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Experience a taste of the tropics with this lemon scented coconut milk soap! Zesty lemon essential oil and creamy coconut milk make this a luxurious, nourishing soap bar.
I have so much fun trying different cold-process soap recipes. There are so many different oils, fats, and fragrances to try and so little time!
I wanted to make a lemon-scented soap because I love the refreshing, energizing scent of lemon essential oil.
Pairing it with creamy coconut milk makes for the perfect soothing, nourishing soap bar!
Why You’ll Love It
- Delicious scent: The smell of lemon essential oil is so energizing and uplifting! This is my favorite soap to use in the morning because the smell of lemon starts my day off right.
- Creamy lather: Coconut milk instead of water makes this soap bar rich and creamy. It feels luxurious with a great lather.
- Nourishing ingredients: A combination of several moisturizing and nourishing oils makes this soap phenomenal for your skin! My skin feels soft and smooth after using this soap bar.
Before We Get Started
This uses a cold process soap-making method, which requires quite a few steps and lots of carefulness.
In addition to the regular steps involved in cold process soap, there are a few extra steps, like freezing the liquid beforehand. Please be sure to read the instructions carefully beforehand and measure out the ingredients precisely.
Finally, these bars take around 8 weeks to cure before the soap is ready for use. But it’s worth the wait, I assure you!
A cold-process coconut milk soap uses coconut milk as the primary liquid source (instead of water).
It results in a creamy, luxurious texture with a trademark coconut scent, which, admittedly, is quite mild. But at least the beautiful lemon scent stands out strikingly!
What Goes Into This Recipe
- Coconut milk: Known for its deeply moisturizing effect, coconut milk is also soothing and calming to the skin. It gives this soap a creamy texture and amazing lather.
- Palm oil: Helps soap have that characteristic hard surface, meaning it lasts longer. Also, palm oil contributes to a creamier lather. Remember to shop for sustainable palm oil only.
- Olive oil: This oil is deeply moisturizing and good for the skin. I even use this as the main ingredient in these olive oil soap bars.
- Castor oil: A fantastic cleansing agent, helpful in removing skin impurities and dirt. Castor oil has many benefits to the skin, including moisturizing, fighting acne, and preventing wrinkles. It also contributes to this soap’s lather, making it a pleasure to use on the skin.
- Coconut oil: Coconut oil is a go-to ingredient for many of my recipes because of its numerous benefits for the skin. You’ll need regular cold-pressed coconut oil, not fractionated coconut oil.
- Lye: Necessary for the process of saponification which turns oils and fats into soap. Handle with an abundance of care!
- Lemon essential oil: Adds a delicious lemon scent without any artificial fragrance. Lemon essential oil can be very beneficial for mood support, brain function, and energy!
Important Safety Tips
- Safety equipment is essential when making soap, so have an apron, goggles, and gloves at the ready. Lye will burn the skin and create fumes that we should not breathe, so work in a well-ventilated area.
- Make sure the jar you’re using is safe for rapid hot temperatures. Do not use the same container that you froze the coconut milk in to add your lye!
- Always add the lye to the milk. Never add the milk to the lye.
- Take extra care at all times when working with lye. It’s harmful to the skin and body and will cause burns if any splashes on your skin, which is why I advocate for larger mixing bowls and all the safety equipment to prevent any mishaps.
- Use separate utensils and bowls solely for soap-making purposes, independent from any shared regular kitchen supplies.
- This recipe is made with 5% superfat. If you wish to substitute any of the ingredients, you will need to recalculate the recipe with a soap calculator.
Coconut Milk Soap Recipe
Step 1: Ensure you work in a well-ventilated area and wear proper safety gear. To begin, measure out the coconut milk and place it in the freezer at least three hours ahead of time. Once it’s frozen, remove the coconut milk from the freezer and add it to a large, room-temperature glass bowl that is safe for high temperatures.
Step 2: Measure out the lye in a separate container. Then, carefully add the lye to the milk. Be ultra careful during this step, as the mixture will heat up quickly due to a chemical reaction. Give it a gentle stir to ensure the lye fully coats the frozen milk. Once the milk is fully melted and the lye is dissolved, set it aside out of reach of children.
Step 3: Melt the oils and fats in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, transfer them to a large mixing bowl with tall sides and set it aside to cool to about 100°F
Step 4: Once the melted oils and fats have cooled to 100°F, slowly add the lye/coconut milk a little at a time and mix with an immersion blender.
Step 5: Continue mixing with the immersion blender until it comes to a light trace.
Step 6: Add your essential oils and continue mixing with the immersion blender until it comes to a medium trace.
Step 7: Pour the soap into your soap molds and allow them to harden for three days before removing them from the molds.
Step 8: Lay the bars on their ends about an inch apart and allow them to cure for eight weeks before using.
Expert Tips
- I advise you to lay everything out on a table so you can see what you’ve got before you start the soap-making process. It’s a good idea to read through the instructions and safety notes a few times, too, so you have a handle on the process.
- You must freeze the coconut milk because it will scorch when the lye is added to it. The freezing process stops this from happening.
- Look for coconut milk that is pure with no added ingredients. Avoid the cooler section in stores as the coconut milk there might contain additives and flavors.
- New to soapmaking? Learn everything you need to know to get started in my soapmaking for beginners post.
Recipe FAQs
No, you can’t. Lye is needed for saponification to occur, which is where the fats and oils turn into soap. It’s a chemical reaction that only happens when lye is present. If you prefer to avoid lye altogether, you can make melt and pour soap such as honey lavender melt and pour soap or coconut oil melt and pour soap.
It varies from soap to soap, but on average, it takes around five to six weeks for soap to cure. This is where the soap settles and hardens fully, allowing any excess water or milk to evaporate. These bars will continue to harden the longer you leave them. I recommend letting them cure for 2 months.
Yes, the oils and fats may be substituted. However, you must recalculate everything with a soap calculator.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and making lemon-scented coconut milk soap at home. Remember to follow the instructions and adhere to safety precautions, and you won’t go wrong.
And most importantly, have fun!
More Exciting Soap Recipes
- Sea Salt Soap Bar
- Easy Turmeric Soap
- Simple Coconut Oil Soap Bar
- Lavender Soap Bars with Dried Lavender
If you tried these lemon scented coconut milk soap bars or any other tutorial on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Lemon scented coconut milk soap recipe
Equipment
- large bowl
- Gloves, mask, goggles and protective clothing
- Soap mold
Ingredients
- 6 oz Coconut oil
- 6 oz Palm oil
- 4 oz Castor oil
- 2 oz Olive oil
- 5.83 oz Coconut Milk
- 2.61 oz Lye
- 30 drops Lemon essential oil
Instructions
- Make sure you’re working in a well-ventilated area, away from any kids, and wearing proper safety gear. (long sleeves, gloves, goggles and a mask).
- Measure out your lye and set aside.
- Next, measure out the coconut milk and place it in the freezer at least three hours ahead of time. I like to pour the coconut milk into ice cube trays so they come out easily.
- Remove your frozen coconut milk from the freezer and add it to a clean, large glass bowl that is safe for high temperatures. Carefully add the lye to the milk. Be ultra careful during this step as the mixture will heat up quickly due to the lye. Give it a gentle stir to ensure the lye fully coats the frozen milk. Set aside to cool.
- Next, melt the oils and fats in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, transfer them to a large mixing bowl with tall sides and set it aside to cool to about 100°F
- Once the melted oils and fats have cooled to 100°F, slowly add the lye/coconut milk a little at a time and mix with an immersion blender. Continue mixing with the immersion blender until it comes to a light trace.
- Then add your essential oils and continue mixing with the immersion blender until it comes to a medium trace.
- Pour the soap into your prepared soap molds and allow them to harden for three days before removing them from the molds.
- Lay the bars on their ends about an inch apart and allow them to cure for eight weeks before using.
Notes
- Wear a mask, gloves, and apron and work in a well-ventilated area.
- Make sure the jar you’re using is safe for rapid hot temperatures. Do not use the same container that you froze the coconut milk in to add your lye!
- Always add the lye to the milk. Never add the milk to the lye.
- Once the milk is fully melted and the lye is dissolved, set it aside out of reach of children.
- Use separate utensils and bowls solely for soap-making purposes, independent from any shared regular kitchen supplies.
- This recipe is made with 5% superfat. If you wish to substitute any of the ingredients, you will need to recalculate the recipe with a soap calculator.
- You must freeze the coconut milk because it will scorch when the lye is added to it. The freezing process stops this from happening.
- Look for coconut milk that is pure with no added ingredients. Avoid the cooler section in stores as the coconut milk there might contain additives and flavors.
Can these recipes be poured into one mold then cut?
Yes, you could do that as well.
Thank You FOR SHARING 👍🏼😊 Looks SO CREAMY ❗️ I Made Melt and pour Goat soap BUT I’m KIND of Intimidated Making The Boiled SOAP😳I DONT KNOW WHY🤔 Thanks AGAIN ♥️G-d♥️Bless