Today we’re smooshing up a Gentle Oatmeal Almond Body Wash Bar, featuring a generous amount of colloidal oatmeal and a beautiful, gentle surfactant blend. While I did design this with a body wash in mind, you can also use it as a facial cleansing bar and shampoo. It’s really easy to make, and really lovely ❤️
Post updated in July 2023.
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Post Overview
The inspiration
This formulation was born from two requests; one from Liz and one from Hannah. Both requested a gentle syndet bar featuring a hefty amount of colloidal oatmeal. Liz’s request was inspired by an Aveeno product while Hannah had an idea for a gentle, low-waste syndet bar for the body.
The dry stuff
The bulk of this Gentle Oatmeal Almond Body Wash Bar is a blend of finely powdered Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and colloidal oatmeal. Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) is an ultra-gentle anionic surfactant, and is our primary cleansing ingredient. Colloidal Oatmeal is an ultra-fine, highly refined oat flour made from whole oats. It’s an awesome moisturizing skin protectant that’s recommended for soothing irritated skin. I wasn’t sure the bar would preserve well, so I made it several months ago and it’s been living in my shower since. I’ve been using it and watching it and it’s a-ok. Hooray!
Learn more: What makes colloidal oatmeal “colloidal”? from LisaLise
The wet stuff
This powdery blend of Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and colloidal oatmeal is wetted into a dough with an assortment of liquid ingredients. There’s some sweet almond oil for re-fatting and richness, and some glycerin to help prevent the bar from drying out too much and cracking. A blend of additional liquid surfactants boosts lather and makes the finished bar milder. And, lastly, a 0.5% Liquid Germall™ Plus preserves the finished product.
When I first shared this formulation I used a blend of Cocamidopropyl Betaine and Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate for the liquid surfactants, but when I re-visited it in 2023 to re-make the video, I swapped the Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate for Foaming Oats; a liquid anionic surfactant made from—you guessed it—oats! This worked beautifully, and the only change I noticed is that it bumped the pH up ~0.3.
Having made this swap (and done lots more surfactant work since sharing this formulation originally), I’m far more confident that other liquid surfactants would work just as well. The easiest alternative would be replacing the Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate/Foaming Oats with more Cocamidopropyl Betaine. If you want to use something quite basic, like Decyl Glucoside or Coco Glucoside, chances are quite good you’ll need to incorporate a bit of Lactic acid or Citric Acid to pull the pH of the bars down into the 4.5–6 range.
Making
Making this Gentle Oatmeal Almond Body Wash Bar is very simple; simply mix everything together to create a soft, pliable dough. Shape the bar into a blob that you like the looks of, leave it to dry for at least two days, and you’re off to the races! Two days of drying time results in about 1.25% weight loss; you can double that to around 2.5% if you wait a week, but you don’t have to. Let’s get smooshin’ 😄
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Relevant links & further reading
- Colloidal oatmeal in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Vegetable Glycerin in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Liquid Germall Plus in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Sweet Almond Oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Other syndet bars:
- Other face wash formulations:
Gentle Oatmeal Almond Body Wash Bar
23.7g | 47.4% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) (USA / Canada)
12.5g | 25% colloidal oatmeal (USA / Canada)3.75g | 7.5% sweet almond oil (USA / Canada)
0.75g | 1.5% vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
4g | 8% Cocamidopropyl Betaine (USA / Canada)
5.05g | 10.1% Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate (USA / Canada)
0.25g | 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada)Put on your dust mask and weigh the Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and colloidal oatmeal into a bowl. Stir until uniform. Add the wet ingredients. Put on a pair of nitrile gloves and blend thoroughly with your hands. Once the mixture is uniform, you’ll be left with a stiff, easily-mouldable dough.
If your dough is too sticky, you’ll need to add a bit more Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI). This is likely to happen if you used a larger grain Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) than I did, as it has less surface area to absorb moisture.
If your dough is too dry, you’ll need to add a few drops of water. This is likely to happen if you used a finer grain Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) than I did, as it has more surface area and will absorb more moisture. I used a very finely powdered Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), so it is unlikely this will happen—I have never found a more finely powdered Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) than this.
Shape the dough into a bar-like lump/disc of your choosing and leave the bar to dry. I recommend leaving the bar to dry for at least two days, after which point it should lose 1.25–1.5% of its weight. If you can wait up to a week it’ll lose about 2.5% of its weight. If you live somewhere quite humid I’d err on the side of more drying time rather than less as I live somewhere really dry, so that’s what my drying times are based on.
To use, massage the bar into wet hair to work up a lather, and proceed as you would with any other shampoo. This also makes a great body wash if you work it up into a lovely lather with a loofah. Enjoy!
When made as written, the pH of this body wash bar is around 5.5, which is great.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this body wash bar will regularly come into contact with water, I recommend including a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. In the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this recipe will make 50g.
- To learn more about the ingredients used in this formulation, including why they’re included and what you can substitute them with, please visit the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia. It doesn’t have everything in it yet, but there’s lots of good information there! If I have not given a specific substitution suggestion in this list please look up the ingredient in the encyclopedia before asking.
- If you’d like to learn more about the surfactants used and compare them to ones you might already have so you can make substitutions, check out this page and read this FAQ.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa) would be my first choice as an alternative for Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI).
- Sodium cocoamphoacetate would be my first choice as an alternative for Cocamidopropyl Betaine.
- Foaming Oats work beautifully as an alternative to Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate! Similar surfactants like Foaming Apple would also work. Bio-Terge AS40 could work well.
- If you change any surfactants, you will need to test and potentially adjust the pH.
- I don’t recommend substituting the colloidal oatmeal.
- You can substitute another lightweight oil like grapeseed oil, apricot kernel oil, or sunflower seed instead of almond oil.
- You could try propanediol 1,3 instead of glycerin.
- If you’re like to use a different preservative, please review this FAQ and this chart.
- If you’d like to incorporate an essential oil, please read this.
- If your dough is too dry, work in a few drops of water. If your dough is too wet, add a bit more Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI). I don’t think you’d want to adjust the formulation to make this bar any drier than it is as written—this version is pretty dry! I made an earlier version with 1% less Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and an extra 0.5% of each almond oil and glycerin; that version was a bit wetter, but also worked.
Hi Marie,
This is lovely and I can’t wait to try it. Could you make a body wash version please?
I’ll keep it it mind 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making!
Hi there
I made this lovely colodial oatmeal and almost oil bar. It turned our great but when I use it I the shower, it felt more like an exfoliating bar. The oatmeal felt rough. Can I used less colodial oatmeal and supplement it with corn starch?
What else can I do to soften it? I wanted to use it as a body and facial bar..
Thank you so much for your help!
That should work, but you might also want to try a different supplier for colloidal oatmeal 🙂
Marie, thank you so much for all that you do. I’ve learned so much from you.
I’ve made this formulation before, and I love it. However, I just bought some jojoba beads and am wondering if I can incorporate them? What percentage would you suggest starting at?
Thanks again. Much love.
Devon
I love the formulation. Can I make colloidal oatmeal from breakfast oats?
Read this from her site for alternatives
https://www.humblebeeandme.com/?s=colloidal+oatmeal
Have tried but can’t get the disodium Laureth sulfosuccinate or the alternative bio-Terge As40 in Australia, any suggestions??
After those two suggestions you’d be looking at the broad category of liquid anionic surfactants 🙂 Happy making!
Please read the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/) entry on colloidal oatmeal 🙂
Hello Bees.. I mean Marie,
How does this feel in the shower without the loofah? I made a duke cannon sized bar using the Lavender facial cleansing bar recipe and it is pretty awesome. I just would like more lather and maybe for it to be a little slimier like a nice superfat soap. The lather in the video looks awesome, but the bar seems like it is quite hard so you really need to rub it like a magic lamp.
Also, what makes an anionic surfactant the perfect fit in this recipe? Thinking it has something to do with colloidal oats being cationic.
I got really lost in the world of cp soap and it seems hard to find good information on syndets and combars. Your blog and youtube videos have been very helpful and much appreciated!
Since the nature of this bar is very gentle, is there any reason to not use this bar as a baby soap and shampoo?
Nope, though it isn’t tear free 🙂 Please report back if you try it & happy making!
What a beautiful bar! Your clay containing bar formulations are just revolutionary. When I saw this bar, I turnt your ice palace shampoo into deep cleansing soap nut body wash. Just swapped the carrier oil and replaced starch with soap nut powder. If it works atleast few months and I can stand the scent, I’m planning to develope a bar starring with my other favourite ayurvedic/ traditional Indian botanicals. xx
Ooooh SO COOL! That sounds amazing 😀
I made a new batch with coconut oil, coconut milk powder and SCS instead off liquid anionic surfactant. I ended jo using grapefruit oil too. I should have grinded the milk powder before hands – otherwise it is amazing. It feels creamy and gentle but it foams like a dream. It smells really lovely! It has become my favourite body wash. I’ve learnt tons about low-waste skincare from you.
Hi Marie!
Lovely bar! I added Facetensid as an anionic surfactant, because it is available here. The bar is also very suitable for squeezing into a chinese cookie press. This produces a very nice bar, with very clear patterns / drawings in it. The dough is just smooth and firm enough to do that.
I made this bar together with the Almond Oat Balm to Milk. I put it in a deodorant stick (meant for hard substances) and it’s now in the fridge. Hopefully it will stiffen enough to be able to use it this way.
Hooray! This sounds so wonderful 😀 Thank you for sharing!
Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate | Plantapon SUS I can only find this in the uk for dls , is it ok to use instead?
How would one do a pH test on a product like this? Pull 1 gram of the just-mixed formula and dissolve in water?
Hi Marie
Long time lurker… finished your course just before Xmas and everyone got ‘bee-goodness. I have a friend who as a celiac avoids oats and wanted to know if there is a way to substitute the colloidal oats… would a combination of almond meal and clay work?
Hi Marie! Super excited to try out this formula! I couldn’t find a source for Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate or Bioterge AS40, but was able to find foaming silk so went for that instead. I intend to adjust the pH with citric acid. Do you have any tips, tricks, or advice for pH balancing a formula? I tried looking around your page for some writing on the topic but didn’t find it, but totally possible that I just missed it.
I’m also wondering if you have any particular advice or quirks to be aware of when using this bar as a facial cleanser. Maybe a silly question. I’m probably overthinking it. 😛
Anyways, really excited for this!!!
WAIT NEVERMIND, I just watched the video for the lightweight summer solstice fade cream and found the link you provided about pH adjusting there!
Hi Marie!
I made this bar today and i love it! I should have blitzed my SCI itty bitty noodles, but my 10 year old twin nieces were with me and I didn’t want to risk clogging up their lungs. so we all donned dust masks, measured out the noodles and when the bar was done, the girls packed it into a fancy little push mold. We now have the cutest little syndet bar, with tiny noodles showing their happy faces throughout. My only concern was the colloidal oatmeal I just purchased. It smelled a little fishy. Wondered if anyone else has noticed a smell. Thanks for another awesome recipe! My nieces are now happily DIY-ing with me, and learning things I never would have at their age. Thanks again!
I’m so thrilled to hear you had such fun with your nieces! ❤️ My colloidal oatmeal definitely doesn’t smell fishy—just oaty. How odd!
I noticed in your new “2023” YT video for this product you stated different weights than those printed in your original blog shown above. By stating the blog percentages as weight grams in the new video (as opposed to the weights in the blog) you’ll obviously still get a workable formula, but it essentially “doubles” the ingredients. I guess it would make sense that it would create two bars instead of one? Or is the bar you created in the new “2023” YT video actually twice the size of the one in the original blog? Thank you.
I used SLSa instead of Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate/Foaming Oats as I have no access to either in South America. My “dough” became very very hard, impossible to mix as it was flaky and powdery, and I used a very big amount of water to get it to the point where I could press it. Please give me a suggestion of a few substitute ingredients that I may find more easily. Thank you so much.
Since SLSa is a powder and disodium laureth sulfosuccinate is a liquid surfactant, it would make it VERY hard to work that little bit of liquid into that much dry ingredients.
I just made this and I used the Bioterge AS40 liquid surfactant in place of the disodium . . . I’m not sure if you can get that in South America. (I get it from https://voyageursoapandcandleusa.com/ which I’m guessing the shipping would be quite costly.)
One thing to keep in mind is the Bioterge AS40 does have a high pH and without adjusting, it came to a pH of 7. Problem is, the bar hardened very quickly so by the time I tested the pH, I couldn’t go back and add lactic or citric acid to it. I think I just have to try it one bar at a time.
If you’re unable to get that surfactant, have you looked at the surfactant table that Marie put together on this website? Here’s another link to get you there. https://www.humblebeeandme.com/surfactants/
I hope this helps!
Oops, sorry, that was supposed to be a reply to Crystal’s comment