t get quite enough lye for all of the oils.
Leaving the soap in the mold an extra 24 hours is completely fine to do. I’ve forgotten and left a soap in for days and days before and it does fine. I think it’s better to leave it too long, than to pull it out too soon, before it’s ready, so you did great!
To get a better idea if your soap is safe to use or not will take a little figuring. If you’d like to give it a try: you can duplicate the oils you used and weigh them instead, then we can refigure the recipe and see what the right amount of lye would be. If it’s too far off, then it won’t be usable, except maybe for laundry soap. But if it’s pretty close, then it could still be usable. To do this, measure out 12.5 ounces of olive oil like you did before, but weigh it on a scale when you do, to see what the actual weight is. Make a note of it and then pour the oil back in the bottle. Repeat this with the other ingredients you used a measuring cup for and let me know what numbers you get, and I can recalculate the recipe for you. 🙂
Brenda says
I can’t get an image of this beautiful soap to save on Pinterest any way I try to save it. Can you fix that please?
Susan Vinskofski says
I’m not sure how to help, but you can pin using this link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247838785733967623/. I hope that helps!
Tamika says
Hello and thank you for sharing this recipe. I am new to soap making and I’ve been running recipes through soap calc and the water in ounces isn’t adding up. What is the water as % of oils? I input water: lye ratio as 2:1 and super is automatically set to 5%, is this percentage good for this recipe?
Thank you in advance!
Jan says
Hi Tamika!
For this recipe, you can set the lye calculator to water:lye ratio as 2.2 to 1.
However, a water:lye ratio of 2:1 is also a really good water amount to follow, if you’d like to use that instead.
For superfat, I almost always use a 5 or 6%. Since this recipe has clay in it, if you tend towards dry skin, you might want a 6% superfat, to help balance out the cleansing qualities of the clay. Those with normal or oily skin could do well with a 5%.
I hope that helps & happy soapmaking! 🙂
Jan
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you for your wisdom from years of experience on this, Jan. Your books have been so valuable to me!