Homemade Nourishing Hand Soap for Gardeners

If you have been wanting to find a soap recipe that moisturises the hands (and body), as well as helping to heal and nourish, then this is the one you’ve been waiting for. It combines the great shea butter soap base with sweet almond oil, calendula petals and essential oils. This nourishing hand soap for gardeners is great for cleaning those dirty hands and nails, leaving your hands feeling clean and fresh.

Gardeners Hand Soap

The melt-and-pour soap base in this soap makes it easy to create a lovely nourishing soap bar. With melt and pour soap, all you need to do is chop it up and heat it and then you can add the other ingredients. It is so quick and easy to use. When making soap you can use a silicone mould for bars in whatever design you choose, or a silicon soap mould with wooden box.

The silicone moulds I used are a standard bar size, but you can go smaller or larger too if you have a mould you prefer, just change the recipe for the size as you make the recipe. 

The essential oils used all bring their own set of health benefits to the soap, as well as the great scents of course. You have a range of benefits here from being anti-bacterial to great for keeping the skin healthy.

If spend a lot of time in the garden, then you know how dry your hands can get. Sometimes you have even have patchy areas and rough spots. This soap helps keep those to a minimum. It also gets rid of the germs and bacteria you can pick up outdoors.

The pot marigold, or calendula if you prefer to call it that is great for the skin also. It takes a small amount for the recipe and it also makes the soap look bright and pretty.

Variations 

There are a few different variations that can be used with this soap. You could:

• Add exfoliating power to the soap by adding pumice powder, coffee grounds, or oatmeal
• Salt could also be added for a spa-like experience
• Instead of sweet almond oil, you could add an herb infused oil such as calendula or rosemary infused oil
• A different melt and pour base can be used such as goat’s milk, or glycerine
• Instead of the dried calendula petals, try adding some dried herbs such as chickweed, comfrey, dandelion, plantain and nettle. Though, check to see if the herbs are safe for topical use and there will be no allergic reactions before using.
• If you want to add a bit of colour to your soap, try adding a small amount of mica until you reach the desired colour.

Before Using this Soap

Before using this soap, you will need to understand a few things.

• Essential oils are potent, and need to be diluted. As this soap is being used on your body, you will need to use essential oils that are gentle enough to be applied to your skin – and use in the correct quantities. Be careful to avoid sensitive areas like your eyes.
• Be mindful of who will be using the soap when adding essential oils as some people can’t use some oils and some oils can’t be used on young children or pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Some essential oils should not be used on children under 10. Do your research before adding and using any essential oils! 
• Don’t use on skin with open wounds or cuts.  
• Test on small area of skin before using.  If there’s any irritation, dilute with more carrier oils.

More Soap Recipes

• Citrus Soap
• Grapefruit and Mint Soap
• Lavender Soap
• Lemon and Poppyseed Soap
• Honey Oatmeal Soap

Ingredients for the Hand Soap

To make this soap, you will need:

1 ½  cups shea melt and pour soap base

1 tsp sweet almond oil

1-2 tbsp dried calendula petals

10 drops frankincense essential oil

12 drops rosemary essential oil

15 drops lavender essential oil

7 drops geranium essential oil

With the standard sized moulds you should end up with 4 bars.

Making the Hand Soap

Lay the silicone moulds on a flat surface that is lined with baking paper or a towel (to help with cleaning up any spills) somewhere out of the way, where they won’t be disturbed for a few hours. Make sure they are sitting nice and level. Check that the bottoms and sides are free of any debris or dust.

Take the shea butter soap base and chop it up into squares, that around an inch in size. Some of this type of soap comes with the squares already laid out so you can just follow the lines, and if not, just guestimate. You will need around 12-15 squares.

Place the shea butter melt and pour base into a large, microwavable measuring cup or bowl , preferably with handle, and heat in the microwave for about 90 seconds.

Measure out the sweet almond oil and have it ready to go.

Separate the calendula petals off of the stems and bases, if needed. Sprinkle the bottoms of the moulds with the petals, until they are mostly covered. Depending on the moulds you chose you may need more or less. I used just over 1 tablespoon for my 4 bars.

Take a rubber spatula and stir the soap base, mixing it so that the larger lumps in the bottom get broken up and don’t stick. Scrape the sides as well. Heat in the microwave for another 15 – 20 seconds, if needed,  to help melt the soap base.

Add in the sweet almond oil and stir well and then heat for 30 seconds and stir again. Do not heat the soap any longer than 30 seconds at a time from here on out, or you may end up with it boiling over in the microwave, which isn’t pretty.

Stir the soap base and once you have a nice smooth texture, with no lumps of soap left, carefully in each essential oil, stirring as you go. All of these oils are pretty thin, so use caution.

Try to work carefully as you don’t want your soap to start thickening while adding the oils. Be sure to scrape the sides too to get it all in there and melted.

Pour the soap into your moulds, over top of the petals. The petals will move through the soap. Fill the moulds to just below the top. Let sit until cooled. Do not move the moulds as they are cooling, as it can ruin the mould shape.

Just a note: If your soap has bubbles form on the top after you pour your soap base into your molds, you can spray the tops of the soap with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) as this will help break them up and give you a smooth surface.

Let cool for about about 2 – 3 hours, and then check the middle and bottom to see if it has fully cooled. I prefer to let mine sit overnight to make sure.

Once they are ready, peel the soaps from the moulds. Turn over your gardeners hand soap and allow them to sit out for around 6 hours or so to cure. 

Storing Soap Bars

The best way to store soap bars is to wrap the tightly and store in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

More Homemade Soap Recipes

• Calendula Soap Bars
• Citrus Soap Bars
• Dandelion Lotion Bars
• Grapefruit and Mint Soap
• Lavender Soap
• Lemon Poppyseed Soap
• 3 Ingredient Hard Lotion Bars 
• Honey Oatmeal Soap
• Orange Clove Layered Soap

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website.