Not everyone can step into a spa after a long day. However, you can get the best of the spa life at home with essential oil blends for soap. Making your own soap with essential oils is easier than you think. All you need is a winning pick of essential oil blends to get the best smelling soap you’ve ever tried.
Depending on what you want the soap to do, you can tailor the essential oil blend to your need. For example, skin conditions or anxiety symptoms can be supported with the right soap blend. You can also use other blends with antibacterial properties in the kitchen. So what are you waiting for? Essential oil blends for soap can help you get the best out of your washes every day.
How Much Essential Oil To Use In Blends For Soap?
There’s no definite answer on how much essential oils to use in blends for soap. Each oil has different properties, meaning they all have varying maximum amounts. For example, for lavender, you want to use up to three percent oil per one pound batch.
When you use citrus oils, on the other hand, you should decrease the amount because citrus can be agitating for the skin if you go in sunlight after showering. Many essential oils can be harmful if not diluted enough. You can use an online calculator to see what amount you should use with the blend you look up.
Best Essential Oil Blends For Soap Making
You’ll be on your way to homemade, therapeutic soaps with this list of the best essential oil blends for soap making.
1. Lavender and chamomile: Good for relaxation and calm
Lavender is a great antidepressant and antianxiety essential oil.[1] Chamomile has the same effects.[2] Even if you don’t suffer from anxiety or depression, these essential oil blends for soap can still help you unwind and relax whenever you need it. Plus, the smell will stay on your skin for a while after use, so you can enjoy the benefits long after you’ve left the bathroom.
2. Eucalyptus and peppermint: Relieves congestion
Eucalyptus essential oil is an anti-inflammatory that has similar qualities to menthol, helping to clear up congestion in the chest or nasal passages.[3] Peppermint is also great for this purpose as it opens your airways and helps muscles relax.[4]
So next time you’re feeling all blocked up with the flu or allergies, use this soap blend to help relieve some of the congestion. Plus, the steam from the shower can release the oils into the air and allow you to inhale them for maximum benefit.
3. Grapefruit, orange, and lemon: Helps to wake up and invigorate
Citrus blends are most essential oil users’ go-to morning combination. Orange essential oil is uplifting and can help fight depression or anxiety that might otherwise keep you stuck in bed all day.[5] Grapefruit essential oil can ease fatigue and help you feel cheerful with its sharp yet fruity aroma.[6]
Lemon oil is great for your digestion and can even help alleviate any morning nausea before breakfast.[7] Maybe you have to wake up early to finish a work presentation, or maybe you wake up early every day with the kids. Either way, this essential oil blend for soap is a winning shower combination to help you feel ready to conquer your day.
4. Clary sage, peppermint, and lavender: Period cramp-relief
This essential oil blend is perfect for when you have your period. All three essential oils are a natural reliever for cramps.[8]’[9]’[10] Peppermint oil has antispasmodic properties, which help relax muscles and prevent spasms.
Lavender oil deeply affects the olfactory senses, promoting relaxation in your mind and muscles. Lastly, clary sage can help ease muscle tension and even regulate your period.[11] Clary sage is also one of the most common essential oils to use for menstrual cramps. Rub this essential oil soap blend on your stomach or lower back during your showers for some period pain relief.
5. Lavender and peppermint: Soothes sore muscles
This essential oil soap blend of lavender and peppermint oil promotes muscle relaxation.[12]’[13] Lavender is a versatile essential oil used for many things, including relaxing muscles. It contains high levels of linalool which is a mild sedative.[14]
Peppermint essential oil contains menthol which helps cool and warm the skin simultaneously, distracting from muscle pain or tension and forcing your muscles to decompress.[15] When you rub the soap on your body, massage it into problem areas that need it most for the best effects.
6. Lemongrass and tea tree: Disinfects and cleans
Tea tree and lemongrass combinations are one of the more practical essential oil blends for soap. Tea tree is antimicrobial and antibacterial, making it great for killing germs.[16] Along with that, lemongrass has strong sanitizing properties that can even disinfect against salmonella.[17] These properties make it a great blend to keep handy by your kitchen and bathroom sinks.
7. Tea tree and clary sage: Clears body acne
If you have acne on your chest or back, an essential oil soap with tea tree and clary sage can help. In a comparative study, tea tree essential oil was just as effective as benzoyl peroxide in reducing acne.[18] Also, clary sage oil can help control your skin’s sebum production, which contributes to acne for both dry and oily skin.[19] The two oils together can help reduce your body acne over time and alleviate inflammatory symptoms too.
8. Eucalyptus, tea tree, and peppermint: Soothes sunburns or inflamed skin
If you’re red as a lobster after a weekend at the beach, or if you simply have inflamed skin from a reaction, this essential oil blend for soap can be your saving grace. Eucalyptus and tea tree oils are both very anti-inflammatory for the skin.[20] In fact, one study proved that tea tree oil reduced a histamine reaction in humans after just 10 minutes.[21] Plus, adding peppermint oil to the blend will further increase skin cooling effects,[22] allowing you to relax and have some comfort.
Making Essential Oil Blends for Soap: Equipment and Safety Tips
Equipment needed
- A kitchen scale for measuring ingredients
- Thermometer to measure the temperature of the soap and oils
- Immersion blender to combine ingredients thoroughly
- Silicone spatula to mix the soap and scrape the bowl
- Rubber gloves
- Goggles
- Soap molds or plastic containers to use as molds
- Stainless steel spoon and whisk
Safety Tips
- When making essential oil soaps, you want to be careful throughout the entire process. You should always measure out your ingredients accurately. Using too many drops of essential oils can make the soap more agitating than beneficial.
- Remember to protect your skin and eyes with gloves and goggles.
References
- [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6007527/
- [2] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11427-016-9034-8
- [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808543/
- [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103722/
- [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19831048
- [6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [7] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [8] https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/best-essential-oil-for-your-period
- [9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16884344
- [10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [11] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [12] https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-2002-23139
- [13] https://journals.lww.com/cardiovascularpharm/Fulltext/2006/07000/Linalyl_Acetate_as_a_Major_Ingredient_of_Lavender.8.asp
- [14] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [15] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360273/
- [17] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713511005561
- [18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2145499
- [19] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [20] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [21] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
- [22] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115001033
