Lavender Dream Soap Recipe

Lavender soap
Turner Forte / Getty Images
Project Overview
  • Total Time: 12 hrs
  • Skill Level: Beginner

One of the most popular soaps I ever created when I was making and selling soap commercially was a soap called "Lavender Dream." At its base, it's just a simple lavender essential oil soap―but adding some patchouli and some bright sweet orange essential to the blend gives it some wonderful complexity. (Adding a nice base note and top note to the blend.) Use my combination of soap making oils below, or feel free to create your own soap recipe.

You'll notice, from the picture, that the lavender buds turn brown. This is why it's important that you lightly grind them up first. Otherwise, they have a tendency to look like small bugs or mouse droppings in the soap. (I know, eww, but that's what people say.)

Using flower petals in soap is indeed a challenge. If you absolutely must have intact, naturally colored lavender buds in your soap, this is a good recipe to rebatch and not add the lavender buds until you've re-melted the soap.

What You'll Need

Materials

  • 6.8 oz. palm oil
  • 10.2 oz. coconut oil
  • 1.7 oz cocoa butter
  • 10.2 oz. olive oil
  • 1.7 oz. castor oil
  • 3.4 oz. sunflower oil
  • 4.9 oz. lye
  • 11.3 oz. of water
  • 2 tbsp. of lightly ground lavender buds
  • 0.4 oz. orange essential oil
  • 0.4 oz. patchouli essential oil
  • 0.8 oz. lavender essential oil

Instructions

This recipe makes about 3 lbs. of soap and is formulated using a 5% superfat or lye discount.

  1. Measure Oils

    Measure out all of your oils, essential oils and colorants (I generally used a purple oxide in a swirl for this soap, but it's completely optional.)

  2. Make Soap

    Make your soap batch as you normally would, following basic soap making instructions.

  3. Add Essential Oils and Buds

    At trace, add in the essential oils and the lavender buds.

  4. Stir

    Stir well. Add your colorants and swirl, if desired.

  5. Pour into Mold and Let Saponify

    Pour into the mold of your choice. Let it saponify overnight. Slice it when it's firm enough to slice.

Let it cure for 3 to 4 weeks, then enjoy your lavender dream soap!