This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.

This homemade baby soap bar is gentle enough for delicate skin and made with natural ingredients you can feel good about. With cocoa butter, coconut oil, mango butter, and jojoba oil, this cold-process soap creates a soft, creamy lather perfect for everyday use.

DIY baby soap bars on wooden board with lavender buds sprinkled around.
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Making soap is actually quite simple and can be made for a relatively low cost. My soap-making days started with melt and pour bases, which I would use in DIYs like my oatmeal soap recipe, solely due to the fact that I was very nervous about the lye. But as with most things, after I made it once, I realized it was much easier than I thought and could be done safely.

This baby soap recipe is perfect for baby’s skin; it is gentle, cleansing and leaves the skin soft and smooth. This soap is made with all-natural ingredients and scented with pure lavender essential oil.

How to Make the Best Homemade Baby Soap Bar?

In order to make cold-process soap bars, you will need lye, a liquid and either a fat or oil. The oil, when mixed with the lye, is what allows for the saponification process, making the lye safe. Choosing different oils or fats, for example, allows you to make different styles of soap, such as a moisturizing soap bar for dry skin, while others will make the perfect bar for oily skin.

For this baby soap recipe, I am choosing gentle and moisturizing ingredients that are perfect for sensitive skin.

Baby Soap Ingredients

  • Mango Butter: Mango butter comes from the seed of the mango fruit and is one of my favorite butters to use in baby care recipes. It’s similar to shea and cocoa butter, offering a smooth, non-greasy feel while helping lock in moisture.
  • Cocoa Butter: Cocoa butter adds a creamy texture and firmness to the soap bar, helping it hold its shape and last longer. It also gives the soap a rich, velvety feel that makes lathering extra smooth.
  • Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is a great addition to baby soap thanks to its gentle nature and creamy lather. It’s commonly used in natural soaps and body care products, and it helps give the bar a nice balance of cleansing and moisture.
  • Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil is a lightweight carrier oil and is a popular choice in natural skincare because it absorbs easily and leaves skin feeling soft, not greasy. I like using it in baby soap for its gentle, moisturizing feel.
  • Lavender Essential Oil: Lavender is a very gentle oil. I use it to scent my lavender soap recipe and it is a great choice for this soap recipe.

Essential Oil Variations

  • Roman Chamomile
  • Frankincense
  • Rose
  • Jasmine
  • Copaiba

What do You Need to Make Cold-Process Soap Bar?

Cold-process soap bars on wooden board with lavender buds.
White bowl full of lavender soap bars.

Natural Baby Soap Recipe

I used a soap calculator to get these exact measurements. If you want to change up the recipe at all, you will need to get new measurements. Having the right proportions is a crucial step in soap making. 

Safety Note: When working with lye, be sure to work in a well-ventilated area and wear safety goggles, a mask, long sleeves, and rubber gloves. If lye gets on the skin or in the eyes, it can be very harmful. Be sure to read the tips below before starting.

  1. Using a digital scale, measure out your water and pour it into a heat-resistant container that can handle the rapid temperature increase. 
  2. Measure out the lye, then slowly add it to the water a little at a time, stirring as you go and letting it dissolve before adding more. Note, the chemical reaction will cause it to heat up quickly.
  3. Using the digital scale, measure out the mango butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil. Pour into a medium-size saucepan and melt over medium heat. 
  4. Once the oils and butters are melted, remove them from the heat. 
  5. When the oils cool to around 100°F, slowly add the lye and water mixture to the oil, and mix with an immersion blender. This will take a couple of minutes. You will know it is the right consistency when the soap from the blender drips and pools up on top of the soap in the saucepan. This is known as the trace. 
  6. Add in the lavender essential oil and mix briefly with the immersion blender.
  7. Pour the soap into a soap mold. If using silicone soap molds, no prep is required. Other molds may require parchment paper. 
  8. Allow the soap to harden in the molds for a minimum of 24 hours or up to 3 days. 
  9. Remove the soap from the molds and allow to cure for an additional 5-6 weeks before using.

Expert Tips

  • Always add lye to water. Never add water to lye.
  • When making cold process soap, you must work in a well-ventilated area away from kids and pets.
  • Do not add all the lye at once to the water. Just add a little at a time and stir until dissolved.

How to Use Natural Baby Soap

Use the homemade baby soap bar like normal, staying clear of your child’s eyes. This soap bar will work great for both the hair and body. Allow the soap to soak in for a couple of minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

More of my favorite soap bars

4.63 from 16 votes

Gentle Baby Soap Bar Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes
Active: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 1 day
Total: 1 day 40 minutes
Yield: 6 bars
This homemade baby soap bar is made with simple, natural ingredients and has a gentle feel that's great for little ones.

Equipment

Save This Recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Use a digital scale to measure the water, then pour it into a heat-resistant container that can handle sudden temperature changes.
  • Measure out the lye, then slowly add it to the water a little at a time, stirring as you go and letting it dissolve before adding more. The chemical reaction will cause it to heat up quickly. Set aside. (see notes below)
  • Melt mango butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.
  • Once the butter and oils are melted, remove from heat.
  • When the oils cool to around 100°F, add the lye water in and *mix with an immersion blender. This will take a couple of minutes. You will know it is the right consistency when the soap from the blender drips and pools up on top of the soap in the saucepan. This is known as the trace.
  • Add in the lavender essential oil, mix in with the immersion blender.
  • Pour the soap directly into the silicone soap molds. If using another type of mold, it may require parchment paper.
  • Allow the soap to harden for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. Remove the soap from the molds and allow bars to cure for 5-6 weeks before using.

Notes

*Always add lye to water. Never add water to lye.
Use a tall mixing bowl when mixing with an immersion blender. This helps keep everything contained and prevents any splashes from escaping over the sides.
I always recommend keeping a separate set of tools just for soap making, things like bowls, spatulas, and thermometers. It just keeps everything cleaner and safer, and that way, you’re not mixing your DIYs with your kitchen gear.
Make sure you work in a well-ventilated area away from kids and pets. 
When working with lye, be sure to work in a well-ventilated area and wear safety goggles, mask and rubber gloves. If lye gets on the skin or in the eyes, it can be very harmful.
Check out the video instructions in the post above!
Tried this recipe?Mention @our_oily_house or tag #ouroilyhouse!
This recipe is for your own viewing pleasure and is not meant for healing purposes. Readers must perform their own research and tests before making any recipe.

About Laura

Welcome to Our Oily House, I’m so glad you’re here! Explore DIY cleaners, homemade soaps, skincare and hair care recipes, fragrance-free solutions, and sustainable laundry tips for a naturally inspired home.

You May Also Like

4.63 from 16 votes (13 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




33 Comments

  1. Kasey says:

    5 stars
    This is such a beautiful soap bar! Thanks!

    1. Laura says:

      Thank you, Kasey!

  2. Sev says:

    I can’t find lye at my location, but can find caustic soda, is it indeed the same thing? Or do I have to adjust the proportions?

    1. Laura says:

      You should be able to purchase lye online.

  3. betsey says:

    Could you use goat milk instead of water?

    1. Laura says:

      I do have a recipe for goat milk soap. Check it out 🙂

  4. Carol Harwood says:

    Morning,
    I am a great grandmother of 78 years and new to soap making. Thank you for your very helpful writings. It’s never too late to learn something new.
    I would rather use natural colourants and additives. God bless from NZ

    1. Laura says:

      That’s fantastic! Excited for you to begin this process.

    2. Kate R says:

      I would love to see an option to switch between imperial and metric measurements on your recipes! I’d that an option for the future at all?

      I’m looking forward to trying this and other recipes but worry about getting my conversions wrong.

  5. Leanne says:

    5 stars
    Can I substitute tallow for one of the other “butters” or oils? Which would substitute best?

    1. Laura says:

      Yes, you can substitute it out for one of the other butters. You will have to use a soap calculator to recalculate the lye and liquid amounts.