DIY Lavender Goat’s Milk Soap (AO Life)

I have been making homemade soap for the past few years and one thing I’ve realised is there’s no right or wrong way. You can use all kinds of essential oils, moulds, soap bases and soap colourings. Whatever floats your boat will work and that’s the beauty of making soap. Of course, if it all goes wrong, it’s so easy to melt the soap base back down and start again!

With Christmas slowly sneaking up on us, it is a great time to start preparing your gift list for friends and family. I always make my own gifts for friends as you guarantee that personalised touch and can tailor it to that individual.

The easiest soap to make is melt and pour. It’s simple to use and you don’t have to wear protective clothing or goggles (bonus). It’s readily available in most craft stores and online and it goes a long way.

So today I am going to share with you a really easy way to make a lovely looking soap, which won’t take up too much of your time or cost the Earth! It isn’t overly complicated and doesn’t require a degree in chemistry to make it.

Here’s what you’ll need…

A Soap Mould: As I often work on a budget, I use things that I have around the house. I used a loaf tin. You could also use old butter tubs, yoghurt pots, cupcake trays or anything that will hold a shape that you desire. It doesn’t matter if you use a hard mould, when the soap is ready it will simply slide right out.

Melt and Pour Soap Base: I use goat’s milk soap base because it hydrates your skin but you can use any kind of melt and pour soap that works for you. (I used 700g to fit my mould)

Lavender Essential Oil: You can use any type of essential oil or cosmetic fragrance oil that is suitable for skin.

A large knife for cutting the soap

A fork

A microwavable jug

Weighing scales

A microwave

Scissors

Dried Lavender (optional)

Purple Soap Colouring (I got mine from Hobby Craft, again this is optional)

Hessian and string for decoration (optional)

And here’s how it’s done…

I wanted my lavender soap to have its own unique look so I decided to have two layers: a thin layer of light purple soap and the rest in its natural melted form filled with lavender leaves.

Start by weighing out your first thin layer, to fill a loaf tin you will need 185g of your melt and pour soap. Chop it into small chunks (this will help it melt quickly) then put it in the microwavable jug and into the microwave for 20 second bursts on the top heat until you see the soap form a liquid.

Continue to microwave the soap in bursts until it fully liquidizes and there are no more chunks of soap left. Now, add your essential oil until you get your desired smell (I used about 8 drops) and add your purple soap colouring. Mix it all together using a fork and pour it straight into your soap mould.

Allow the soap to cool at room temperature for thirty minutes, don’t be tempted to poke or move it for at least 10 minutes. Once thirty minutes has passed your first layer should be hard and you are ready to create your second layer.

Prepare your dried lavender by simply pulling the leaves off until you have a pile.

Follow the same process as the first layer, using the remaining 515g of melt and pour soap (simply don’t use the soap colour this time). So once again, chop the soap into chunks and place it in the microwavable jug and into the microwave on 20 second bursts until all the soap has melted.

Once the soap has melted you simply need to add your essential oil (roughly 12 drops) and your lavender leaves, mixing it all together with your fork.

Now pour this over your first layer into the loaf tin and leave it to set at room temperature.

After 1 hour, place it flat into the freezer for a further hour to ensure it fully sets. Once you have finished just tip your mould upside down, give it a few taps and voila the soap will simply slide out!