Indeed, buying soap straight from a nearby grocery is the easiest route. But do you know that there are more benefits to making your own soap? Apart from having direct control of the ingredients to suit your taste and needs, it is also relatively easy once you get the hang of it. Soap-making is considered an art by many people. It helps to stimulate the senses and can even be addictive in the long run. Soaps made with your “bare hands” also make the best home-made gifts for special occasions—and on top of the heaping list of DIY soap-making are sandalwood soap recipes.
When thinking of making your own soap, here are three sandalwood soap recipes to begin with.
1. Sandalwood Soap for Women
This lavender, jasmine and sandalwood soap recipe is to die for! Sweet and spicy yet relaxing and fragrant, each lather delivers a sense of relaxation and purity not often enjoyed in over-the-counter soaps. Here’s how to make your own:
Ingredients (per 500mg oils as a base measurement):
- 40% olive oil
- 25% coco oil
- 20% lard
- 10% shea butter
- 5% castor oil
- 1 tablespoon kaolin clay
- 2 teaspoon titanium oxide
- 6g jasmine essential oil (fragrance oil can also be used if you want it cheaper)
- 6g sandalwood essential oil
- 3g lavender essential oil
- purple oxide (as a decorative element)
- lye + water
Procedure:
- Prepare lye and water solution in a stainless steel pot or bowl. A reaction usually occurs. Make sure the water will NOT bring to a boil and do NOT breathe the fumes.
- Set aside the lye and water solution to cool.
- Heat the oils and lard properly until melted.
- Take temperatures of both oils and lye solution and if already within the ideal 100-125- degree F range, slowly and surely add the lye solution.
- Mix gently until texture becomes smooth and color.
- Turn on immersion blender to mix the solution thoroughly. Do this in 20-second short bursts to prevent burning the blender.
- Add the titanium dioxide and clay at trace.
- Add the jasmine, lavender and sandalwood essential oils.
- To add some purple swirls, divide the pre-mixed ingredients into halves. Gradually stir minute amounts of purple oxide into one-half of the mixture.
- Pour the “purpled” mixture into the mounds alternately.
- To swirl, run a stainless spoon through the raw soap. Twist to swirl.
- Cover the soap molds with a blanket and let sit for 24 hours.
- Remove the blankets and lid—and air the soap molds for another few hours before getting them out.
Next is best suited for men’s skin.
2. Sandalwood Soap for Men
Most men’s skin has a different temperament than that of women. Not only is a man’s skin thicker than 25%, but it is also often rougher and produces more sebum or oil. Studies also reveal that most men sweat more profusely than women. This leaves their skin more prone to impurities. To ensure protection to the skin naturally, here is a great tangy soap that is all manly yet, suited to make men’s skin clearer and worry-free.
Ingredients:
- 51 ounces olive oil
- 31.5 ounces coco oil
- 28 ounces chilled, brewed coffee (to be used as a liquid base)
- 11.94 ounces lye
- 3 tablespoons ground Arabica coffee beans
- 1 cup ground walnuts
Procedure:
- Pour the oils along with the fats into a stainless steel pot. Heat them at low temperature.
- Put your liquid base into a plastic bucket and then, carefully add lye to it. Stir the mixture slowly until it mixes completely. The temperature will rise so, let it cool down until it reaches 100 to 125-degrees F.
- At approximately 115-deg F, remove melted oil and fats from heat. Pour them slowly into a plastic bucket and let cool until it reaches between 100-110 degrees F. Slowly and carefully add the lye and liquid mixture to the oils.
- Stir all ingredients together. Add the exfoliates, too. Use a hand blender to combine the ingredients. Do it in short 20-second bursts to prevent overheating until mixture traces or when it resembles a soft paste or thick custard.
- Pour soap into a 3-inch ABS pipe for circular shapes or via 2-inch deep baking trays for rectangular bars.
- Store soap in a dry location covered with a towel. Let it stay for at most 48 hours.
- Remove soap from molds and cut.
- For saponification, place soap bars on a tray and cover them with a large clean towel. Allowing it to sit for at most 4 weeks will help complete the chemical reaction turning lye-oil mixture to become saponified oils—which is more safe and effective.
Here’s another great sandalwood soap recipe for men.
Sandalwood and Patchouli
Patchouli is a known relaxant and aphrodisiac. In skincare, however, it is known to treat dry and cracked skin as well as in regulating oily and acne-prone skin. Those who are suffering from eczema and psoriasis can also benefit from this patchouli and sandalwood soap recipe.
Ingredients:
- 20 ounces of olive oil
- 2.5 ounces of lye
- 7.5 ounces of water
- 15 drops of sandalwood essential oil
- 10 drops of Patchouli essential oil
Procedure:
- Mix water carefully and slowly into lye using a wooden spoon. Let it settle down as the temperature rises.
- Heat the oils in a stainless steel pan over gentle heat. Let it settle down when reaching 110-deg F.
- When the temperature of mixed oils and lye are 10 degrees apart from each other, mix carefully using a stick blender until it traces.
- Add essential oils into the trace mixture and mix one more time using the stick blender to fully integrate all elements within.
- Pour mixture into a mold and cover with greaseproof paper.
- Wrap the molds with clean blankets and sit for 2 days.
- After 48 hours, take out from the molds, place into the greaseproof paper.
- Let the finished soap “cure” for approximately 4-5 weeks.
Last but not lease, for the babies.
3. Sandalwood Soap for Babies
Babies can sometimes develop rashes and eczema due to their overly sensitive skin. Store-bought soap and bath gels often contain harsh ingredients that may not work amiably with a baby’s skin. Sandalwood essential oil is known to contain an antiseptic element that protects babies dermis from dirt and microscopic microbes as well as serving as an insect repellant.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces sandalwood essential oil
- 0.5 ounces sandalwood powder
- 14 ounces tepid water
- 6 ounces lye
- 18 ounces coco oil
- 6 ounces palm oil
- 12 ounces olive oil
- 4 ounces wheat germ oil
Procedure:
- Mix sandalwood powder with sandalwood oil and set aside.
- Blend both water and lye—carefully and slowly. Let it sit until it reaches 95-degree Fahrenheit.
- Gently combine both coco and palm oils over low heat. Add olive oil and wheat germ oil slowly until it reaches 95-deg F.
- Once both mixtures of oils and lye are within 10 degrees of temperature from each other, preferably at 95 to 100 degrees F – blend both mixtures together.
- Stir until the mixture traces.
- Add the sandalwood mixture by stirring slowly and thoroughly.
- Place it on molds and let it sit for about 24 hours.
- Release soap from the mold after 24 hours and cut into bars.
- Place on a wire rack. Air dry for 3-4 weeks.
Frugal Tip:
When using soap, the most economical way is to wet one’s hands, rub them together around a dry bar. Place the soap back on the dish and rub hands gently together to produce a good lather.
There are literally hundreds of ways to make sandalwood soaps. Let each of these sandalwood soap recipes be your guide to healthy skin. You can replace the essential oils listed therein with your preferred choice.