With fresh herbs and a sweet orange scent from essential oils, this homemade calendula goat milk soap recipe is gentle on skin and leaves you feeling squeaky clean.
I love creating new things. Baked goods, sewing blankets, making candles, designing marketing materials for my graphic design clients and everything in between. There are so many projects to fuel my creativity.
When I learned that you could make your own soap at home using natural ingredients and herbs that I grew in my backyard, I was hooked.
The best part was learning that I could simplify the soap making process and use a melt and pour base. No need to use lye or have to wait weeks for my soap to be ready. I could easily cut the soap base into cubes, melt and add in whatever herbs, fragrances or additives I wanted.
This soothing calendula goat milk soap recipe is one of my family’s favorites. It includes our favorite herb, calendula — which we love adding into many of our body care products, teas, poultices and tinctures — as well as moisturizing oatmeal and energizing orange essential oil. The goat’s milk is one of the most nourishing soap bases available. It has an excellent lather that makes you feel extra clean after your shower.
Is Calendula Good for Soap Making?
Yes, calendula is a wonderful addition to soap. When the flowers are steeped in the goat milk soap base or powdered and added directly into the melted soap, not only do you get many of the skin healing properties, it also adds a beautiful yellow hue to the finished bar of calendula soap.
Calendula Soap Benefits
Calendula (aka the pot marigold) is a pretty, cheery herb that not only looks lovely in your garden but also has wondrous healing benefits. It has antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties, helps to decrease pain and accelerates cell division in your body helping to heal your body faster. Our favorite way to use calendula is in homemade body care products like soaps, salves and lotions.
- Skin soothing
- Nourishes your body
- Reparative
- Treats wounds, burns and bruises
- Mild and delicate
- Moisturizing
For a complete list of skin care benefits when using calendula, be sure to check out the post on 10 ways to use calendula in every area of your life!
Orange Essential Oil Benefits
There are several great uses for orange essential oil. I love using it in my homemade hand soap and all purpose cleaners. The aroma of sweet orange oil is uplifting and smells delightful. When added to the calendula and oatmeal goat milk soap base recipe, it can reduce acne, support sore joints and muscles and diminish cellulite (yes, please!). If the scent of orange isn’t your thing, lavender or bergamot are great alternatives.
Watch the Video Tutorial
What is Melt and Pour Soap?
Melt and pour soap is a form of soap making that is ready to be used immediately. The cold or hot process of using lye (sodium hydroxide) and the lengthy curing time has already been completed for you. All you need to do is melt the soap base and personalize it with your chosen scents, colors, exfoliants or botanicals. It is truly the easiest way to make soap at home.
While there are plenty of lovely soap bases to choose from, for this melt and pour goat milk soap recipe, we are going to use a soap base that is made with goats milk. It is incredibly nourishing, contains real milk and a healthy fat which helps to soothe and moisture skin.
Tips
- To help speed up the melting process cut the blocks of soap into 1-inch cubes.
- Adding a lid to the glass bowl can help create a steamy environment to melt the soap base quickly and smoothly.
- Do not add the powdered calendula and oatmeal until the soap begins to cool. If you add it too early, it will sink to the bottom. About 5 minutes of cooling time should do the trick.
- Dried calendula petals can be added to the outside of the soap bar to decorate.
- For extra lather, add one to two teaspoons of honey to the melted soap.
- If orange essential oil isn’t your thing, many other scents can be used such as lavender.
Tools You May Need
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. In any case, I only link to products we actually use on our homestead and that I believe can truly benefit to you. See my full disclosure here.
Heatproof glass bowl
Stock pot
Scale
Spice grinder
Measuring cups and spoons
Goats milk soap base
Orange essential oil
Soap mold
Calendula Soap Recipe
Uplifting orange is paired with skin healing calendula, oatmeal and goat’s milk in this easy-to-make melt and pour soap recipe. Perfect for all skin types.
Makes: 6-10 bars of soap (depending on the mold you use)
Ingredients
2 pounds (32 ounces) goats milk soap base
1/2 cup (4 g) dried calendula flowers
2 tablespoons organic oatmeal
1/2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons orange essential oil
Directions
Chop the goat’s milk soap base into small cubes to make melting quicker. In a heatproof glass bowl, add the soap base and set on top of a saucepan with a few inches of water inside the pan. Stir occasionally until the soap is completely melted.
While the soap base is melting, add the dried calendula flowers and oatmeal to a spice grinder. Blend until the mixture has become a smooth powder. Set aside.
Remove the bowl from heat. Add in the oatmeal mixture along with the orange essential oil.
Allow the soap to cool for 5-10 minutes or until the temperature is 125-130 degrees. This will help prevent the oatmeal mixture to fall to the bottom of the soap. (I learned this trick from Easy Homemade Melt and Pour Soap book – thank you Jan Berry!)
Pour the melted soap into your silicone mold. Leave it in a cool, dry place for 1-2 hours or until it hardens completely.
Unmold and store in a sealed container out of direct sunlight.
FAQ
Can I Use Calendula Soap on my Face?
Yes! This calendula goat milk soap recipe is mild enough to use on your face. With its anti-inflammatory properties, it can help reduce acne and promote smoother, clearer skin.
Is Calendula Soap Good for Eczema?
The combination of calendula, goats milk and oatmeal can work wonders for soothing eczema symptoms. While it cannot treat the source of the eczema, the anti-inflammatory capabilities along with other healing properties make it a wonderful soap to use on irritated skin. Learn more here.
Why Is Oatmeal Good For Your Skin?
Oats not only are a good exfoliant for your skin but they are also a great natural ingredient to soothe dry, irritated or inflamed areas on your body.
More Melt and Pour Soap Recipes
Calendula Goat Milk Soap Recipe
With fresh herbs and a sweet orange scent from essential oils, this homemade calendula goat milk soap recipe is gentle on skin and leaves you feeling squeaky clean.
Materials
- 2 pounds (32 ounces) goats milk soap base
- 1/2 cup (4 g) dried calendula flowers
- 2 tablespoons organic oatmeal
- 1/2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons orange essential oil
Instructions
Chop the goat’s milk soap base into small cubes to make melting quicker. In a heatproof glass bowl, add the soap base and set on top of a saucepan with a few inches of water inside the pan. Stir occasionally until the soap is completely melted.
While the soap base is melting, add the dried calendula flowers and oatmeal to a spice grinder. Blend until the mixture has become a smooth powder. Set aside.
Remove the bowl from heat. Add in the oatmeal mixture along with the orange essential oil.
Allow the soap to cool for 5-10 minutes or until the temperature is 125-130 degrees. This will help prevent the oatmeal mixture to fall to the bottom of the soap.
Pour the melted soap into your silicone mold. Leave it in a cool, dry place for 1-2 hours or until it hardens completely.
Unmold and store in a sealed container out of direct sunlight.
Soothing to the skin and smells delightful! Super easy to make and much better than any store bought soap!
I didn’t realize all the benefits to the ingredients in this soap! I’m thankful you explain all the wonderful benefits! Praise God for his divine creation!
Which brand of soap base did you use? Is it moisturizing and does it have lather?
My favorite brand of goats milk soap base is from Our Earth’s Secrets. You can purchase it from Amazon (https://amzn.to/4de0JHT). I also have had success with soap bases from Brambleberry and Bulk Apothecary. Yes, I have found that is keeps my skin moisturized and foams up nicely in the shower or sink.