Herbal soaps are great for your skin and they can save you money. They are free from chemicals and you have full control over the ingredients. If you have a skin condition, you can incorporate ingredients that are known to calm that condition. When you are ready to make your own soaps, you want to start with a few tried and true recipes to get the hang of things.

Rosemary and Lavender Soap

Lavender is probably the most popular scent because it is calming and relaxing. Adding fresh rosemary to the mix allows you to further the relaxing benefits. To create this soap, you will need the following:

A glycerin soap base

Fresh lavender leaves and a lavender essential oil

Fresh rosemary and a rosemary essential oil

The amounts you need are dependent on how much soap you are planning to make.

Pumpkin Soap

Pumpkin soap will transport you to Thanksgiving Day every time that you take a bath or shower. It has a decadent scent just like a delicious pumpkin pie. You will combine several skin-healthy ingredients to create this soap and the amounts depend on how much soap you want. The following ingredients are necessary for pumpkin soap:

Olive oil

Six percent superfat lye

Coconut oil

Distilled water

Sunflower oil

Olive oil

Cocoa butter

Canned pumpkin

Hot Chocolate Soap

On a cold winter night, a cup of hot cocoa provides you with the perfect way to warm up and relax. Now, you can take a warm bath and use hot chocolate soap to reap the same benefits while also conditioning your skin. Combine the following mixture of ingredients in the amounts you need for your ideal amount of soap:

Olive oil

Five to six percent superfat

Coconut oil

Avocado oil

Tallow or lard

Castor oil

Whole milk powder

Cocoa powder

Rhassoul clay

Cocoa absolute

Instant coffee granules

Vanilla flecks

French red clay

Vanilla essential oil

Candy Cane Soap

A candy cane on Christmas morning puts you in the spirit to open gifts and enjoy time with your family. You can bring this festive joy to your bath when you make candy cane soap. You can choose how much you want to make by altering the amounts of the ingredients and you can even choose to make it in the shape of a candy cane when you use a mold. The ingredients include:

Olive oil

Lard

Castor oil

Coconut oil

Avocado oil

Six percent superfat

Peppermint essential oil

Kaolin clay

Red oxide and green oxide

Vanilla essential oil

Oil Soluble titanium dioxide

Cheery Holiday Soap

This soap is white, green and red to represent the Christmas holiday. It has a softer consistency so it works as a soap for people of all ages, and a bath toy for children. The ingredients include:

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Lye

Burgundy oxide

Macadamia nut oil

Jojoba oil

Water

Merlot mica

Handmade soaps make great gift ideas during the holidays, or you can use them for stocking stuffers. You can also use them yourself and skip buying the chemical-laden commercial soaps at the store. This will help you to achieve healthier skin and to enjoy a greener lifestyle since you will be using all-natural ingredients to make your soap.