This lemon & turmeric soap recipe was inspired by my visit to the states in North Eastern India, especially the state of Assam in late 2022.
One of the fun ways I try to make unique handmade soaps is to take inspiration from my day-to-day life. It can be the places I visit, the people I miss, the seasonal foods in the local market, a random ingredient that sparks my curiosity and sometimes even the thoughts I have!
I tend to draw heavily from culture & cuisine and this Lemon & Turmeric Soap Recipe is a good example of when I wanted to capture the local flavours of the land.
The soap features mustard oil, turmeric & lemon + lime all of which were staples in their diet. And it turned out to be amazing on the skin as well.
Let’s dive straight into the recipe & let’s make the soap!
Lemon & Turmeric Soap Recipe
YIELD – 4 BARS OF SOAP
Oils (400g)
160g olive pomace oil 120g coconut oil 60g cocoa butter26g shea butter 26g castor oil 8g Mustard Oil
Lye + Liquid
112g distilled water56.2g sodium hydroxide (lye)
Additives
8g Lime Essential Oil8g Lemon Essential oil4g Turmeric Oleoresin
1 tsp cocoa powder for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS
Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully stir the lye into the distilled water.
Set the lye solution aside in a safe place to cool for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the temperature drops to around 90 to 110˚F (32 to 43˚C).
Melt the coconut oil, cocoa butter and shea butter add to the other liquid oils.
Make sure the temperature of the oil mixture is also between 90 to 110˚F (32 to 43˚C).
When the lye solution & oils are within a good temperature range, add the cooled lye solution. Using a combination of stirring with a spatula and short bursts of an immersion blender, stir the soap until it reaches a light trace (you will be able to see the soap tracing lines when you dribble soap on the surface of the soap)
Split 1/3rd of the soap batter (approximately 200g) into a separate plastic container. This will be the bottom layer. Add the turmeric oleoresin and blend it to a thick trace. This is important so that it can support the layer on top.
Add optional texture with a spoon and drizzle some cocoa powder on the bottom layer. I use this tea strainer for doing pencil lines like this.
To the remaining 2/3rds of the soap batter, add in the essential oils of lemon & lime, blend and stir well using a spatula or whisk until well incorporated.
The soap will continue to thicken. Pour into a prepared mold at medium trace.
Cover & insulate the mold for 24-48 hours.
Depending on the mold you used, cut into bars or unmold individual bars.
Allow to cure on coated racks or sheets of wax paper for about 4-6 weeks before using.
Here’s a quick video showing the process of making Lemon & Turmeric Soap:
Notes
Feel free to use your favorite base recipe or substitute your favorite oils & butters. You can find simple recipes here. But make sure you run it through a lye calculator again.
This was a fairly slow moving recipe and did not thicken quickly. There was plenty of time to work with it even if it was a split batch technique.
You can substitute the turmeric oleoresin with 1 tsp of turmeric powder & turmeric essential oil for the same color & scent.
You can substitute the essential oil blend for one of your own.
If you want to make a bigger batch of this, resize the recipe through a lye calculator
Inspired to give this soap recipe a try??? Go ahead and do let me know how it turns out for you!
Let me know if you have any additional questions in the comments below! Happy to help!