This pretty speckled, swirl-topped soap smells of soft lavender and vanilla. It brings to mind warm, dry summer days in Provence (in my imagination, at least). I can see pretty pastel-painted wooden furniture, bundles of lavender hanging to dry in the window, and a basket of fresh produce on the counter. A bar of this soap rests in a chipped porcelain dish next to the wash basin, with a striped dish towel hanging nearby.
If you’re familiar with cold process soap making, you’ll find this soap comes together quickly and easily. A fun mica swirl on top looks impressive, but certainly isn’t difficult.
Whip up a batch to have on hand for gifts and the soap dish 🙂
Lavender Vanilla Soap
25% olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)
25% refined coconut oil (USA / Canada)
30% beef tallow (why?)
15% unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)
5% castor oil (USA / Canada)Per 500g (1.1lbs) of oils:
- 1 tsp sodium lactate (USA / Canada) (optional—hardens the bars)
- 1 tbsp white kaolin clay (USA / Canada)
- ¼ tsp vanilla flecks/specks
- 15g | 0.53oz lavender essential oil
- 15g | 0.53oz benzoin essential oil
- 1/16 tsp silver mica (I use these tiny measuring spoons for tiny measurements like this)
- 3/32 tsp ultramarine pink oxide
- 1 tsp liquid oil (whatever you have on hand)
Use SoapCalc to calculate your final amounts of oils, lye, and water based on the size of batch you want to make. Unsure about how to use SoapCalc? I made a video to walk you through it!
Follow my standard soap making instructions. If using, add the sodium lactate (USA / Canada) to the lye water after it has cooled and stir to combine. If you’re using the sodium lactate (USA / Canada) I strongly encourage you let your fats and lye water come to room temperate before combining. I haven’t tried using the sodium lactate (USA / Canada) above room temperature, but I did notice a much, much faster trace than I would usually get at room temperature, and it’ll only get faster at higher temperatures.
Once your soap has reached a pudding-like trace, blend in the clay, vanilla flecks, and essential oils with your immersion blender. Pour the soap into the mould.
In a small dish, blend the silver mica, oxide, and liquid oil to make a shimmery purple liquid. Drizzle the liquid over the surface of the soap, and then swirl with a toothpick. Discard the toothpick once it looks swirly enough for you.
Cover the soap, lightly insulate it, and let it saponify for 24 hours. After 24 hours have passed, remove the soap from the mould, cut it and let it age for at least 3–4 weeks before using.
This is beautiful soap! I haven’t tried cold process yet. This may be the one.
Thanks, Jennifer!
Now you’ve done it! I usually convert your soaps for hot processing because I hate having to wait weeks to get a usable bar of soap. 🙂 I’m ready to try cold-processing now.
Woo! I look forward to hearing about your adventures in CP 🙂
What are ‘vanilla flecks and specks’ and where would one find them? This soap stayed fairly light for one with a vanilla-ish scent, very nice!
They’re just ground up bits of vanilla bean—Saffire Blue sells them 🙂
This soap look wonderful.
Zwirbeline
Thank you!
Hi Zwirbeline:
First – I have to say that love your name! The soap looks great indeed, you can almost smell it off the picture.
I have a soap making kit around the house as well and will try to make a different patter this weekend! Can’t wait!.
🙂
Gotta try this! It’s taken awhile for this newbie to collect sufficient ingredients to tackle more than two or three of your recipes, but I have enough for this!
Here’s my question: have you tried CPOP soapmaking? I really like the idea of mixing everything at room temperatures, then leaving it in the oven at 170 fahrenheit for about an hour and a half to two hours, then leaving the mold there to rest after turning the oven off, for about another 4 hours (as I’ve read). Fast gel, no 4-week cure? Or boiled-over soap all over the oven??
As always, your recipes are inspirational, Marie.
Hi Dee! I haven’t tried CPOP—it just sounds like such a bother, honestly. I have so much soap stored up that the cure time really doesn’t bother me in the slightest, and when I need soaps for special occasions I just plan around the aging time. Eh. Just my two cents, though 🙂
Love this lavender & vanilla swirl! Thank you for sharing
Thanks, Sandi!
Hi, Marie.
This soap is so pretty! Thank you for posting the recipe! I have a question: I’ve made roughly a dozen batches of cold-processed soap. They all had roughly the same percentages of oils and the same amounts of essential oils. Out of the dozen, only two didn’t turn out like I expected, and those both contained lavender. Specifically, they were lavender-rosemary. The first batch had a 50/50 lavender/rosemary mix, and the second batch had a 75/25 lavender/rosemary mix. Both of them ended up being very soft and sticky when I unmolded and cut them, and after 6 weeks, they were still much softer than my other flavors. The first batch finally hardened up probably at the 3-month mark, though it’s still not as hard as my other flavors. The second batch is at the 6-week mark now and still soft. I wonder if it might have something to do with the lavender. Have you ever seen this with lavender (or rosemary)? Again, thank you for posting such a great recipe. I should try it just to see what a successful bar of lavender soap looks like!
Thank you!
Steven.
Hmm… weird. What’s your formula?
Hi! Do you dilute the benzoin in anything before adding? My benzoin is a like sap so I’ve had trouble using it in recipes.
Thanks,
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca! If you’re using an immersion blender you should be able to blend it into the soap very thoroughly without much trouble. My benzoin is a very thick, gooey substance as well, and I find a hot water bath gets it flowing better 🙂
Hi Miss Marie 🙂 I am an avid fan of DIY stuffs and ive done so many things already 🙂 From decors, clothes, foods, and now I am starting to love DIY BEAUTY AND HEALTH ESSENTIALS. Thanks for your post.
I am single mother and I want to start a small home-based business. Like soap making, perfume making, and body essentials. I am here in the Philippines.
Can you please guide me how to start in a basic soap making and perfume making.. Since I plan to sell a set of soaps, perfume and bodywash.
Thank you and more power.!
You inspire me so much, 🙂
Being single mother is super fun when you know that you can raised your kids with your own hands!
Hi Sherryl! Check out my “Basics” section for basic how-tos—the link is in the menu at the top of the site 🙂
Dear Marie,
Love all of your recipes! I was wondering if the benzoin was vanilla smelling – or if the only vanilla part of the recipe is the flakes. Thanks!
Erin
Hi Erin! Yes, benzoin has a lovely, warm, vanilla-y scent 🙂
Thanks, Marie!
🙂
Hi Marie! I’ve been reading up on your shampoo and soap bars…
So, if I’m not mistaken, if I increase the amount of castor oil in this formula from 5% to 20%, I get a lavender vanilla shampoo bar?
How do I adjust the percentages of the rest of ingredient list?
Oh, and I prefer cold processed soaps, easier to make for my situation. Fidgeting with controlling the heat source and thermometers is just too much of a bother for me. Can I just easily switch from hot process to cold process using your recipes/formulas?
Thanks!!
Hi Kay-L! You are correct 🙂 I’d reduce the olive oil to make room for the castor oil. All my soap recipes are CP 🙂
Hi again, Marie! So if I wanted to add a mixture of other hair-goody oils, I take it from the percentage of olive oil, correct? Or can I take it out of the tallow percentage, too? Less tallow = softer soap, right?
I’m getting an immersion blender as a gift soon, so I am compiling your soap recipes that I can make in tropical temperatures! Can’t wait!
Honestly, I’d save your fancy oils for a non-soap application. I’ve put expensive oils in soaps before, and I cannot confidently say that it’s worth it. Saponification is pretty harsh on ingredients, so I tend to put cheaper oils and butters in my soaps and shampoos, and then save the pricey stuff for applications that don’t involve a lye butt-kicking and won’t be washed down the drain straight away 🙂
In general, though, when it comes to developing new soap recipes, just run your numbers through SoapCalc and watch the hardness/lather/etc. numbers. Tweak, check again, and learn 🙂
Hi,
I love your recipes. You’ve inspired me to make my own tallow and use it in soaps! Easy! Thanks for that. My question is concerning the benzoin. What can I substitute ? I’ve just ordered a bunch of EOs and FOs and can’t really order more for a bit. Also, my scents don’t seem to last very long in my CP soap. Am I using too little? Or just not high enough quality? I’ve bought from a variety of manufacturers, and usually go by whatever recipe I’m using. Hints to get the scent to stay?
Thank! I love your website and blog!
Shari
Hi Shari! Thanks for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 You can use another fragrance or essential oil that has a vanilla-like scent instead of benzoin with reasonably close results, but don’t use vanilla extract—that’s a big no-no.
How much EO are you using in your soaps?
I’ve wanted to try making soap and am contemplating this recipe as my first attempt. Two questions about it. I love the ultramarine swirls! Is it possible to swirl it so it’s throughout the entire bar? From what I’ve seen online, full bar swirls seem to be accomplished with multiple colors of the oil/lye mixture. Also, you’re so good with scents (I’ve made a few of your perfumes)… What might be a good replacement for lavender? I use it in other DIY recipes, but I’m not a huge fan.
Hi Cathy! If you want to do more of an all-over swirl, you’ll definitely need to be dividing your batter and colouring each section 🙂 Something like I did here 🙂 Do ensure the soap batter isn’t so thin that the two bits will just stir themselves together when mixed (think milk + coffee), but not so thick that you don’t get a proper swirl. I’d recommend doing your swirl in the mould rather than the pot as it’s easy to over-mix in the pot and lose the distinction of the two colours. You can make a “U” from a coat hanger and use that to do some cool things, like I did here 🙂 Have fun!
As for lavender swaps—there’s not much you can use as an alternative for it, but pretty much everything goes well with vanilla, so I’d just choose something you like 🙂 Citrus and all other florals are great, as are spices!
Thanks for the tips, Marie! I read elsewhere about veining colorants. I might try that to retain that cool ultramarine color.
I really appreciate all the effort you’ve put into your recipes! I’ve made a few of your body butters and several of your cosmetic recipes. They’ve replaced almost all of my commercial makeup. I was a little intimidated by all the ingredients, but it so was worth it. And fun mixing up my own colors. Any time I decide to embark on a new DIY endeavor, you’re one of my favorite references!
All this soap talk makes me want to call in sick tomorrow and make soap all day! And I am so thrilled to hear I’ve got you making your own makeup—you are going to love my book! 😀 Thanks so much for reading, DIYing, and supporting me 🙂
Made this a week ago and counting the days until I can use my first batch of soap! I’m already perusing your recipes to make a batch for my guest bathrooms that don’t look like they were from an experimental first batch. My soap mold is on the way! Drawing on your wealth of knowledge I have another question for you.
I’ve been no-pooing for almost a year. My hair is really straight, fine and oily (dry shampoo takes care of it). Most of that time I’ve been using a clay wash with ACV rinse , which is great for oil. However, the last few months it gets super tangled after washing. I tried a few DIY detanglers to no avail. I was pulling out so much hair after washing I finally broke down and got Moroccan Method shampoo and conditioner. It does help, but I think the tangles may be from rubbing my scalp so much to get the non-lathering product worked through to release the oil. If I don’t rub, rub, rub it’s still oily after washing. I’m also growing it out so that may be contributing to increased tangles as well.
Since I finally made soap I’m considering trying it to shampoo my hair. Maybe lather equates to less rubbing and tangles. You mentioned elsewhere on your blog that shampoo bars usually contain 20% castor oil, but you generally go 5-7%. Does the percentage of castor have any effect on oiliness, or is it just lather? I can’t find a consensus on whether castor causes build-up. I’ll likely try this batch on my hair, but in choosing another recipe I’m wondering if I need to keep castor oil percentage in mind for my hair woes.
Thanks for all your recipes!
Hey Cathy! Congrats on your first batch of soap, that’s so exciting 😀
Have you tried stretching out your hair washes? That should help with the oiliness. It sounds like you’ve really raised the scales that make up your hair and they’re catching on themselves all over the place. The ACV rinse should fix that, but it sounds like it isn’t, though I have no idea why.
Honestly, I’ll use any bar of soap I’ve made as shampoo. I’m not fussed about castor oil percentage. Any of ’em work just fine haha. Have you read through all my various articles on my transition to natural hair care (11 months, 18 months, 2 years)? You might find some good info in those. Good luck!
You can disregard this monologue. I figured it out. Got a Lush shampoo bar for now. Love the lather! But not loving the SLS. It’ll tide me over until I make your Shea and Citrus shampoo bar though. I’ll be happy if I can get even half the lather of the Lush bar.
🙂
Don’t laugh. I’ve never made a bar of soap but I’m going to try. In your instructions you say “1 pinch” of one thing and then “6 nips” of another. I didn’t know what a “nip” was so I googled it. Means pinch. Is there a difference between a pinch and a nip?
Hey Melonie! I wrote an FAQ on this one 🙂 I’ve been trying to go through the site and convert the cutesy names to proper measurements, but with over 800 posts up here it’s taking a while!
I love the way it has a kind of rough texture and not smooth. We tried grinding the vanilla sticks with a blender. Sometimes there remains some rough specks though. How can we get rid of those and turn the vanilla specks into a finer powder? Thanks!
I purchased my vanilla specks as such, and they came as a fine powder 🙂
Hi Marie, I want to make a Lavenderish purpe soap. Just plain purple. How much Mica and oxide should I add to the soap? Do I need the mica too? Also, can you tell me the trick of making consistant in shape soap? I mean how to cut it perfect square? I already make CP soaps but not beautiful soaps and your blog is very inspiring for that.
For purple, I’d recommend using lavender ultramarine, and perhaps adding a bit of blue ultramarine if you’re looking for a bluer purple. Blend them together in a small dish with a bit of liquid oil to get the colour you want, and then slowly blend that into your soap until it’s the colour your want. Ultramarines are really stable and very potent, so you don’t have to worry about the colour shifting during saponification, and you won’t need much!
You can shape your soaps with your mould and/or with your cutting. Using a true soap mould that has 90° corners really helps (baking pans usually have rounded corners and flared edges that foil that)—I am loving silicone moulds lately. You can also just cut your soaps into perfect squares, or even buy a cube silicone mould like this 🙂 Also, check out this video to see how she cuts her soaps! Happy making 🙂
Thank you so much for this, I prefer cutting than molding. Did use the bread siicone mold. The thing is sometimes when I unmold something breaks and when I cut it’s not exactly the same. Will try the cutting method from the video and of course the ultramarine thing. Thank you:)
Try popping the soap mould in the freezer for an hour before unmoulding—that helps a lot with breaking and squishing 🙂
Hi Marie
Have just tried Ultramarine purple on my soap. It’s not yet dry but I’m quite worried. My soap is 50% extra virgin olive oil and I think because of that the soap is not really purple but more brownish – beige kind of. Do you think I should use less olive oil? Or maybe mica will help. Any idea?
I’d wait until it fully saponifies and ages; the colour can change quite a lot as that happens. But yes, a strongly coloured oil will impact the colour of the final soap. Micas are not very pigmented (watch this for more info), so they will do less than ultramarine will, so I wouldn’t recommend adding mica if the ultramarine is not doing the trick. Anywho, don’t panic until it’s done 🙂
I find that sodium lactate is either powder or liquid. Which did you use and are they interchangeable (use the same amount for either liquid or powder)? Thanks.
I use the liquid stuff and I’ve only ever used it, so I can’t offer much advice on the powdered version. I would guess you’d use less as it’s more concentrated than the liquid stuff, but I couldn’t say how much. I’d check with your supplier on their recommend amount per weight of soap oils 🙂
Thank you I appreciate your time. Didn’t occur to me to check with the supplier….duh!!!
No worries, happy making!
Hi Marie,
I am a fan of your work and I make almost all your recipes for CP soap. My problem is that I am form Romania, and here I can`t find most of the ingredients that you use. Usualy i search for replacements.
In Romania i can’t find tallow just lard. Can I substitute tallow with lard in every recipe that you use tallow?
if so, the amount remains the same for lard as it was for tallow?
Also, I wanted to make your hot chocolate soap and it needs cocoa absolute, I can`t find any, what should I use instead?
And one last question, sorry for bothering you, in your recipes you use 10-fold essential oils, I can`t find that here either, is it ok to use just normal essential oils? if so, the amount remains the same?
thank you so much for your exquisite recipies and help!
I love you!
Thanks for reading! You can easily swap lard for tallow, try a chocolate fragrance oil instead of cocoa absolute, and yes, you can use non-10-fold essential oils if that’s what you have 🙂 Happy making!
im new to soaping.. so as far as lye and water mixture, how much lye and water should i use ? is there a formula for that?