Organic Soap Recipe

Organic soap recipe

April 12, 2023

Making your own organic soap at home may seem intimidating, but it's not as hard as you may think.

This recipe makes a fresh, herbal scented soap that is wonderfully conditioning.

All the oils in this recipe are certified organic by the Soil Association, so you can buy with confidence that they are genuinely 100% organic.

We've used a swirl technique called an in the pot swirl. It's an optional step to create unique looking organic soap bars.

You'll find the swirl instructions in steps 5-7 and 9. If you're new to soap making, you can skip these bits, just blend the soap until trace and pour it straight into your moulds.

You can also try our silicone soap moulds for a range of creative shapes!

Let's have a go at our organic soap recipe...

Organic soap ingredients

Ingredients:

Equipment:

  • Gloves
  • Goggles
  • Scales
  • Digital thermometer
  • Plastic jugs, ideally 1x 2L and 2x 1L
  • Soap mould, or DIY alternative
  • Silicone spatula
  • Stick blender

Method:

Sodium hydroxide solution

1. Mix the sodium hydroxide solution

  • Put your gloves and goggles on
  • Work next to an open window, the fumes are unpleasant
  • Weigh your water
  • In a separate jug, weigh your sodium hydroxide
  • Add the sodium hydroxide to the water, not the other way around
  • Mix well until dissolved
  • The mixture will be hot, leave it to cool

Weighing oils for organic soap making

2. Measure and heat the oils

  • Weigh your oils and combine in a heatproof bowl
  • Heat above a pan of boiling water, or in a microwave using short bursts.
  • Heat until melted, and mix to combine
  • Weigh your essential oils in a separate jug

Testing temperature of soap

3. Test the temperatures

  • Test the temperature of your oil mixture, you're looking for 35 to 40C
  • Reheat them if necessary
  • Test the temperature of your sodium hydroxide mixture, you need it to be 25 to 40C

Organic soap reaching light trace

4. Blend until trace

  • Add the sodium hydroxide mixture to your oils
  • Stir with the hand blender then blend using short bursts
  • The mixture will slowly start to thicken
  • Test for trace by dripping soap batter on the surface of the mixture
  • Your soap has reached trace when the drips sit on the surface of the mixture before disappearing.
  • The picture above is a light trace.
  • Stop mixing when it reaches trace, don't mix until it gets thick like cake mixture.
  • Add your essential oils and blend until combined

Swirl organic soap

5. Prepare to swirl (optional)

  • Pour a third of your soap batter into a separate jug
  • Mix with the mica powder until combined

In the pot swirl organic soap

6. Combine your soap batter (optional)

  • Pour your coloured soap batter in a straight line across your uncoloured soap batter. 
  • Pouring from a good height will help the pattern develop

In the pot swirl for organic soap

7. Create your swirl (optional)

  • Insert your spatula into your soap batter, reaching the bottom
  • Steadily, drag it in one full circle, all the way around the jug.
  • Don't mix more than one full circle, the colours will start to combine.

Pouring organic soap into moulds

8. Pour into moulds

  • Pour your soap mixture into moulds
  • Gently tap the mould on your work surface to get rid of any trapped air bubbles

Creating top decoration in organic soap

9. Top decoration (optional)

  • If you have any coloured soap left over, you can create some top decoration.
  • Pouring a strip down the middle of your soap and using a spoon to drag it towards the edges

Finished bars of organic soap

10. Leave to cure

  • Wrap in greaseproof paper and towels to insulate for at least 48 hours
  • Unmould and cut into bars
  • Leave to cure for 4-6 weeks

Continue reading

Now that you've learned how to make organic soap, why not continue your soap making journey?

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