Lavender Soap with Tea Tree Oil and Oatmeal Recipe

Here is another lavender soap variation and it’s another big favorite too.

Lavender and Tea Tree essential oils have long been reputed to have tremendous healing and soothing properties. Lavender essential oil has been known to be soothing to dry, itchy skin; calms the mind and eases stress. Lavender eo has been used to treat various skin disorders because of it’s antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, such as acne, wrinkles, and psoriasis. Tea Tree Oil has been used to treat acne, oily skin, rashes. It is used as an antiseptic as well as a general disinfectant. This soap makes a great face soap, and is easy on baby’s butt, too.

I used a few different base recipes, but my all-time favorite was a very simple one.

Makes 2 pounds

24 oz. Olive Oil (75)
8 oz. Palm Kernel Oil (25%)

4.38 oz. Lye (6% superfat)
8.8 oz. goat milk *

1 oz. lavender essential oil
.5 oz tea tree essential oil
2 TBSP lavender powder
2 TBSP fine oatmeal, powdered

* This is your lye amount x 2.

Lavender tea, water, oatmeal milk, soy milk, all may be substituted for the goatmilk.

Freeze the goat milk in the container used for your lye mixture. Once frozen, very slowly add your lye. Stirring, and slowly adding – this helps prevent the milk from getting hot too fast. I also put my container in a bowl with ice to keep the goat milk and lye mixture as cool as possible.

Once mixed and set to cooling, put aside (in a safe place!).

Measure your Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) and melt (not hot, just melted) – I have used a microwave in the past to do this, just make sure your container is microwave safe. If you are able, a stove top works well. I use a hot plate in my soap workshop and love it – found it pretty cheap at a local flea market.

While your PKO is melting, measure your lavender and tea tree essential oils into a glass container.

Prepare your lavender powder and oatmeal powdered. I buy lavender powder, because it’s really fine.

Making oatmeal powder is a little different. I use a combination of whatever I have on hand, rolled oats, instant and I love using baby oatmeal cereal. Whatever I use, I put in a food processor and zap a few times until really fine. Then I use a screen and collect about 2 tablespoons of fine powder for use in this soap.

Have your mold clean, lined and at the ready.

When your PKO is melted, add the olive oil. Feeling the side of the pot, it should not be hot. A little warm is fine, but generally a the cooler the temperature the better when mixing a goat milk soap (actually, I prefer working with cool temps all the time – more time to mix).

Now, your lye mixture should be cooler to the touch and your oils cooler to the touch… think “luke-warm”.

Have your stick blender (immersion blender) at hand and ready. Slowly add your lye mixture to your oils (note: always add the lye TO the oil). Blending while you pour…

Bring your soap mixture to trace (trace is when your spoon or blender leaves a trail and takes a minute to disappear back into the mixture). Once trace has been reached, add your lavender and oatmeal powders, mixing, then your essential oils, mixing..

Everything should be mixed well, now pour into your mold. I do not insulate my soap, but if you prefer to insulate, what I used to do is put a piece of cardboard on top of my soap, then draped a blanket or a thick towel over it. Then, I put it on a shelf for about 24 hours before I unmold and cut. Once cut, I leave on a shelf for another 24 hours before I bevel edges.

Give it a couple weeks before using, though a good month would be best as the soap will harden up nicely over time.

Tagged as: acne, antiseptic, disinfectant, eczema, face soap, goat milk soap, Handmade Soap, lavender essential oil, lavender soap, lavender soap recipe, olive oil soap, psoriasis, soap recipe, tea tree oil, tea tree soap