Looking to improve your overall health this year? You’ll have to do more than just watch what you eat. While eating right is of the utmost importance, many people don’t realize that cleansing the entire body begins on the outside – with your skin.
You’ve likely heard the term “Natural Soap” before but do you really know what it means? Generally, natural soap means making soap without the use of ingredients that could be toxic or use questionable extraction or manufacturing practices or methods. By this definition, it means that natural soap shouldn’t contain any artificial perfumes, dyes or additives. An easy way to know if your ingredients are safe is being able to pronounce all the ingredients and not needing a chemistry textbook to understand them. Natural is about staying as close to the original form of the ingredient as possible. And honestly, if you’re going to all the effort of making handmade soap for yourself, your family and friends, why not use ingredients that are going to be completely safe and environmentally sound.
The 15 natural soap recipes below will help your skin feel amazing while giving you peace of mind that you’re using ingredients that are safe for you and the planet.
10-Minute DIY Milk & Honey Soap
Milk and honey soap has always been a classic favorite. It smells divine, and there are loads of skin benefits from the honey – it’s moisturizing, clarifying, soothing, and also naturally antibacterial. Because of these properties, honey is fantastic for the treatment of acne and aging and for general complexion brightening. C’mon now, we all could use a little bit of anti-aging and complexion brightening, right?
Aloe Vera Soap
Aloe Vera is one of the most prestigious herbs used for skin care. It contains almost 20 amino acids, minerals like calcium, magnesium and sodium in sufficient quantities, enzymes, vitamins, polysaccharides, nitrogen and other components that make it a miracle beauty herb. With skincare benefits like this, you know your skin will love this soap recipe.
Via Soap Recipes 101
Homemade Lemon Soap
This homemade lemon soap recipe smells amazing, it’s definitely one you’ll want to try. The lemon zest gives the soap a great texture and the citrus scent will leave your hands feeling rejuvenated. With only three ingredients required this soap recipe is easy to make and also makes a wonderful gift.
Natural Calendula Soap Recipe
This calendula soap recipe is a perfect example of what exemplifies natural soap. If you’d like to start formulating your own natural soap recipes, then this link will also take you through some of the finer points of what you need to know to get started.
Via Lovely Greens
Lavender Lemon Yogurt Soap Recipe
Lavender and lemon are wonderful scents on their own but blended together they’re even better. Lemon essential oil is refreshing and uplifting for the nervous system along with being a powerful antioxidant. Lavender is calming, soothing and rounds out the the sharp top note in lemon to create a complex and interesting scent. It also has antibacterial and antiviral qualities that are always good in a product for cleansing!
Natural Handmade Sea Mud Soap Recipe
Oily and acne prone skin can be a real drag. But fighting nature can sometimes be a constant battle. And many of the commercial products formulated to fight acne can sometimes do more harm than good. Why not try this all natural handmade soap bar made with astringent hazelnut oil and Sea Clay (also known as Sea Mud) to detoxify.
Via Soap Deli News
4 Exfoliating Herbal Homemade Soap Bars
Soap is so easy to customize when you use a pre-made base (like glycerin or shea butter) from the craft store. It’s like a kitchen science experiment, adding in different textures and colors. There are endless variations but here are 4 simple recipes to try.
Via Hello Glo
Bentonite Clay and Tea Tree Soap
Combine the toxin removing power of bentonite clay along with the acne banishing power of tea tree oil to make this magnificent bar of soap that will have you feeling clean, inside and out. This is perfect for those of you who want to make your own soap without having to mess around with lye.
Via Smarty Pants Girl
Soothing Oatmeal Citrus Shea Butter Soap
Oatmeal has been used for ages to relieve itchy skin and who doesn’t love how the oatmeal settles more at the bottom of the hardened soap and creates a nice layered look. Add a little citrus scent and you’ve got yourself a beautiful bar of soap.
Via Food Fun Family
Cold Process Cucumber Soap
This recipe starts with a base of skin loving olive oil, plus a generous amount of coconut oil for great lather and hardness. The secret ingredient – rice bran oil – it’s a nourishing oil, rich in vitamin E, and makes a great stand-in for some of the olive oil in a recipe. (Plus it’s cheaper!)
Via The Nerdy Farm Wife
Green Clay Soap
Green clay helps with minor breakouts, redness and inflammation. It draws out toxins and impurities, and contains skin-nourishing minerals such as calcium, potassium, silicon and copper. If you have “challenging” skin, this might just be the perfect soap for you.
Via Soap Recipes 101
Natural Pink Grapefruite and Clay Soap
Grapefruit essential oil is a powerful antioxidant and can help with excessive oiliness, dryness, and blemishes. Pink clay is perfect for sensitive skin, as it has a gentle cleansing action that isn’t too harsh. Also, clay has the amazing ability to absorb toxins from the skin, such as dirt, makeup, bacteria, and oil. The pink grapefruit and clay soap smells amazing and it’s so refreshing when you’re just waking up with your morning shower – oh, and the lather is out of this world!
Honey Oatmeal Handmade Soap
These Honey Oatmeal Handmade Soaps are a great home craft that anyone can do. This is also a great slumber party/spa idea. The teens can make pretty soaps and they will be ready to take home in the morning!
Via Creative Me Inspired You
Homemade Exfoliating Coffee and Cinnamon Soap
If you’re a coffee lover of the fancy kind – you’ll be well acquainted with the huge pain in that is the leftover ground coffee. This amazing coffee cinnamon soap recipe is a great way to recycle used coffee while creating a marvellous, invigorating and exfoliating shower scrubbing soap.
Via She Makes Magic
Natural Citrus Antibacterial Soap
Green clay also helps with minor breakouts, redness and inflammation. It draws out toxins and impurities, and contains skin-nourishing minerals such as calcium, potassium, silicon and copper.
So what are you waiting for? Give these 15 nourishing natural soap recipes a try, and make homemade soap. Be warned, because these recipe are simple and make really great soap, it might turn you into a soaper for life, and you might soon be telling your friends and relatives “make homemade soap!” It's so fun and easy to make homemade soap, why would you ever buy soap again? Let the soap making begin. You’ll be glad you gave it a try!
