Tumeric soap is all the rage now. But it always bothers me when I see one of these recipes and it’s a bright orange color. That’s definitely not natural. So I thought I’d come on here and show you how to make turmeric soap that’s all-natural and what it should look like.
Because turmeric is a natural pigment, it’s not that vibrant. It’s similar to clay, in that the finished product can look a little dull.
But don’t worry, because what tumeric lacks in strength of pigment, it definitely makes up for it with amazing, skin-loving benefits.
Let’s take a look at some of our ingredients.
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Table Of Contents Hide
Introduction
How To Make Turmeric Soap
Equipment
Ingredients
Video
Instructions
Notes
In-Depth Turmeric Soap Recipe Analysis
Formula Inspiration and Theming
Ingredient Specification and Purpose
Substituting Turmeric Soap Ingredients
Final Thoughts
Introduction
Of course, Tumeric is the star of our formulation. But it’s not the only ingredient we’re using. The base of this recipe is lovely olive and coconut oils, along with a huge dollop of Shea butter.
These oils, combined together, produce a gorgeous bar of hard soap that will cleanse and nourish your skin like never before.
As with many of myother natural soap recipes, we’re using a delightful fragrance profile; in this turmeric soap recipe, it comes in the form of orange and may change essential oils. It’s a vibrant scent that is sweet and floral. A divine aroma that I’ve become obsessed with of late. You absolutely must try it!
Let’s take a look at how to make turmeric soap.
How To Make Turmeric Soap
Here's how to make turmeric soap that's all-natural and what it should really look like. What tumeric lacks in strength of pigment, it definitely makes up for it with amazing, skin-loving benefits.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Active Time: 35 minutes minutes
1 day day
Total Time: 1 day day 50 minutes minutes
Yield: 5 bars
Author: Angela Wills
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Equipment
Silicone Soap Mold (Note: Ingredients are for 1/2 Loaf Mold)
Spoon or Spatula
Ingredients
Oils & Fats (All Ingredients are for a 1/2 Loaf Mold)
- 235 grams Olive Oil
- 135 grams Coconut Oil
- 30 grams Castor Oil
- 50 grams Shea Butter
Lye Solution
- 129 grams Distilled Water
- 64.5 grams Soapmaking Lye (Crystals)
Pigments & Fragrances
- 10 grams 5-Fold Orange Essential Oil
- 5 grams May Chang Essential Oil (Litsea Cubeba)
- 4 tsp Turmeric (Powdered)
Video
Instructions
Initial Measurements and Prep
(Please Note: Ingredients are for a 1/2 Loaf Mold)
Weigh the essential oils into a small glass container. The easiest way to do this is to place the container onto the scales and press the tare button. This will bring the scales back to zero so you are not weighing the container.
Once weighed set it aside for later use. Pre-measuring the oils will save time and simplify the process when it's time to add them.
10 grams 5-Fold Orange Essential Oil, 5 grams May Chang Essential Oil
Make sure you are making the soap in a well-ventilated area. Put on your gloves and eye protection, your mask, apron, and long rubber gloves.
Making The Lye Solution
Weigh the lye crystals into a clean plastic heat-safe container.
64.5 grams Soapmaking Lye
In a separate container, weigh your distilled water. Use another clean plastic heat-safe container. Never use a glass container as this is going to be holding the lye water. Lye can weaken glass so it can easily break.
129 grams Distilled Water
When you’re ready, carefully pour your lye crystals into the water. Never pour the water into the lye as it can create a sudden intense reaction that can cause splashing. Then, start stirring it.
Although you are wearing a mask, we still recommend turning your head and leaning away while stirring, so you do not breathe any of the fumes. As the water and lye mix this will result in a chemical reaction, and the lye water will increase in temperature and release toxic fumes.
Stir until the lye crystals have dissolved and the water looks fairly clear. Now place it to one side, somewhere well-ventilated but safe so that it will not be knocked over. Allow to cool as we get on with our other steps.
Mixing & Melting Oils
Weigh your coconut oil and shea butter into a good-sized heat proof container. Melt the oil and butter together in a microwave, using 30-second bursts.
135 grams Coconut Oil, 50 grams Shea Butter
Once the coconut oil and butter have melted, add the olive oil and castor oil, giving it a quick stir.
235 grams Olive Oil, 30 grams Castor Oil
Making The Soap Batter
Now it’s time to balance our oils and lye water. Check the temperature of the oils and the lye water. You can do this with a temperature laser gun or a jam thermometer.
We want them both to fall between 120 -100F (48-37C). If they are still too hot, leave them to cool for a while longer.
They do not need to be the same temperature, for example, the lye could be 120f and oils 110f, but it is best to keep them within 10 degrees of each other.
As the oils cool, add the turmeric powder. Give it a quick blend with the stick blender to help the turmeric disburse into the oils.
Mixing the turmeric with the oil before adding the lye is less likely to give spotting of undiluted turmeric.
4 tsp Turmeric
Once you’re satisfied they’re balanced, pour your lye solution into your oils.
Blending To Trace
Before turning on the stick blender to mix the oils and lye, gently tap the stick blender against the bottom of your container. Continue tapping until all the air bubbles have been released.
Turn the stick blender on and blend until all the oils have been fully emulsified into the lye solution, switch off the blender, and check to see if the soap batter has reached what we call trace.
Trace is when you can drizzle a little of the soap over the surface, if it sits on the top, and you can see it before it disappears back into the mix, you have reached trace. If the soap hasn't reached a trace, continue to blend, checking regularly.
Now that we’re at trace, it’s time to add our essential oils. I always recommend getting the mold ready before adding the essential oils, as they can sometimes thicken the soap batter, meaning you have to work quickly to get it into the mold.
After adding the essential oils, give the soap batter a good stir with the spatula or a few more blasts with the blender to ensure the essential oils are fully dispersed.
Once you’ve added the essential oils, you may notice that the soap begins to rapidly thicken. So, working quickly but carefully (as the batter is still caustic), pour or spoon the batter into your loaf mold. Give it a couple of light taps down to even the soap batter out, or use a silicone spatula to level it out if needed.
We now need to leave this to saponify for 24-48 hours before we can remove it from the mold. I like to keep it well insulated during this period, so the gel phase is efficient. I do this by cutting a piece of cardboard to sit on top of the mold and then covering it with an old towel.
24-48 Hours Later
Once our soap has fully hardened, and the sides of the mold come away easily from the soap, it’s okay to remove it from the mold.
Cut the soap into bars using a stainless steel knife or a soap cutter. You should be able to get around 5 bars from this batch, depending on the desired thickness.
Leave the soap bars to cure for four weeks in a cool, dry place. Standing the bars up during curing will allow air to flow between them, helping the water to evaporate and giving the soap time to harden. Resulting in a milder, gentler turmeric soap.
Notes
Please Note: Ingredients are for a 1/2 Loaf Mold
Although I waited for the oils to cool before adding the turmeric I am pretty sure I could have added it earlier, whilst the oils were still warm without losing any benefits.
Turmeric soap will fade slightly so if you don’t get the turmeric mixed in enough you could end up with an off-white soap with orange spots.
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How To Test, Use & Store Turmeric Soap
Once your natural turmeric soap has cured for 4 weeks, it should be ready to use.
However, before using it’s a good idea to check the pH of the soap. The soap should have a pH of between 8 and 10 (although it can go as high as 11). Anything higher could be too harsh for the skin and could result in a soap that can irritate the skin and, in some cases, cause burning.
The easiest way to do this is by using a pH strip.
Take a piece of the soap, dip it into distilled water, and leather it up. Place a pH strip on the soap and check the results on the pH color indicator.
If you do not have a pH strip you could try the zap test. To do this simply touch the soap with your tongue, if it zaps like a battery would then the pH in the soap is probably too high. I would leave it for a couple more weeks and try again. If it is still too high you may need to rebatch the soap or use it for laundry.
Once the soap has been cured. It should last for a good year if stored properly. CP soap can sweat and go soggy if it’s not been stored properly, so follow these tips:
- Keep the soap in a cool dark place out of direct sunlight.
- Keep away from other strong odors that the soap may absorb.
- Store the soap in a breathable container, something like a cardboard box.
- Use tissue paper or grease-proof paper between bars if you need to stack them.
- For gifting, always use breathable wrapping. A cardboard soap sleeve always looks great. Plastic wrap or bags will make the soap go soggy.
In-Depth Turmeric Soap Recipe Analysis
Formula Inspiration and Theming
I’ve been making cold process soap for a while now and finding natural ingredients to color the soap is always at the top of my list. Turmeric is a fantastic ingredient for the skin and has a great deep color that doesn’t seem to fade as quickly as some spices can in CP soap. It was definitely an ingredient I wanted to try.
One of the things I was trying to avoid was spotting, which is basically clumps of unmixed turmeric. To be honest, when I’m using herbs in my soap I sometimes like the unmixed effect, however, here I found it affected the finished color.
After a couple of attempts, I found adding turmeric to the oils and stick blending before combining it with the lye gave the best results. I loved the deep color and although I expect it to fade a little, I’m fairly confident it’s still going to hold a nice deep hue.
Ingredient Specification and Purpose
Turmeric
Turmeric has some fantastic skin benefits. It is known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, so it can help soothe irritated skin and reduce inflammation.
Turmeric can brighten the complexion, even out skin tone, and diminish dark spots or scars, leaving the skin with a natural glow.
Turmeric also has antibacterial properties, which can help with acne breakouts, while its moisturizing qualities help nourish dry skin.
On top of that, turmeric provides a natural golden hue to the soap, making it a very functional ingredient in cold processed soap.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is a mild, gentle oil that does not strip the skin, so it’s great for anyone with sensitive skin. Olive oil is also known for having a high level of oleic acid. This gives the soap a creamy feel and superb moisturizing.
On the downside, olive oil has low cleansing and lathering qualities so it’s best when combined with cleansing and leathering oils.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is by far one of the most used oils in soap making. It has fantastic cleansing properties and produces lots of big fluffy bubbles.
Coconut oil has a great shelf life; it also adds to the hardness of the bar, making it last longer and go further.
Castor oil
Castor oil helps bind all the other oils together. It is rich in glycerin, which boosts moisturizing. It also enhances the soap’s cleansing and lathering abilities.
Shea butter
Shea butter adds a touch of creamy luxury to our turmeric soap recipe. It is also very nourishing as it contains a high level of vitamins A, E, and F, which are known for their skin-repairing and anti-aging benefits. These nutrients help promote skin health and can improve the texture and elasticity of the skin over time.
Shea butter also gives the soap hardness, helping it stay hard and keep its shape whilst being used.
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
Lye is a caustic chemical that turns oils and fats into solid soap. You can not create the soap without it.
Every molecule of lye is chemically transformed and neutralized during the soap-making (saponification) process. It is no longer present as lye once complete.
Essential Oils
5 fold orange, and Litsea Cubeba (May Chang) smell amazing together. They give the soap an authentic citrusy aroma that stays on the skin after washing.
If you haven’t used 5-fold orange before, it’s basically a stronger, more lasting essential oil than regular sweet orange essential oil. They have the same skin benefits, which include cleansing, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, skin brightening, and collagen boosting.
The Litsea Cubeba (May Chang) has a sweet lemony scent that gives the soap an uplifting aroma. Litsea also has many skin enhancing qualities, it has antibacterial and antifungal properties and has great Astringent and Deodorizing benefits so it’s perfect for adding to soaps.
Mood-enhancing (indirect benefit to skin)
Substituting Turmeric Soap Ingredients
Any changes will need to be run through our lye calculator beforehand.
Olive oil, rice bran oil has similar benefits to olive oil, canola oil would also be a good choice.
Coconut oil, although it’s not an oil I like to substitute, we understand that sometimes it is a must. Lard, tallow, palm kernel, and babassu oil would be the closest match.
Castor oil is pretty much its own thing, so there is no other oil like it. That said, you can make perfectly good soap without it. I would increase one of the other oils in this recipe and recalculate the lye with our soap calculator.
Shea butter, you could use a different butter of your choice. All butter brings moisturizing and hardness to the soap.
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide), there is no substitute for this. No lye, no soap.
5-fold Orange Essential Oil You could use sweet orange essential oil or another essential oil of your choice.
Litsea Cubeba(May Chang)Lemon would be the best bet here; try to find the distilled variety as it’s not phototoxic. You could also use another essential oil of your choice.
Final Thoughts
And that’s it! How to make turmeric soap at home!
This is a lovely turmeric soap recipe to add to your portfolio. With the popularity of turmeric these days, your friends and family will be biting your hand, trying to get hold of some.
My favorite part of all of it is how natural this recipe is. It makes me chuckle to myself when I see vibrant-looking turmeric soaps. You know it’s full of mica or some other unnatural pigments.
While I’ve worked with these before myself, using mica or other unnatural ingredients seems counterproductive when trying to formulate a natural turmeric soap recipe!
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed my post! Feel free to drop any questions you have below, and I’ll be back soon with another natural soap formulation very soon!
