NEW Cold Process Lavender Soap Recipe

I made this soap recipe for my Mum and her best friend recently (we are all big lavender fans) and when I shared it to my social media pages, everyone asked for the recipe!

So here it is :)

Check out the video for all the in-depth explanations and background to this recipe (I change my lavender soap recipes all the time!). The ingredients and basic method are listed below.

If you are new to soap making, please ensure you visit this page and view my soap making safety essentials video for all the information you need to start making soap yourself at home.

I also highly recommend learning to calculate your own soap recipes (and check others’ recipes before you use them - read my disclaimer).

These videos/articles will get you started with the basics of soap recipe formulation and calculation:

• How to Calculate Your Own Soap Recipes

• Calculating Water in Soap Recipes and Clarifying 'Lye Concentration'

• Choosing Oils for Soap Making - Oil types and fatty acids, balancing recipes and Soapcalc explained 

• How to Use Citric Acid in Soap Making

• Superfat Explained - Understanding 'Superfat' and 'Lye Discounting' in Handmade Soap Making

Cold Process Lavender Soap

Note that this is just one of many possibilities for a lavender soap recipe! This is just what I made on the day, with the oils and ingredients I had on hand.

For all the details about calculating CITRIC ACID for soap recipes - please refer to the blog post on that topic.

RECIPE SPECIFICATIONS

• The mould used in this video is 37cm long, 7cm wide and 5.7cm deep, it holds 1.480kg of soap batter.
  I calculate my soap recipe volumes to fit my chosen moulds using this method.

• 930g total soaping oils (not including essential oils)

• 5% superfat

• 1.7:1 water to lye ratio

• Citric acid used at rate of 1.5% of soaping oils (sodium hydroxide adjusted using this method).

INGREDIENTS

• 218g water
  I used fresh sea water that I store in my fridge. You can use filtered tap water or distilled water.
  Feel free to dissolve 6.5g of table salt into your water to replicate sea water (sea water is approximately 3% salt water solution).

• 13.95g citric acid
  Use food grade citric acid from the supermarket or a soap ingredients supplier.

• 137g sodium hydroxide (adjusted for citric acid)
  IMPORTANT: This recipe is calculated to be made with citric acid, which improves the shelf life and performance of handmade soap, especially in hard water areas. If you do not have citric acid please use only 128g of sodium hydroxide. Every gram of citric acid consumes 0.624g of sodium hydroxide in the lye solution, therefore extra sodium hydroxide is required if citric acid is used. Please read this blog post for more information.

• OILS

  • 279g olive oil

  • 186g RSPO certified palm oil

  • 186g sunflower oil

  • 186g coconut oil

  • 46g castor oil

  • 47g shea butter

• Approx. 1.5 tsp ground lavender buds (optional)
  I buy mine from this wonderful supplier in New South Wales

• Approx 0.5 tsp Brazilian purple clay from New Directions (also optional - colours always are)

• Essential oils (various suppliers - also optional, you can make a plain soap if you want to):

  • 23g lavender

  • 5g peppermint

  • 9g Virginian cedar

METHOD

Please read: the what and how of soap making if you are new to this craft
You may also want to consult my soap making terms page

1. Make sure you are fully aware of the safety requirements of soap making. This video contains the essential information needed.

2. Watch the video demonstration of me making this recipe on YouTube.

3. Prepare soap mould. I line my mould with non-stick baking paper (parchment paper or freezer paper for USA folks).

4. Weigh out the oils/fats for the soap recipe into a large microwave safe jug (no. 5 PP type) or stainless steel saucepan.

5. Gently melt fats on the stove or with short bursts in a microwave on low power, until the mixture is translucent and fully melted. You may need to cool it after melting before you make the soap. The ideal temperature to aim for is around 40-50°C / 104-122°F.

6. Prepare essential oils, if using. This soap can be made fragrance free if desired.

7. Weigh citric acid, cover and set aside.

8. With safety gear on (full goggles and gloves at minimum), weigh sodium hydroxide into a small container, cover and set aside somewhere safe.

9. Weigh water into a no. 5 (PP) heat safe plastic or stainless steel jug and dissolve citric acid into the water.

10. When you are ready, with goggles and gloves still on, carefully add the sodium hydroxide to the water/citric acid solution. Stir slowly as you do this to encourage it to dissolve. Once dissolved, set this solution aside somewhere safe and rinse off the spoon used to stir this mixture immediately. Allow the lye solution to cool to around 50°C / 122°F (if your oils are around the same temp) or use the heat transfer method as demonstrated in the video.

11. When all of your ingredients and equipment are in place and the oils and lye solution are at the recommended temperature, add any colours or botanicals to the melted oils and blend those in (I used clay and lavender powder).

12. Next, carefully pour the lye water solution into the oils and begin to stir by hand.

13. Using an immersion blender, blend the soap mixture in brief bursts, stirring in between, until the batter lightens in colour and starts to emulsify. Once the mixture has emulsified and appears homogenous and uniform, you can continue mixing by hand, with a whisk or spoon while you add essential oils.

14. If you are adding essential oils, pour them into the soap batter and stir in immediately.

15. Continue stirring until the soap batter starts to thicken slightly (a light to medium trace is sufficient) then pour the soap carefully into the mould.

16. Allow the soap batter to thicken further for a few minutes (if needed) before you texture or swirl the top. Or leave it smooth and plain. It’s up to you :)

17. Cover the soap mould, wrap with a light blanket and place somewhere enclosed or insulated to encourage the soap to gel. If using individual silicone moulds, leave the soap until the next day before unmoulding. If using a log mould, the soap may need to be checked sooner and cut before it becomes too hard. Check after a few hours and cut when it is firm enough to do so. For this recipe I left my soap wrapped in an insulated box overnight and cut the next morning. It was still soft enough to cut with my wire cutter. Use gloves to handle fresh soap if it has not yet fully saponified.

18. Cure the soap for 4-6 weeks using. Don’t forget to test your soap for safety and correct pH before use.

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Please leave any comments and questions in the section below.

Enjoy your soap making!
Elly 🌸

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