Recipe: Vanilla-Scented Shampoo Soap Bars

by Texas Homesteader ~
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I recently shared with you the recipe for our Lavender / Rosemary cold process soap we made to include in our Christmas gift baskets. Today I’ll share the recipe we used to make a vanilla-scented shampoo bar.  Whaaaa???  A bar of soap you can use as shampoo?? Oh yeah!

As a matter of fact, I haven’t used commercial shampoo from a bottle for several years. I love the creamy lather this bar makes. And you know I love that there’s no plastic bottle of shampoo for me to buy and then send the trash to the landfill. Plus these vanilla-scented shampoo bars were very well received by our gift recipients.

VANILLA SCENTED SHAMPOO SOAP BARS - See our cold-process soap recipe and procedures (including photos) for making your own shampoo bars. #TexasHomesteader

Now just as I mentioned in my previous post sharing a soap recipe, please remember that you’re dealing with lye and chemical reactions here – you MUST use caution! Please do your homework first and proceed at your own risk.

If you are already aware of the risks – Jump To Recipe

I’m no soap-making expert and don’t pretend to be, but below are the precautions I shared with the other recipe post – these are precautions that RancherMan & I take each and every time we’re making soap:

Precautions:

  •  Making cold-process soap relies on measurement by WEIGHT, not by volume, so you’re going to measure all oils & lye on a digital scale, not rely on what a measuring cup reads!
  • Make no substitutions to either quantity or type of oils unless you consult a trusted soap-making oil calculator. Oils must be combined per the recipe in both type as well as quantity measured by weight to result in a safe product. (I’ve used oil calculators before to tweak a recipe but I typically follow this tried-n-true recipe and just tweak my scents or dried botanicals for variations.)
  • When mixing lye water – be sure to measure (by weight) the water first and then measure (by weight) the lye and carefully sprinkle the lye into the water to keep from splashing caustic liquids.   Never pour water into measured lye – always sprinkle measured lye into measured water.
  • Lye is caustic – be sure to wear eye protection, rubber gloves and a paper painter’s mask to protect yourself.
  • Always make soap where there is adequate ventilation to avoid inhaling caustic lye fumes.
  • Never use metal utensils or containers for caustic lye solutions – opt for wooden spoons, glass or plastic containers and porcelain-lined pans.
  • Raw soap must cure for at least 6 weeks – longer is better.
  • Follow directions carefully.
  • Proceed at your own risk.

RancherMan & I typically set up a work station out in the garage when we’re making our soap – we have all the garage doors & windows open which offers a nice cross breeze.  We have our safety goggles, protective painter’s masks and rubber gloves to protect ourselves.

Gather Soap-Making Supplies

So now it’s time to get down to the brass tacks of making our soap.  RancherMan & I  assembled our soap-making tools:

Tools:

This shampoo bar recipe is a large 4-lb recipe so it makes about 18 bars, depending upon how large you cut them.  Here are the ingredients I gathered to make these shampoo bars:

Ingredients:

  • Mint-Infused Rainwater
  • Castor Oil
  • Mid-Grade Olive Oil
  • Coconut Oil
  • Lye crystals
  • Vanilla and Sweet Pea Fragrance Oils

Although the measurements & ingredients are somewhat different than the previous recipe I shared, the procedure is the same as the other soap we made. So I’m sharing the procedure again in its entirety for the benefit of those that may not have yet read the other soap-making procedure I posted.  The recipe and more abbreviated instructions are below.

Making The Soap

We mixed our lye solution by measuring the water FIRST, then sprinkling the lye crystals on top of the water and stirring with a wooden spoon.  The water and lye will cause a chemical reaction so we were sure to have our eye protection, rubber gloves and paper mask and kept away from the fumes.  We stirred the lye/water mixture gently with a wooden spoon until the lie completely dissolved.   The chemical reaction caused the lye water to heat up quickly, we used a glass candy thermometer to measure the temps – we needed it to cool down to about 100 – 110 degrees.

Safety Using Lye. VANILLA SCENTED SHAMPOO SOAP BARS - See our cold-process soap recipe and procedures (including photos) for making your own shampoo bars. #TexasHomesteader

As the lye water was cooling it’s time to get started with the oils.  We measured (by WEIGHT) the liquid oils and added them to our measured solid coconut oil.  I poured them all into a large glass measuring cup.   Then I heated them in the microwave until the coconut oil melted and the oils measured around 100 – 110 degrees.

When the oils and the lye water are both between 100 – 110 degrees it was time to get to blending!  We carefully poured the lye water cooled to 110-110 degrees into the melted oils heated to 110-110 degrees and gently stirred with a wooden spoon to get everything blended.

Now it was time to make some soap!  You’re wanting to get the mixture of oils and lye water to reach something called “trace”, where the soap changes from just an oily mixture to a thicker almost pudding consistency.  Here’s where I incorporate my shortcut, my secret weapon, my SANITY!  Stirring with a wooden spoon will eventually give you trace, but it takes quite a bit of time and lots of elbow grease.  I can get the soap to reach trace much quicker – only about 20 minutes – using a stick blender.

Now you can get false trace by just turning on the stick blender & going to town, if you do that your soap won’t turn out correctly.  What you want to do is turn the stick blender on and stir about 2-3 times around your pot, then turn it off & just use the stick blender itself to continue stirring manually to remove the bubbles that have been created beneath the surface.  When the bubbles are gone give it another blast with the stick blender then turn it off and use it to stir again.  Your mixture will become thicker over time.

It’s reached trace when you can drizzle the liquid soap across the top of the mixture and have it leave a little trail for a few seconds before disappearing beneath the surface.  When it reached trace it was time to add the fragrance oil, giving everything a final stir to get it all blended.

Homemade Shampoo Bar Reaching Trace. VANILLA SCENTED SHAMPOO SOAP BARS - See our cold-process soap recipe and procedures (including photos) for making your own shampoo bars. #TexasHomesteader

Place Raw Soap In Soap Mold

Now the raw soap is ready to be poured into a soap mold. Sometimes we use a silicone baking dish for the 2-lb batches, for a larger 4-lb batch we use a wooden box RancherMan made for me, It measures 9″ x 10.5″ x 2″ deep. We’ll line it in plastic before we poure in the soap to make it easy to remove soap when it’s cooled & hardened.

We poured the thickened soap into the mold, smoothed out the top with a plastic spatula and covered the top of the soap with a piece of plastic. Then we topped the whole thing with thick towels to keep it all insulated and allow it to cool slowly and harden.

Raw Shampoo Soap Into Mold. VANILLA SCENTED SHAMPOO SOAP BARS - See our cold-process soap recipe and procedures (including photos) for making your own shampoo bars. #TexasHomesteader

We left the soap in the mold for about 24 hours before removing it and placing the whole soap block on a wire rack to air dry for another 24-48 hours or so. We then cut the soap into bars & placed them on a wire rack to fully cure several weeks.

You must cure the soap for at least 6 weeks. But the longer you allow the bars to cure, the harder your soap will be and the longer it will last.

Here’s my recipe for the Vanilla-Scented Shampoo bar that RancherMan & I made using the cold process method.  We love these shampoo bars and so will you.

Vanilla-Scented Shampoo Bar Recipe:

(4-Lb Recipe, about 18 small bars)

Ingredients:

  • 19 oz. Olive Oil (mid-grade is fine & even preferable)
  • 12 oz. Coconut Oil
  • 12 oz Castor Oil
  • 16 oz. Mint-Infused Rainwater
  • 6 oz. Lye Crystals
  • 1 oz. Vanilla / Sweet Pea or other Scent Fragrance Oil

Directions:

(read precautions above first)

Mix lye solution by measuring the water first, then sprinkling the measured lye crystals on top of the water.  Stir with wooden spoon until the lye is completely dissolved.   Mixture will heat up, so allow to cool to about 100 – 110 degrees.

In the meantime measure liquid oils and add them to measured coconut oil.  Pour all into a  porcelain-lined pot and heat to 110 – 100 degrees. (Or into large glass bowl & heat in microwave)

When the oils and the lye water are both between 100 – 110 degrees, carefully pour the lye water into the melted oils & gently stir with a wooden spoon to get everything blended.

Continue stirring until mixture reaches ‘trace’.

At trace, add measured fragrance oil and stir to blend

Pour raw soap into 9″ x 10.5″ x 2″ deep soap mold, top with a piece of plastic wrap & then cover everything  with thick towels.  Leave undisturbed for 24-48 hours

Carefully remove soap from mold and place soap block on a wire rack to air dry for another 24-48 hours.

After this time, cut into approximately 18 bars (depending upon size).  Place bars on a wire rack exposed to the air to fully cure for at least 6 weeks. The longer you cure the soap the harder the bar will be & the longer it’ll last in the shower.

~TxH~

Homemade vanilla soap bars. #TexasHomesteader
5 from 1 vote
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Vanilla-Scented Shampoo Bar Recipe:

(4-Lb Recipe, about 18 small bars)
Author Texas Homesteader

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 19 oz. Olive Oil mid-grade is fine & even preferable
  • 12 oz. Coconut Oil
  • 12 oz Castor Oil
  • 16 oz. Mint-Infused Rainwater
  • 6 oz. Lye Crystals
  • 1 oz. Vanilla / Sweet Pea or other Scent Fragrance Oil

Instructions

Directions:

  1. (read precautions above first)
  2. Mix lye solution by measuring the water first, then sprinkling the measured lye crystals on top of the water. Stir with wooden spoon until the lye is completely dissolved. Mixture will heat up, so allow to cool to about 100 - 110 degrees.
  3. In the meantime measure liquid oils and add them to measured coconut oil. Pour all into a porcelain-lined pot and heat to 110 - 100 degrees. (Or into large glass bowl & heat in microwave)
  4. When the oils and the lye water are both between 100 - 110 degrees, carefully pour the lye water into the melted oils & gently stir with a wooden spoon to get everything blended.
  5. Continue stirring until mixture reaches 'trace'.
  6. At trace, add measured fragrance oil and stir to blend
  7. Pour raw soap into 9" x 10.5" x 2" deep soap mold, top with a piece of plastic wrap & then cover everything with thick towels. Leave undisturbed for 24-48 hours
  8. Carefully remove soap from mold and place soap block on a wire rack to air dry for another 24-48 hours.
  9. After this time, cut into approximately 18 bars (depending upon size). Place bars on a wire rack exposed to the air to fully cure for at least 6 weeks. The longer you cure the soap the harder the bar will be & the longer it'll last in the shower.

~TxH~

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27 thoughts on “Recipe: Vanilla-Scented Shampoo Soap Bars

  1. Deborah

    5 stars
    I can’t wait to make some of this. Thank you so much for sharing. I’ll be making some for Christmas 2022.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      RancherMan loves this shampoo bar and I must admit I enjoy using it from time to time too. We scent it differently based on what scents I have available. But I enjoy the vanilla scent best. It’s a fun gift idea too. Have fun! ~TxH~

      Reply
  2. Katy SkipTheBag

    I’m nervous to make my own soap, but this looks doable. Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I was too Katy. And you do have to be careful around lye, but with proper precautions it’s super easy to do. ~TxH~

      Reply
  3. Anne

    I’ve made soap for years, but I’ve never braved up enough to try shampoo bars. I think I may give these a try this weekend. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      It’s just as easy as making regular soap Anne, the only difference being the choice of oils used with the lye. Give it a try. ~TxH~

      Reply
  4. Robyn Ruggeroli

    Hi! Do you think I could use goat milk in this recipe instead of water? I love goat milk soap and have an overabundance of milk from my goats.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Robyn, I would not suggest changing any of the ingredients nor quantities of ingredients in this soap recipe (except perhaps the particular scent of your EO or FO) To do so could potentially render a less safe product since the types of oils / water / lye, etc in the quantities listed are necessary for this recipe to properly complete the chemical reaction for a safe soap product. I’m sure there are many goats milk soap recipes found online, might just try to search one out. Good luck! ~TxH~

      Reply
  5. Pingback: Homemade Cold-Process Lavender / Rosemary Soap

  6. Amanda Idlewild

    Great recipe! I’ve been wanting to make my own shampoo bars for a while. Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      RancherMan & I have used this recipe for a couple of years now for our shampoo bars and I love the rich lather it makes. ~TxH~

      Reply
  7. Mimi

    Hi Tammy. Thanks for sharing at Five Star Frou-Frou this week. I hope you’ll join us again? Love, Mimi xxx

    Reply
  8. Candice

    I have been itching to venture into soap making and also have been trying to ditch store shampoos, but haven’t found an alternative that works well for my hair. This sounds like the perfect 2 in 1! I was wondering though, what do you use as a conditioner after washing your hair with a soap bar?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Whelp, Candice – I often use apple cider vinegar that’s been infused with my fresh rosemary since I’ve heard rosemary and ACV are both very good for your hair, balancing ph, etc. But I’ve always been worried that using ACV every day would dry out my hair, and my hair and skin is already pretty naturally dry. So on days I don’t use the ACV I’ll squeeze the water from my hair and rub some commercial conditioner on the ends of my hair. ~TxH~

      Reply
  9. Karyn

    Vanilla extract? Vanilla absolute? Vanilla fragrance? What type of vanilla are you using?
    Thank you! I love the smell of vanilla but an ounce of vanilla absolute would be really expensive!

    Reply
  10. Margy

    I have a blog related question. How do you make one of your photos into an image with text? I see so many on the blog pages these days. – Margy

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      LOL Margy, it’s an option with my WordPress software. (Edit photo – add text) ~TxH~

      Reply
      1. Margy

        Thanks – I use Blogger. Don’t think we have that. – Margy

        Reply
  11. Julie Bagamary

    Great tutorial. I also create my own cold process soap and want to try a shampoo bar.
    I am curious what makes a shampoo bar different?

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I’m certainly not an experienced soapmaker Julie, but I’ve made soap for several years now. I typically stick with two recipes, my standard soap recipe and this shampoo bar recipe (although I’ve done a nice castile bar in the past). The biggest difference in the shampoo recipe versus standard soap is that it calls for castor oil, and it’s my understanding that castor oil makes a richly-lathering bar that has excellent hair-cleaning abilities. In any event, I’ve made this particular shampoo bar for several years and we both love it. Can any of you more experienced soapmakers answer Julie’s question? ~TxH~

      Reply
  12. MaryP

    I have been using goat milk soap that my daughter-in-law makes for my hair for the last several years, and love it! It is the same soap that I use for everything else.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      We like to use our soap for other things as well, Mary. The soap shavings are melted down in hot water and used in a repurposed spray bottle to use for cleaning, or sat aside to shred and add to our laundry soap. We figure it’s soap, it’s SUPPOSED to clean! LOL ~TxH~

      Reply
  13. Jackie

    Hi there, Thank you for the recipe for the shampoo bars. I have made soap before and I love it!
    I have been wanting to make shampoo bars but have not yet. I was wondering if your hair smells like the vanilla after its is dry?
    Thanks again
    Jackie

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      Well Jackie, the soap bars certainly smell of vanilla but I don’t know that I’ve ever noticed a strong vanilla aroma from my hair after using the soap – it’s not overly heavily scented. ~TxH~

      Reply

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