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I have been buying what I would call ‘luxury soap’. It is an exfoliating bar of soap infused with essential oils and it is absolutely wonderful! What is not wonderful is the price! It is 7$US and since I am in Canada it means I am spending close to $10 on a single bar of soap! While I love the soap I have only bought it a few times because that money could be better spent elsewhere on ACTUAL necessities! So I decided to make my own essential oil soap for a fraction of the price!
I have made a promise in my other diy posts (play dough, bath bombs, sugar scrub & body butter) that I will only share recipes that are easy to make, mainly because I don’t have the patience for in-depth diy projects! This essential oil soap is SO easy! It uses only one bowl and takes under 10 minutes to make!
The shea butter soap base & chia seeds (exfoliator) will make your skin feel soft and nourished and the citrus essential oils will help to uplift your mood and get you ready for the day!
Ok let’s get going, here is the recipe:

Homemade Exfoliating Essential Oil Soap
What You Need:
- 6oz of Shea Butter Soap Base
- 1 ½ teaspoons of Chia Seeds (optional)
- 14 drops of citrus essential oil (I used 7 drops of lemon and 7 drops of grapefruit)
- Silicone soap mold
Yield: This will depend on the size of your soap mold. My mold allowed me to make 3 bars of essential oil soap.
How to Make It:
1) Cut the 6 oz of shea butter soap base into cubes. This shea butter soap base is already formed into cubes in the container. Since it was a 32oz container, I just cut out 6 squares.
2) Put the cubes into a glass bowl or glass measuring cup and put in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the soap base (which should be mostly liquid at this point) and put it back the microwave for another 15-20 seconds until all of the soap base has melted.
3) Add 1 & ½ teaspoons of chia seeds to your soap base.
4) Add 14 drops of citrus essential oil. You can add 14 drops of one oil or make your own combination using oils like lemon, lime, orange, tangerine or grapefruit.
5) Stir everything together.
6) Pour the mixture into your silicone mold.
7 ) Let sit for 2 hours
8) Pop the bars out of the mold and that’s it, they are ready to use!
Please note that citrus oils are photosensitive which means that when exposed to direct sunlight, they could create a burn on your skin. I have not had any reactions after using this soap and being in sunlight. That being said, everyone’s skin reacts differently. Please read these safety precautions for photosensitive essential oils.
There you have it, exfoliating essential oil soap which takes under 10 minutes to make and costs a fraction of the cost of fancy factory made essential oil soap! This soap is perfect both for daily use or for an easy diy gift for mom this Mother’s Day!
Essential Oil Toolkit & Recipe Journal
Now that you have the written recipe, make sure you don’t lose it! My Essential Oil Toolkit & Recipe Journal is exactly what you need for recording all of your recipes in one place! Take a sneak peek at the video below and if you like what you see, purchase your copy as a paperback book or PDF printable HERE!
I have never made my own soap before, but I would love to try this. It sounds like it’s pretty simple, too, so I will def be trying it.
I’ve never made soap before. I really need to make this for myself and it would be perfect to make and give for mother’s day. I think it’s such a pretty soap and I can imagine it smells heavenly.
Ohh I like the sound of this, I definitely want to get into making more of my own products so will have to give this a try 🙂 x
How cool is this. I definitely need some exfoliation and that essential oil scent sounds great.
Love this. Never made my own soap or products like this but this looks like it would be worth making! Sounds great.
I pinned this one too! I would love to try making this. interesting that it has chia seeds! Never have seen that before
This is so cool. I have always wanted to make soap. I love your soap recipe.
This looks like a great gift idea! Love!
Oh I am loving this! My mom is obsessed with speciality soaps (especially the ones at Whole Foods) so I need to make her a few bars of these. She will be THRILLED!
I might have to try this recipe. I don’t like bar soap these days because it’s so drying. I’m using a body wash too. I could replace that too. I love my essential oils.
Making soap is one of the things I want to try one day. My mom used to make it all the time so she has many of the supplies I can borrow. I love peppermint oil!
This can save you a lot of money. What’s good about home made soap is that you have full control of the ingredients.
Cool idea on making your own soap! I want to try one day!!!
Nothing about your soap looks homemade. They are beautiful. I’m not a diy gal but I would buy these, hint, hint.
I haven’t tried making my own soap. These soaps looks like they were made by an expert.
My mum used to make soaps a couple years again and we loved using it and she is thinking of starting again.
i am so into essential oil right now! your soaps look so luscious!
Hi Chantal,
I really love this exfoliating soap recipe! Needless to say that it made of essential oils. I will definitely give this recipe a try. Thank you!
Zaria
Be careful to read whats in the base. The one on the link does not show all the ingredients but will likely contain chemical ingredients that are not found in your $10 “luxury” soaps. Unfortunately, natural ingredients are expensive.