DIY Liquid Herbal Bath Soap

My vegetable garden may not have produced very well this year, but the herbs went wild. I’ve preserved lemon verbena, lavender, lemon balm, calendula, and mint – just to name a few.

I like to use these to make fabulous frugal gifts that my friends love. Who says a gift has to be expensive!

This week I’m experimenting with making different combinations of herbs into liquid bath soap. The goal is to create something good for my skin using herbs I already have around the house. I’ll bet you have them too.

The best part, you can make this with fresh or dried flowers and herbs. Here’s what I used –

• Lavender for a cleansing and deodorizing effect
• Lemon Verbena is stimulating
• Plantain is healing
• Calendula is soothing and healing

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh or dried herbs or flowers (without stalks)
1 cup spring water
1-2 tablespoons of grated soap. Use homemade soap or castile soap for best results
3-4 drops of essential oil (optional)
a drizzle of herb infused almond oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Pound the flowers and herbs with a mortar and pestle until they form a paste or powder. I used dried herbs for this batch and added a bit of spring water to the mortar bowl to help the process along. It was only a teaspoon total, just enough to slightly wet the dry herbs.
2. Grate the soap.
3. Put the water and herbs into a small pan, bring to a boil simmering for 1 minute until the herbs are infused.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Strain the herbs into a measuring cup and add additional spring water to bring it back to 1 cup.
6. Return the herbal water to the saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
7. Add the grated soap and almond oil (if using) and beat it with a wire whisk until the soap has dissolved and the oil is incorporated. This brings the mixture to a froth and only takes a few seconds.
8. Allow your herbal bath soap to cool completely and add the essential oil, stirring until incorporated.
9. Makes 1 cup

This recipe can be used as a bath or shower wash, or as hand soap. It will keep it’s fragrance for about a month. There is no need to refrigerate it.

What will you do with the leftover herbs? There’s still plenty of herbal goodness in them so don’t let it go to waste. Make herb infused bath salts with this recipe!

Don’t have your own soap or herbs?

Try some of these ideas from Amazon –

Purchase herbs at Starwest Botanicals