Finding the best essential oil blends for making handmade soap has been one of my fun hobbies since my journey in non-toxic products. I love that soap-making is a creative process that involves multiple senses, like sight, smell, and touch. You can color your soap creations with herbal infusion, clay, or mica powder to get a fun colored base. Being the family “perfumer,” adding natural, pure essential oils of your choice and making a blend is a fun task, too. Handmade soap recipes, particularly melt-and-pour soap recipes, are a great way to make an easy and affordable do-it-yourself spring project. Springtime, with its pastel colors and the rebirth of nature, is inspiring me to find new blends of invigorating essential oils.
Soapmaking and aromatherapy is a discipline that I am still learning. One thing I found difficult for new soap makers like me is dosing the right amount of essential oils and mixing a well-rounded blend to make the best essential oil blends for soap.
You can use a fragrance calculator to know how many drops you need, but technology has its limits, and you won’t know if your blend ideas are going to smell good. This is why I am sharing blend ideas that are made by professional aromatherapists. Since I have encountered popular blends that smell so good and are easy enough to make, I will also give you some tested and loved melted soap base recipes, some of which I make regularly. If you have sensitive skin, I didn’t forget you. I added a paragraph on essential oils you can use without hurting your skin.
Best Essential Oils Blends For Soap Making
Are you ready for the spring season with your essential oil-scented soap? We begin seeing warmer temperatures and the greener the landscape looks, the happier I get.
To make it easier to track down some new inspiration for your melt-and-pour soaps, I’ve gathered my top Favorite Essential Oil Blends for Spring, from my favorite creator. I also added a new blend recipe that I found out is more manly. Fresh and citrusy is great for spring but I know my husband appreciates the more masculine note of nutmeg, bay, and cinnamon leaf when he takes a shower so I will make him a special batch.
#1 Best Essential Oil Blend for Soaps
Mandarin eo and Grapefruit eo in equal parts (5:5)
Review of the Fun and Sparkly Unicorn Soap — The citrus scent makes a fun recipe for kids of all ages. Above all, I love to use this recipe for the soap in my kitchen sink or my bathroom. The invigorating smell and looking at the pinky homemade soap bars make me happy! This soap has a citrusy and floral aroma that makes you start your day on the right foot! When I make this recipe, I often omit the sparkles and play more with the pink and translucent soap bases. The rose kaolin clay is beautiful with its red hue and it prevents pore clogging and removes excess dirt.1
Fun & Sparkly Unicorn Soap Recipe With Essential Oils
Essential oil blends from Katie Veldkamp, Certified Aromatherapist
SimplyEarth.com with the soap recipe here.
#2 Favorite essential oil blend for Spring Soaps
Sweet orange eo and Tranquility Blend eo with a ratio of (1:3)
Enjoy Handwashing With this Rose Quartz Soap
Essential oil blends from SimplyEarth.com with the soap recipe here.
Review of the Rose Quartz Soap — This is a calming blend that promotes positive feelings. I use this soap anywhere we have to wash our hands. The smell is settling and looking at the pink quartz homemade soap bars makes me smile!
#3 Favorite essential oil blend for Spring Soaps
Here is a blend with a list of essential oils from the wonderful book of Valerie Ann Woorwood, the complete book of essential oils and aromatherapy. Her blend of essential oils for the Gentleman’s spices is my husband’s favorite.
It contains enough essential oil for 9 oz (250g) of soap.
Gentleman’s spice
- Nutmeg 1 drop
- Bay 2 drops
- Lime 6 drops
- Clary Sage 2 drops
In her book, Valerie Ann Worwood mentioned adding oatmeal and ground almonds. It could be a great addition to help to scrub better.
Other ideas for essential oil blends for Spring Soaps
I also enjoyed reading this book by J. Berry, entitled Easy Homemade Melt and Pour Soaps. Her essential oil blend’s smell is strong, and if this is what you are looking for, it’s a great way to get the full smell of spring in your bathroom! The essential oils are on the heavy side if you like intense scent. She adds a generous amount of oils in her blends so be aware that your soaps will be more expensive. But if you’re not afraid to pay for a great soap and get the best results, that’s how to do it.
I adjusted the usage rates for 9 ounces of soap. The light amount given is a 1 percent usage rate, while the strong, our maximum suggestion rate is 2.5 percent. For an easy way to calculate the exact amount of essential oil you need for a melt-and-pour soap or other body care projects, visit EOCalc.com. She also gave her recipe in grams of essential oil so I translated it in drops if you need it.
Lavender / Mint (60% / 40%)
light: 1.5 g lavender (45 drops) + 1 g peppermint (30 drops)
strong :3g lavender (90 drops) + 2g peppermint (60 drops)
Lavender / Orange (65% / 35%)
light: 1.5 lavender + .5g orange
strong: 3 lavender + 1g orange
Zen Hippie – Lavender, patchouli, orange (60%/20%/20%)
light: 1.5g lavender + .5g patchouli + .5g orange
strong: 3g lavender + 1g patchouli + 1g orange
Blends for sensitive skins
If you have sensitive skin, here are the more gentle essential oils that you can use to avoid skin irritation.
Lavender (Lavendula augustifolia)
Chamomile German (Matriarca Recutita)
Chamomile Roman (Anthemis Nobilis)
Geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens)
Sandalwood (Santalum Album)
Neroli (Citrus aurantium)
Blending your unique blends
If you want to try and make your blend, you will need to learn the basics of perfume making. Like what is base notes, middle notes, or top notes. Simply Earth gave me a crash course in blending essential oils. I think it is interesting and useful when I need to create a quick recipe, but I found out that you need a lot of experimentation to get the right scent. This is why I usually follow popular aromatherapists who create a unique, well-rounded blend. Their different blends are so much better than my beginner’s experimentation, and I don’t waste time and money trying to create something that turns out to have a strong scent that is not pleasing.
More advanced recipe for gardener’s soap from Jan Berry 2
This is a fun recipe to make and the soap texture is amazing. Although a multitude of weeds are well-loved by herbalists for their beneficial properties, sometimes as gardeners, we need to pull them to make room for planting veggies and other foods for our table. In this recipe, we put those lovely weeds to good use, incorporating them into an exfoliant-loaded soap that’s perfect for scrubbing up after a day’s labor in the garden.
Consider using one or more of these safe common weeds that are prized for their nourishing benefits: chickweed, violet leaves, and flowers, dandelion leaves and flowers, plantain leaves, and purple dead nettle.
Gardener’s soap recipe
YIELD: FOUR 5-OUNCE (142G) BARS OF SOAP
INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 cup (7g) chopped fresh or wilted weeds (chickweed, violet leaves, and flowers, dandelion leaves and flowers, plantain leaves, or purple dead nettle.)
- 1 tbsp (15ml) water
- 20 oz (567g) shea butter or goat milk soap base, cut into 1″ (2,5cm) cubes
- 1/2 tsp cucumber seed oil (or your favorite oil)
- 3g (~3/4 tsp) bergamot essential oil
- 1g (~1/4 tsp) rosemary essential oil
- 1/2 tsp bentonite clay
- 1 tsp diatomaceous earth
- 1/2 tsp pumice powder
- 4″ silicone loaf mold (Crafters Choice Small)
- Rubbing alcohol for spritzing
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 1/2 tbsp (9g) finely ground oats
- 1 tsp green zeolite clay
SUBSTITUTION: Green zeolite clay adds color and mild exfoliating qualities. If you don’t have any, you could use around 1/4 teaspoon of green natural colorant of your choice (french green clay, Spirulina powder, wheatgrass powder) and another teaspoon of ground oats in its place.
INSTRUCTIONS:
PART 1: Infusion of the herbs in the soap base
In a heatproof 4-cup (1 L_) glass measuring container, combine the chopped weed, water, and soap base. Cover the top lightly with a heatproof saucer. Place the container in a saucepan containing a few inches (at least 5 cm) of water, forming a makeshift double boiler. Heat over medium-low heat until the soap is almost melted, 20-35 minutes, then lower the heat to low and infuse for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soap has taken on a noticeable green color from the plants. Remove the pan from the heat, strain it into a new container, and stir in the cucumber seed and essential oils.
Part 2: Division of the soap base and addition of the powders
Divide the soap base in half by pouring 10 ounces (283g) of the melted soap into a separate second container. Return the original container of the remaining soap base to the pan of still-hot water to keep it warm until needed.
In the second container, mix the bentonite clay, diatomaceous earth, and pumice powder. Stir thoroughly until they’re completely incorporated. Let it cool for several minutes to 125F to 130F (52 to 54C) so the additive is less likely to settle to the bottom of the soap.
Part 3: Adding the soap mixture in the mold
Stir well one more time, then pour it into the bottom of a 4-inch (10 cm) silicone loaf mold. Spritz the top of the soap in the mold with alcohol and let sit undisturbed for around 20 minutes.
Remove the container of soap from the pan of warm water and check its temperature. If it has formed a skin on top or is too thick to work with, reheat it briefly until it’s fluid again.
Part 4: Adding honey, oats, and clay to the second soap base
Add the honey, ground oats, and green zeolite clay to the warm soap and stir well until they’re completely incorporated. Let it cool to 125 to 130F (52 to 54C). Spritz the layer of soap in the mold with alcohol, then carefully pour the honey mixture into the mold, forming the top layer. Spritz the top with alcohol to remove air bubbles.
Keep the soap in the mold for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight, until it’s completely cooled and hardened. Unmold and slice the soap into bars, laying the loaf on its side to reduce the chance of the layer’s separating. Wrap the bars tightly and store them in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight.3
Why melt and pour soap recipes instead of hot process soap?
You can ask around, I am not the most patient woman. Especially when it comes to a DIY recipe. The melt-and-pour is just the best way for me. It is so safe, you can make it around kids or wild dogs. No need to manipulate dangerous chemical ingredients like lye. You just need to buy your already mixed soap block. Cut your big block into smaller pieces, melt it in a double- boiler play with color and essential oils, and pour it into your beautiful mold. The waiting time is a couple of hours instead of multiple weeks before you can use it. If you want to make your homemade soaps from scratch, you will need to learn another set of skills that I am not ready to tackle and there are a lot of other more patient mom blogs out there who can show you.
Fragrance oils
I would avoid any essential oils with fragrances or fillers if you are on a nontoxic journey, like me. You may not breathe fine when you smell fragrance oils. Please use only pure essential oil. Those brands that you can trust.
Enjoy your beautiful essential oil blend, and tell me in the comments if you have a favorite one!
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