Soothing Homemade Oatmeal Soap with Raw Honey + Goat Milk

If you struggle with dry skin, chances are you’ve tried everything from slathering yourself in moisturizer and drinking more water to taking cold showers and switching up your diet. As someone who always has pretty parched skin, I know from experience that some “miracle cures” work better than others. Lately, I’ve been using this nourishing oatmeal and honey soap to give my itchy skin a little relief.

A food that’s long been touted for lowering blood pressure and improving digestion, oatmeal is equally great at soothing irritation and exfoliating flaky skin cells. Combine it with other moisturizing ingredients like goat milk powder and honey and you’ve got yourself the most luxuriously hydrating soap to get you through the last few weeks of winter.

How to Make Moisturizing Oatmeal Soap

Oatmeal has long been known in the beauty world for its naturally exfoliating and dry-skin-soothing properties. When ground, oatmeal gently polishes away rough skin and cleanses dirt and grime without stripping skin of moisture.

And thanks to natural compounds called saponins, oats have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that help keep skin healthy and looking younger, longer.

Any kind of oats will really work for this recipe, but since my skin is extra dry and irritated, I usually reach for colloidal oats. Despite the fancy name, colloidal oatmeal is simply oat kernels that have been finely ground for the purpose of being used as a skin protectant.

The grinding process breaks down the oat kernel and releases soothing properties that can help soothe eczema, bug bites, sunburns, poison ivy and other itchy and inflammatory skin conditions. When applied topically to skin, colloidal oatmeal attracts moisture to the skin’s surface and forms a protective barrier, thereby locking it in.

You can buy colloidal oats online to save time or you can make your own using whole organic oats and a coffee grinder. Work in small batches, grinding the oats into as a fine a powder as you can.

Add it directly to your oatmeal soap and store any leftovers in an airtight jar in the refrigerator to be used in other beauty recipes.

While oatmeal is the star of this recipe, I think bar soap can never have too many soothing ingredients. So I like to add things like goat milk, lavender essential oil, honey and olive oil to give it just a little extra hydration.

Goat milk. Goat milk is rich in lactic and alpha hydroxy acids which help exfoliate skin. It’s also high in essential fatty acids that form a protective barrier on the skin and lock in moisture.

Lavender oil. A naturally soothing oil, lavender essential oil has been shown to help keep redness and irritation at bay.

Raw honey. The sugars in honey act as natural humectants and emollients, which help increase the water content in skin and reduce dryness, even after the soap is rinsed off.

Olive oil. Pure olive oil contains a number of antioxidants, vitamin E, vitamin K and other wonderful ingredients that replenish skin and keep it looking radiant.

I gave my oatmeal soap some color with a pinch of pink clay. It’s said to help detoxify skin, remove dead skin cells and refresh skin’s overall appearance.

And while it’s not totally necessary, I love the way it looks in soap while still being nontoxic and safe for sensitive skin. Feel free to use any colorful herbs or botanical powders you prefer for color.

Loved this recipe? Here are a few other soap recipes you can try:

Oatmeal and Honey Soap

• 1 cup colloidal oatmeal
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup shea butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup distilled water
• 1/4 cup lye solution
• 1/4 cup ground oats
• 1/4 cup essential oils (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a heat-resistant bowl, combine the coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter.
2. Melt the oils in a microwave or double boiler.
3. Mix the colloidal oatmeal and ground oats together and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the lye solution and distilled water together.
5. Slowly pour the lye solution into the melted oils and stir constantly.
6. Add the oatmeal mixture and honey to the oils and lye solution mixture and stir well.
7. Add the essential oils (if using) and stir again.
8. Pour the mixture into a soap mold and cover with plastic wrap.
9. Let the soap sit for 24-48 hours to harden.
10. Remove the soap from the mold and cut into bars.
11. Let the bars cure for 4-6 weeks before using.

Goat Milk Soap

• 2 cups fresh goat’s milk
• 2 cups olive oil
• 2 cups coconut oil
• 1 cup shea butter
• 1/4 cup lye solution
• 1/4 cup sodium lactate (optional)
• 1/4 cup essential oils (optional)
• 1/4 cup colloidal oatmeal (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a heat-resistant bowl, combine the olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.
2. Melt the oils in a microwave or double boiler.
3. Warm the goat’s milk to room temperature.
4. Slowly pour the lye solution into the warmed goat’s milk and stir constantly.
5. Add the goat’s milk and lye solution mixture to the melted oils and stir well.
6. Add the sodium lactate (if using) and stir again.
7. Add the essential oils and colloidal oatmeal (if using) and stir well.
8. Pour the mixture into a soap mold and cover with plastic wrap.
9. Let the soap sit for 24-48 hours to harden.
10. Remove the soap from the mold and cut into bars.
11. Let the bars cure for 4-6 weeks before using.

This post was medically reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Haley, a board-certified dermatologist with extensive experience in medical, cosmetic and surgical dermatology. Learn more about Hello Glow’s medical review board here. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.

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