Lavender Bergamot Salt Bar Recipe (2024)

If you love the nourishing and exfoliating skin care benefits of sea salt, but you aren’t a fan of messy scrubs, this Lavender Bergamot Salt Bar Recipe is the perfect alternative!

What is a Salt Bar?

Salt bars are homemade soaps made from scratch just like other soaps. However, unlike traditional soaps, salt bars typically contain anywhere from 50%-100% salt.

While salt can be drying to skin on its own, this is counteracted by superfatting the soap by 20% or more so that it retains it’s moisturizing properties.

In addition, because salt can significantly diminish soap’s lather, coconut oil is typically used at 80%-100% of the recipe for it’s lovely bubbles.

There are four basic soap recipes that are common when making a salt bars. 100% coconut oil; 90% coconut oil and 10% liquid carrier oil; 90% coconut oil and 10% butter; and 80% coconut oil with 10% liquid carrier oil and 10% butter.

All of these salt bar recipes are superfatted to 20%. What this means in layman’s terms is that additional fats, which can be soapmaking oils or butters, are left unsaponified in the soap in their original form for their skin conditioning properties.

This is done with other homemade soaps as well to create a more moisturizing soap bar.

What are the Benefits of Salt Bars?

There are many advantages to using salt bars. One advantage is how long lasting salt bars are.

Because salt has hardening properties when used in soapmaking, using salt at a high percentage in any soap recipe will significantly harden it.

Salt bars as a result last a lot longer than other handmade soaps.

Additionally, salt bars are relatively inexpensive to make especially in comparison to other types of homemade soaps.

Even purchasing coconut oil for your salt bar tends cost less than purchasing olive oil for a Castile soap recipe. And salt, overall, is also relatively inexpensive.

Finally, sea salt not only acts as an astringent, but it also offers purifying and drawing properties. This makes it especially suitable at deterring acne and as a facial soap.

So really, while we call these types of soaps salt bars, they are really more like beauty bars for our skin. Read more about the health benefits of sea salt.

This lavender bergamot salt bar recipe is naturally scented with lavender and bergamot essential oils and is formulated using just two soapmaking fats – refined coconut oil and shea butter.

Handmade using the cold process soapmaking method and fine sea salt, this homemade salt bar recipe will yield approximately eleven 4 oz. soap salt bars.

If you aren’t a fan of the scents chosen for this lavender bergamot salt bar, you can also come up with your OWN essential oil scent combination!Learn more about the best essential oils for your skin.

Ready to learn more about essential oils?Start myFREE SUPER SIMPLE 9-STEP EMAIL COURSEto start learning –without all the stress!I focus on the absolute essentials (pun totally intended, haha) and keep everything simple.

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Want more ideas for homemade soap? Check out my Homemade Oatmeal Cinnamon Soap Recipe and my Cocoa and Coffee Soap Recipe.

Want more ideas for salt scrubs? Check out my recipes: Chocolate Mint Foaming Salt Scrub andDIY Pedi-Foot Scrub.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with the cold process soapmaking method, then I recommend reading my tutorial on making soap from scratch.

Otherwise, you should follow all necessary safety precautions including wearing gloves and eye protection as well as a ventilation mask while you’re working with lye. You should also make sure to use only heat-safe containers and avoid using any aluminum pots or utensils.

LAVENDER BERGAMOT SALT BAR RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

21.6 oz. refined coconut oil
2.4 oz. refined shea butter

8 fluid oz. distilled water
3.4 oz. sodium hydroxide (lye) (see note above about safety precautions for handling lye)

12 oz. fine sea salt
.5 oz. lavender essential oil
.25 oz. bergamot essential oil

DIRECTIONS:

STEP #1:

Begin by measuring out the distilled water into a heat safe container. Then, using a digital scale, weigh out the amount of sodium hydroxide/lye called for in the recipe.

Slowly pour the lye into the water and mix until it has dissolved completely. Then set the lye-water aside in a secure location where it won’t be mistaken for water or get knocked over.

(You may want to mix your lye-water outside if you don’t have adequate ventilation or an exhaust fan in your kitchen.)

STEP #2:

Weigh out the coconut oil and shea butter and combine in a heat safe container. Melt either on your stovetop at medium-low heat or at 30% power in the microwave until melted. Set aside to cool.

STEP #3:

In a separate container, weigh out the fine sea salt.

(You don’t want to use Dead Sea salt for soapmaking as the moisture content in Dead Sea salt can cause your soap to weep. However, you can substitute sea salt with pink Himalayan salt if you are a fan of the additional mineral content.)

STEP #4:

Then weigh out the essential oils in a small glass beaker or glass measuring cup.

STEP #5:

Once both the lye-water and the soapmaking fats (the coconut oil and shea butter) have cooled down to around 95-100°F you are ready to make soap.

Slowly pour the lye-water into the melted soapmaking fats.

Then, using a stick blender, mix until well combined and no longer translucent.

Once the soap reaches a light trace or starts to resemble pudding, add the salt and essential oils.

(You will know your soap has traced when you can pull the blender through the soap and it leaves a line behind it. In addition, if you lift some of the soap up with the blender and then drop it onto the surface of the soap, the soap should be able to support that drop.)

Continue mixing until you reach a medium to heavy trace.

STEP #6:

Now pour your soap batter into a silicone soap mold of your choice.

I recommend using a mold that has individual cavities.

As salt bars harden very quickly, it can be extremely difficult to cut a soap loaf into bars if you wait too long to unmold.

STEP #7:

After eight hours or so, your lavender bergamot salt bars are ready to be unmolded.

Simply pop your salt bars out of the silicone mold and set aside in a cool, dry location to cure.

Once your lavender bergamot salt bars have cured for four weeks, they’re ready for use of gifting.

MORE DIY BEAUTY RECIPES:

• Lavender Mint Body Butter Recipe
• Lavender Chamomile Bath Bombs Recipe
• Peppermint Foaming Sugar Scrub Recipe
• Homemade Microabrasion Scrub Recipe
• Foot Scrub Cubes with Menthol Crystals Recipe
• What to do with lavender at home

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