There’s something magical and fulfilling about making herbal soap for your family out of your own kitchen. Not just soap, but soap that is free of all the toxins that are pumped into commercially made soap, which isn’t even soap…but we’ll get to that later.
If you’ve ever wondered what makes homemade soap so special, let me tell you—it’s all in the natural ingredients and the love that goes into creating a final product that nourishes, soothes, and revitalizes your skin. Unlike store-bought soap, which contains synthetic detergents that strip your skin of its natural oils, handmade soap can be custom designed and made to use natural oils, dried herbs, and essential oils to give you a skin-friendly, chemical-free alternative.
I started hand making our family’s soap in 2011 when one of our kids was having severe, cracking, bleeding, and swelling bouts of eczema. I didn’t want to slather that much of his body in steroid cream, so we went chemical free and natural in a hurry. It started off with melt and pour, a pre-made base that I doctored up with some extra ingredients, then eventually worked up the courage to work with lye…and I never looked back.
Why Commercial Soap Isn’t Really Soap
Most store-bought soap is not soap at all; it’s detergent. Commercial “soaps” rely on harsh chemicals, artificial fragrance oils, and preservatives that strip the skin of moisture. These detergents leave your skin dry, irritated, and lacking its natural barrier. In fact, they completely strip all of the natural barrier to your skin, leaving it vulnerable and susceptible to infections and inflammation.
then there’s real soap. Homemade soap retains the byproducts of the saponification process—which helps moisturize the skin. When you use natural herbal soap recipes, you’re choosing organic soap that’s gentle, nourishing, and free of unnecessary toxins. It’s real soap that adds to the health of your skin, instead of stripping it.
What About The Lye?
I often get the question, “Does your soap contain lye?” Let’s clear something up before we get started. If it doesn’t use lye (sodium hydroxide), it’s not soap. It’s detergent. There’s no way around it. That being said, don’t be scared of it. As long as you take a few precautions and respect what you’re working with, you’ll be just fine. And as far as the caustic chemical thing, the lye goes through a process called saponification that eliminates all of the danger. If your soap is correctly made, once it’s cured, there is no danger in using “lye soap”.
Infusing Oils
We’ve established homemade soap is amazing. But, in the process of becoming an herbalist, I learned so much about infusing herbs into oils and creating hydrosols and essential oils, that I thought I just had to try some new soaping techniques.
In soap making, the fat you choose to use is the base of your recipe. Yes, you have to have some sort of fat, you simply cannot make soap without it. My fat of choice is herb-infused oils.
Infusing is the process of taking the properties of one thing, and putting them into another. When you infuse herbs, the oil contains all of that herbal goodness and houses it in a concentrated medium. Sure you can use essential oils to get some of those properties, but they’re mostly aromatic in soap. If you’re looking for herbal properties like anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial, etc…herb-infused oils pack the biggest punch.
Infusing herbs is super easy, but there are some things you need to know about the process. To learn more about that, you can read my guide on how to make herb-infused oils HERE. But, since we’re here, here are some quick and easy tips and tricks to get you started.
Herb-infusion Crash Course
Some herbs hold more moisture and should be dried before infusing, so they don’t make the oil go rancid. Others, like St. John’s Wort and jewelweed, should be used fresh in order to best pull all the medicinal goodness into the oil. This is where knowing your herbs comes in really handy.
Once you’ve decided on your herbs, infuse them into your oil of choice (I almost always use olive oil) and let it sit for 4-6 weeks, shaking it every day or 2. When you’re ready to use it, strain it and use this oil in your soap recipe of choice.
Perhaps the biggest change I made when I switched to making soap with herbs, is the temperature I soap at. Herbs don’t like excessive heat. There are exceptions to that rule, but if you add too much heat, even to root herbs that typically need more heat to infuse, you will destroy the medicinal properties in them. So it stands to reason, that dumping 130°+ lye water into a bunch of medicinally charged oils, is counterproductive. Now I soap at room temperature, which does take quite a bit longer, but it gives me a much nicer and more beneficial product in the end.
The Best Ingredients for Making Herbal Soap
Using natural ingredients is the foundation of homemade soap. Try not to get stuck in soap making kits and supplies that are only available online. Think outside the box and utilize what you have in your kitchen Some favorites that are easy to work with and give you a lovely finished product include:
- Oils: Olive oil (moisturizing), coconut oil (bubbly lather), sweet almond oil (gentle and conditioning), etc.
- Butters: Shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, etc.
- Add-Ins: Dried herbs, chamomile flowers, lavender buds, powdered herbs like lemon balm or calendula.
- Essential Oils: Tea tree (antimicrobial), lavender essential oil (calming), turmeric (anti-inflammatory), and peppermint (energizing).
- Colors: Herbal powders (spirulina for green, turmeric for yellow).
- Food: Pureed fruits and veggies make for vibrant colors. Beets, spinach, and berries add antioxidants and create beautiful color palettes.
How To Make Your Herbal Soap
Herb-infused olive oil can be used in any recipe to enhance the benefits of the soap, especially if you use a complimenting essential oil blend. If you’re new to soap making with or without herbs, here’s a basic recipe to get you started. If you want to see the step-by-step process of making herbal soap, check out this YouTube video on how I make conifer soap.
Distilled Water- 4.68 ounces
Lye- 2.31 ounces
Beeswax- 1 ounce
Shea Butter- 1 ounce
Coconut Oil- 7 ounces
Herbal Infused Olive Oil- 7 ounces
Essential Oil- 1 ounce
The Three Methods of Soap Making
There are three method to making your own soap. Melt and pour, hot process, and cold process. They each have their own benefits and drawbacks.
Melt and Pour Soap
Melt and pour is the easiest method for beginner soap makers. This method uses a pre-made pour soap base that you melt, customize with essential oils, herbal powders, and natural colors, and then pour it into a soap mold.
Benefits:
- Simple and quick.
- No need to handle sodium hydroxide (lye solution).
- Fun way to get creative with dried herbs, lavender buds, and flower petals.
Drawbacks:
- Little to no control over the ingredients in the soap base.
- Not as “from scratch” as cold process soap or hot process soap.
How to Use Melt and Pour:
- Chop the melt and pour base into small amounts.
- Heat on low heat in a double boiler or microwave.
- Add essential oils, chamomile flowers, natural colors, or powdered herbs.
- Pour the soap mixture into soap molds.
- Let it harden at room temperature, pop it out of the mold, and enjoy your beautiful soap bars!
Cold Process Soap
Cold process soap is a creative way to make soap entirely from scratch. This method involves mixing oils with a lye solution to create a chemical reaction called saponification. It’s ideal for crafting natural products with control over every ingredient. Cold process gives you the most creative outlet and allows you to play with more colors, scents, and textures in your designs. Beware, this method is addicting.
Benefits:
- Full control of ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.
- Creates luxurious, creamy soap bars.
- Best for using fresh herbs, essential oils, and herbal tea.
Drawbacks:
- Requires handling sodium hydroxide (lye), which must be done carefully. A respirator, good ventilation, and protective clothing are necessary. DO NOT soap with lye around children.
- Soap needs to cure for 4-6 weeks before it’s fully cured and ready to use.
Cold Process Soap Steps:
- Prepare the Workspace: Wear safety gear—wear gloves and long sleeves. Work in a well-ventilated space.
- Mix the Lye Solution: Combine your pre-measured sodium hydroxide with distilled water. Let it cool to room temperature.
- Combine Oils: Melt your oils together with as little heat as possible and let them cool until they are no more than 10º apart from the temperature of the lye water.
- Create Soap Batter: Pour the lye mixture into the jar of oils and mix with an immersion blender until it starts to thicken (trace stage). DO NOT pour the oils into the lye water. The lye water must be poured into the oils, or else you’ll learn real quick what a lye volcano is.
- Add Add-Ins: Stir in herbal powders, essential oils (like tea tree or lavender essential oil), and natural colors.
- Mold and Cure: Pour the soap batter into a soap mold lined with parchment paper. Let sit for 24-48 hours, then cut into bars and cure for 4-6 weeks in a cool, dry area with good ventilation. I like to add a fan to help the curing process along.
Hot Process Soap
Hot process soap is similar to cold process soap, but it speeds up the saponification process with heat. Soap is cooked in a crock pot, speeding up the saponification process. This process requires more time during the making process, but less time during the curing process.
Benefits:
- Shorter curing time—soap is ready in 1-2 weeks.
- Less mess.
- Creates rustic-looking soap bars with a rougher texture.
Drawbacks:
- Less smooth and polished than cold process soap.
- Requires consistent stirring and monitoring during the cook.
Hot Process Soap Steps:
- Follow the first 2 steps of cold process soap (safety first!).
- Add your oils and butter into the crockpot and warm them slowly.
- Add the lye water to the oils and butters when they are no more than 10º apart in temperature, into the crockpot. Cook on low heat, stirring regularly, for 1-2 hours.
- Once it begins to thicken, mix in essential oils, herbal powders, and any other additives.
- Pour into molds and allow the finished product to cool. Unmold and cut in 24-36 hours, and let it cure in a cool, dry are with good ventilation for 1-2 weeks.
Each approach offers unique benefits, but all deliver a finished product that cleans and nourishes the skin way better than those store bought commercially made products.
So, roll up your sleeves, grab your herbs and a soap mold, and embrace the art of soap making. Your skin will thank you!
For those visual learners who prefer to watch and listen, you can find the video below that has all the steps used to make soap.
