Though making soap often does not directly involve herbs, a lot of people who like to make their own home remedies also like to make soap with plant essential oils and dried herbs.
For this article, I decided to ask a friend to share her recipe with you. Why? Because her home made soap is the best I have ever used.
Her name is CC Ravenheart, and she will tell you about her recipe.
CC writesโฆ
“I was born with extremely sensitive skin, and found that most soaps caused more grief than good.
When I came of age and was responsible for purchasing my own supplies, I found that pure olive oil soap was a true blessing. Although the high price of it, at the time, was a bit hard on my meager wallet.
A friend of mine invited me over to learn how to make soap. I found an olive oil soap recipe in her book, thus excitedly, I tried it. With booming success, I became addicted to creating this and soon found that I had more than I needed.
I gave away chunks of my loving concoctions to friends and family whom raved about the results and begged for more. And I soon found that my joyous hobby was becoming a real working task and after several years of invention and encouraging words from my husband and friends, I opened up my soap business, “Wylde Insights “.
I liked the name for the natural herbs and thoughtful inventions that I have been blessed to create for several of my friends, now customers, whom have found the results of my tedious work helpful for their own skin issues.
And I encourage others near and far to take steps toward learning how to make soap and creating their own healing cleansers. I have often been found at crafters fairs, with books of herbs and recipes wide open, helping interested folks find a good self made treatment for their problem skin.
I hope that you find some inspiration and confidence to try the natural world of soap making and find it as satisfying as I have. Knowing how to make this is a great skill to know.”
CC Ravenheart, Owner of Wylde Insights
CCโs Soap Recipe…
Grandma’s Luscious Lavender Olive Oil Soap
(approx. four 4oz bars)
Tools used exclusively for soap making:
- Candy thermometer
- Double boiler or crockpot
- Rubber scraper
- Wooden stir spoon
- Cheese grater
- Molds
- Small plastic needlepoint canvas
- A good quality scale (digital if you can afford it)
Ingredients:
- 16oz Grated pure olive oil soap (If purchasing, use castile soap)
- 12oz distilled water or rainwater
- 2oz powdered goats milk
- 1oz cocoabutter (melted)
- Small handful of lavender buds
- Lavender essential oil
Instructions:
- Place grated soap, water, goats milk and cocoabutter in a double boiler or crockpot. Slow cook ingredients until it reaches the temperature of 150 – 160 degrees.
- Mix in the lavender buds and essential oil, (as many drops as desired for scent plus a few extra for fade off while drying) before pouring into molds.
- Molds can be small yogurt containers, old tupperware, whatever suits your fancy. Make sure that it is flexible and easy to pry out hard soap….just be creative! For years I used old silverware tray holders and cut to the soap to the size I desired. Hint… put molds in the freezer to speed up cooling and ease release.
- Place solidified soap in a warm dry space, in closet with the water heater is good, make sure that there is proper ventilation underneath the soap by using the plastic needlepoint canvas which can be purchased at any local craft store.
- It’s important to turn your soap daily to keep its proper shape.
- After a month the soap should be ready. If you are planning to give it away as a gift, use a paring knife to shave off the irregularities and smooth out the edges.
Congratulations, you’ve made a fantastic recipe that offers gentle cleaning for you and your whole family!
