Lemon Soap Bars Made with Lemon Zest & Essential Oils

Learn how to make delicious-smelling lemon soap bars using just three ingredients. You can make this melt-and-pour lemon soap in less than 10 minutes, and it should be ready to use in a few hours.

If you’ve never made homemade soap before, you may swear off the store-bought kind once you see just how easy it is. This homemade melt-and-pour lemon soap takes just 10 minutes to make, and it gets its vibrant color from an ingredient you probably have in your refrigerator.

In fact, your fridge and pantry contain lots of ingredients, such as honey, coconut oil, and oatmeal, that can be used in homemade soap and natural beauty products.

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To make the lemon soap, I used lemon zest, plus items from the September Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box.

This month’s box includes:

A silicon soap mold
Glycerin soap base
Bay essential oil
Lemongrass essential oil
Cajeput essential oil
Happy Joy Essential Oil Blend
Recipe cards and stickers for six natural DIY beauty products

Other Simply Earth Essential Oil Box Projects

Don’t miss these other natural products I’ve made using previous Simply Earth subscription boxes:

Supplies to Make Lemon Soap

To make lemon soap, you will need:

4 ounces of soap base
4 teaspoons of lemon zest
24 drops of Happy Joy Essential Oil Blend
Soap mold
Glass measuring cup
Spoon
Knife
Lemon zester or grater
Microwave or double boiler
Spray bottle filled with 99 percent isopropyl alcohol

If you use a clear, glycerin soap base, you’ll end up with a soap with a clear, vibrant yellow color. If you use a white soap base, like goat’s milk, the soap will be a paler color, flecked with yellow.

I actually ended up making two different batches of this soap. For the first one, I used the clear glycerin soap base and mold that came in the Simply Earth box. For the second batch, I used some goat’s milk soap base I had on hand, plus a sunflower soap mold.

Please note that the mold that comes in the Simply Earth box only holds about 1.5 ounces of soap.

You’ll need to purchase additional molds or use other containers, like recycled yogurt containers, to make the amount of soap this recipe produces. Or you can just follow the instructions that come in the September box.

How to Make Lemon Soap Bars

I recommend using organic lemons to make your lemon soap. Wash lemons thoroughly and dry them well. Use a fine grater to zest the lemons, until you have 4 teaspoons of zest. Set aside.
Use a knife to cut soap into small cubes. Place the soap cubes in a glass measuring cup or a small double boiler. If using a double boiler, melt the soap over low heat until just melted. If using a microwave, heat the soap for 30 seconds, then stir. If it is not melted, return to the microwave for 10 second intervals, stirring between each one, until the soap is melted.
Stir in the essential oil and lemon zest. To ensure that the lemon zest will be suspended throughout the soap, you don’t want to add it or pour it when the soap is too hot. You want to pour the soap when it’s around 125 and 130 degrees F. A non-contact thermometer, like this one, is useful in soapmaking.
After you’ve poured the soap, spray the surface lightly with 99 percent isopropyl alcohol to get rid of bubbles.
Allow soap to cool and harden in the molds for several hours before removing from the silicon molds.

Not only is this soap pretty, but it smells amazing. The combination of the fresh lemon zest with the Happy Joy Essential Oil Blend is so bright and energizing. The blend contains a mix of geranium, sweet orange, grapefruit, and ylang ylang essential oils. It kind of reminds me a bit of Sunflowers perfume, which is why I made a second batch of this soap in the sunflower mold.

Since this soap contains fresh lemon zest, it doesn’t have as long of a shelf life as other homemade soaps. You’ll want to use it within a few weeks.

If you enjoy making your own homemade bath, beauty and cleaning products using essential oils and natural ingredients, you’ll love the Simply Earth subscription box.

Every month, Simply Earth sends out a new, themed Essential Oil Recipe Box to subscribers. Each monthly subscription box includes all the ingredients, containers and extras you need to make six natural recipes for less than $40.

Right now, new subscribers also get a big Bonus Box that includes lots of items you can use to make homemade bath and beauty products. The box includes beeswax, which is great for making lip balms or hand salves, solid coconut oil that you can use in lotions, and two carrier oils, plus essential oil blend bottles and rollerball bottles.

Simply Earth is offering a special freebie for Atta Girl Says readers who subscribe to the Essential Oil Recipe Box.

When you sign up using the code ATTAGIRLSAYSFREE, you will also receive a $40 gift card shipped with your first box and bonus box. You just have to be sure you enter the code ATTAGIRLSAYSFREE at checkout.