Pumpkin Soap Recipe

Pumpkin Soap Recipe

June 14, 2024

Do you love pumpkin pie spice? We've created a beautiful pumpkin soap with our favourite spiced essential oils!

This cold process soap recipe is easy to follow and great for beginners! Our pumpkin soap recipe creates a highly moisturising and hydrating soap.

Our blend of ginger, cinnamon, orange and clove essential oils recreate the beautiful pumpkin pie spices we all love!

Read on to try our new cold process pumpkin spice soap recipe!

What is pumpkin seed oil?

Pumpkin seed oil is extracted from pumpkin seeds and is dark green to blue in colour. It is often used in skincare, cosmetic and hair care products like body lotion, moisturiser, shampoo and conditioners.

Our pumpkin seed oil has not been deodorised or decolourised, which helps to keep the natural qualities of the oil intact.

It is high in two unsaturated essential fatty acids: Oleic acid and Linoleic acid. This is what gives pumpkin seed oil its moisturising power.

Pumpkin Seed Oil

Why use pumpkin seed oil in soap making?

We like to use natural ingredients where we can in a homemade soap recipe. Pumpkin seed oil creates a beautiful pumpkin spice soap and it adds amazing hydrating and moisturising properties for the skin.

When pumpkin seed oil is used in a cold process soap recipe, it adds to the conditioning effect of the bar, and a little to the hardness and creaminess of the bar.

Why add essential oils to the pumpkin soap recipe?

Our pumpkin seed oil is 100% natural and unrefined! However, this doesn't smell like pumpkins.

It is extracted from the seed of the pumpkin and has a nutty aroma. In this soap recipe, we have chosen a pumpkin pie spice aroma.

We are using a blend of orange, clove, cinnamon and ginger essential oils to achieve this scent. We always want to use 100% natural oils in our homemade soap recipes, so we are not using a pumpkin spice fragrance oil.

Not only do these essential oils add a delightful aroma to the soap recipe, but they also add their own skin benefits.

Let's have a go at our pumpkin soap recipe...

This soap recipe makes 9-10 bars of soap

Ingredients:

Equipment:

To make our pumpkin soap recipe, you will need:

  • Gloves
  • Goggles
  • Digital scales
  • Digital thermometer
  • Stick blender
  • Soap mould or DIY alternative
  • Silicone spatula
  • Microwave safe bowl
  • Plastic measuring cup, ideally 2x 1L and 1x 2L

Method:

Lye Mixture

1. Make the sodium hydroxide solution

  • Put your gloves and safety glasses on.
  • Open the window, the fumes will be unpleasant.
  • Weigh the distilled water into a jug or bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, weigh the sodium hydroxide.
  • Add the sodium hydroxide to the water, not the other way around.
  • Mix well until combined.
  • Leave to cool down, it will be hot.
Liquid Oils

2. Weigh out the oils

  • Weigh the pumpkin seed oil, cocoa butter and babassu oil into a bowl.
  • Heat over a pan of boiling water, or using short bursts in the microwave.
  • Mix well until combined and leave to cool.
Essential Oils and Mica Powder

3. Weigh the essential oils and mica powder

  • Weigh the clove essential oil, ginger essential oil, cinnamon leaf essential oil and orange essential oil.
  • Weigh out the sunset orange mica powder.
  • Mix the essential oils and mica powder until fully combined.
Lye Solution Temperature

4. Check the temperatures

  • Test the temperature of your melted oils, they should be between 35C and 40C.
  • Reheat them or leave them to cool more if necessary.
  • Test the temperature of the lye solution, it should be between 25C and 40C.
  • Leave to cool if necessary, but don't reheat the lye solution if it's too cool. Just heat the oils a little more to compensate.
  • When the temperatures are right, add the lye solution to the oil mixture.
Stick Blend

5. Blend until trace

  • With a stick blender, mix the soap mixture to combine the oils and lye solution.
  • Watch for the soap mixture starting to thicken.
  • Test for a light trace by dripping soap batter on the surface of the soap mixture. If the drips sit on the surface then your mixture has reached trace.
  • When your soap has reached a light trace, add essential oils and mica powder blend.
  • Mix and blend with a stick blender or spatula until combined.
Pour Soap Mixture Into Mould

6. Pour into moulds

  • Pour the soap mixture into your soap mold (explore our silicone soap mould collection)
  • Tap the soap mold to get rid of air bubbles.
  • Decorate the top with a spatula or spoon.
  • Leave on a flat surface for 48 hours before unmoulding.

 

Finished Pumpkin Spice Soap

7. Unmould and cure

  • Unmould the pumpkin soap and cut into even sized soap bars.
  • Put the bars with gaps in between them, and leave to cure for 4-6 weeks.

Continue reading

Now you've tried our pumpkin spice soap recipe, why not continue learning?

How did your pumpkin cold process soap come out? Comment below and let us know!

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