Honey Oatmeal Soap Recipe

Honey oatmeal soap bars made with a melt and pour soap base are perfect for dry, sensitive skin. The simple step of adding honey and oatmeal in what would be an otherwise ordinary bar now becomes an exfoliating soap bar that smells amazing.

As much as I am a DIYer, there are times when I like to keep it simple—like real simple. So if you are looking for a simple soap bar recipe, try making melt and pour soap bars.

I do love making cold-process soap bars too, I can choose the exact fat and oil combination base, but sometimes, especially during the holiday season, I’ll make melt and pour soap base because it is much easier!

Cold process soap for those that don’t know is soap making from scratch-the lye, the water, the fats and oils, all will have to be measured out and care must be taken when dealing with the lye. Whereas with a melt and pour soap bar, that step has been completed so that even my 8-year-old can help! 

I love that melt and pour soap bars are so easy to make and the scents and decorative additions can be entirely customized. You can choose what kind of soap base you want to use, what scent you want to make, and choose what you want to add in. We will be using oatmeal to make a skin exfoliating soap for this recipe.

Oatmeal and Honey Soap Recipe

Oatmeal has so many great benefits for the skin; it is used in DIY milk baths and can help with many skin irritations. You can use quick oats, colloidal oatmeal, or powder oatmeal. Powder oatmeal can be made by blending oatmeal in a high-speed blender. 

We’ll be using powder oatmeal for this recipe, which I made by blending regular rolled oats. Oatmeal has been used to soothe dry, itchy skin and skin rashes for many years.

Adding oatmeal to your soap bar is a fantastic way to gently exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin cells. It’s perfect for tackling issues like dry, cracked feet. Learn more about caring for your feet in my post on how to get rid of dry, skin on the feet.

Melt and Pour Soap Recipes

To make a melt and pour soap bar, the first step is to choose a soap base. Shea butter is one of my all-time favorites to use, and it makes a beautiful creamy soap bar that lathers nicely.

Shea butter can soften, hydrate, and protect the skin against environmental threats, making it a perfect base for our honey oatmeal soap recipe.

I use this same shea butter base in my pumpkin spice bars.

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Other melt and pour soap options are:

Organic oil clear glycerin soap base

Goats milk melt and pour soap base 

Honey melt and pour soap base

Coconut milk melt and pour soap base

Choosing your soap base will depend largely on your preference and skin type. However, the rest of the recipe will stay the same no matter which base you choose to use.

NOTE: Choosing a clear glycerin base will change the look of the soap. If you want the soap to look like the pictures in this post, I would suggest using shea butter, coconut milk, or a goat milk soap base.

How to Make Soap without Lye

Lye is the ingredient that scares most people away from making soap. However, it is a crucial ingredient in soap making and what turns oils and fats into soap; this process is called saponification.

Lye can be dangerous to work with, and if you choose to make a cold-process soap bar, you will need to follow some safety precautions.

However, if you are wanting to make soap without mixing the lye yourself, a melt and pour soap base is the way to go. This is because melt and pour bases have already gone through the saponification process, and no lye is required.

Honey Oatmeal Soap Recipe Melt and Pour

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 pound shea butter soap base 
• 1/4 cup oatmeal (I use regular rolled oats, blended) 
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 40 drops lavender essential oil 
• Silicone soap mold 

INSTRUCTIONS 

Cut the shea butter soap base into small chunks and place them into a double boiler.

Melt over medium heat. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. 

Remove from heat when it is completely melted. 

Add in oatmeal, honey, and lavender essential oil. Stir to mix.

Pour into the soap molds. 

Allow it to harden completely, and then pop the soap out of the mold. 

Washing with Honey

I have added honey to DIY hair masks, homemade body wash, homemade skin salves, and a lot of other skincare DIY’s. The most common question I get is if it makes the skin sticky.

Surprisingly, the answer is no! Since you are using this soap in the shower to cleanse the skin and then rinse it off, you won’t notice any residue on the skin.

Honey has many benefits, including antibacterial and antiviral properties that can help balance bacteria on the skin. In addition, the added honey will naturally cleanse the skin, making it an effective soap bar.

Washing with Oatmeal

Oatmeal is the other key component of this soap that makes it better than a typical soap bar. Adding oatmeal will make this soap bar exfoliating and helpful for skin irritations.

I make several exfoliating soap bars, including a deliciously smelling coffee soap for gentle exfoliating and a beautiful loofah soap to clean and exfoliate the tougher areas of the skin.

Oatmeal is cleansing and can absorb dirt, oil, and odor. It can be beneficial for both dry and oily skin. Oatmeal is suitable for almost all skin types.

Is All Soap Antibacterial?

In short, no. Many soaps that you make or buy can be made without antibacterial properties. This isn’t all bad, as we tend to overuse antibacterial products. Although antibacterial products are fine, not every product has to be antibacterial.

Our bodies need bacteria to stay healthy, and the overuse of antibacterial soaps, wipes, even lotions can negatively affect our immune systems and may deplete our bodies of necessary bacteria.

Using natural antibacterial products such as honey or coconut oil will destroy the “bad bacteria” while preserving “good bacteria.” It will still clean and cleanse the skin without causing any harm.

Christmas Soap Ideas

With Christmas just around the corner, of course, I am thinking about homemade Christmas gift ideas! This homemade soap bar will make the perfect addition to any gift basket or stocking stuffer.

With the cooler months upon us, making a honey and an oatmeal soap bar would be perfect! These ingredients can help relieve dry, itchy skin often caused by colder weather.

Soap bars are one of the best Christmas gifts because they are practical and something everyone will use!

Related DIYs

• Tallow soap recipe
• DIY glycerin soap
• Moisturizing cold process soap