How to Make an Exfoliating Lavender Cleansing Bar

There seems to be no end to this cleansing-bar-creating passion of mine. My (normal-to-dry, mature) skin absolutely loves these bars for a morning cleanse, and the lavender-fresh scent is a lovely way to greet the day. The blue swirly pattern on the top is due to the addition of (optional) jojoba exfoliating beads. If you don't want to add the beads, you'll still get a gentle exfoliating effect from the lavender.


For 2 Bars (plus a bit extra) You'll Need The Following

44 gr (1,6 oz) cocoa butter
40 gr (1,4 oz) shea butter
55 ml (1,8 fluid oz) almond oil
25 ml (0,8 fluid oz) castor oil
65 gr (2,1 oz) white clay
4,5 gr (0,15 oz) dried lavender
4 gr  (0,14 oz) jojoba beads (optional)
lavender essential oil (optional)


Measure out the lavender and crush it lightly by running a rolling pin over the bag a few times.

Melt cocoa butter slowly over low heat, then add oils. Stir the mixture until everything is melted. The trick is to keep the temperature just high enough to melt the butter – and no more. Cocoa butter has the highest melting point, so it is the starting point. Remove from heat shortly before the butter is completely melted.


Add lavender immediately and stir until the butter is completely melted. This will infuse the oil and soften the dried buds (prepare for a gorgeous scent).


Add shea and stir until melted. (note this beaker is not on a heat source - it's just standing on a wooden board). If the shea won't quite melt, reheat the mixture but be VERY careful and go slow or the shea risks going 'grainy'.


When the shea is almost melted, add clay, essential oil and stir thoroughly until the mixture is even and starts to cool.

Pour into mold and 'decorate' with a swirl of exfoliating jojoba beads. Refrigerate until the bars have set (a few hours).

I used a mix of white and blue beads to create a swirly pattern on the top of the bars. These are added last minute (when the mixture is at its coolest) because they have a very low melting point.

When the bars have set, unmold and store in an air-tight bag in the fridge. This portion turned out a bit bigger than usual because the lavender swelled up a bit more than expected.

To use the bars, please visit this post.



Visit the Cleansing Bar FAQ and Tutorial Page

Comments

jadyco said…
This looks amazing! I've been wanting to make one of your cleansing bars for ages, I just haven't done it. I need to get in gear and just do it! ;)

Jamie
Christy Sampson said…
Thank you so much for this. Me too, I need a really good cleansing bar!
LisaLise said…
@Jamie - Thanks so much for your kind words. I hope you have fun with your first cleansing bar, and do feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

@Christy - You are so welcome. I hope you enjoy it. It is really a different feeling to a 'normal' (read: soapy-type) cleanser, and may take a bit of getting used to being both cleansed and moisturized in one go, but I haven't looked back since I started doing these. :)
Aisne Jayne said…
Hi, my name is Aisne and i want to commend your recipie. I love making things with natural ingredients and this cleanse bar is brilliant on my face! Its dried up pimples that nothing would get rid of yet has made my skin feel baby soft. I'm well impressed and have just bookmarked your blog! I would like to share a recipie with you for one of the other most luxurious home made products i've found on the internet, it perks up my mood and my skin (neither are easy,lol). I found the instructions at http://www.essentialoilsforhealth.biz/bodyscrub.html i hope it gives you the lift it gives me and thanks again for your wonderful skin treat
LisaLise said…
hi there Aisne Jayne,

Thanks so much for your kind words.
:)
Unknown said…
Do you know what I could add to make this bar for oily/combination skin?
LisaLise said…
Hi Gogoi - this might work quite well for oily/combo skin if you add tea tree essential oil to the mix, then switch the oil anounts to 55 castor and 25 almond. :)