Lemon Zest Soap
| I love citrus scented soaps and one can typically be found at my kitchen sink. I was making lemonade the other day and zippy, refreshing scent of lemons reminded me to think about making soap again. Then I started wondering if I could make a lemon soap and include the fresh lemon zest in my soap.
Today, I’m going to show that it is possible to using lemon zest! Collect needed items:
Zest lemons. I used a fine Microplane / Zester to zest the lemon. Set aside. Weigh the essential oils into a small beaker and set aside. Measure fixed oils on your scale. Add lemon zest to fixed oils then warm on the stove or in the microwave. I melted the oils in the microwave. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Don’t be alarmed when the soap turns a vibrant neon orange when beginning to mix the oils and lye solution together. Upon light trace, add the essential oils. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. I used the Guerrilla Mold from Dirk’s post. Allow to sit until soap is firm. The next morning cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar. Notes: As I was beginning to mix the lye solution and oils together and the mixture turned a bright orange, I was panicked. Oh, no! I continued to mix and while the color stayed bright, the soap behaved just like any other 5 lb batch I’ve made before. I poured the soap in the mold, covered it and then left it until the next day when I could cut it. After cutting the soap, I took a small end piece and washed my hands with it. Oh, my! The soap had the best lemon scent as well as excellent lather. The zest was not noticeable in the finished soap as it has been broken down during the saponification process. What can you do with the juice from the lemons that have been zested? Don’t add the juice to your soap because it can cause havoc with the saponification process. Instead, use the lemon juice to marinate a chicken, make lemonade, or bake lemon bars. The Lemon Zest soap samples have been sent to the Shipping Department to send out in orders. Try this recipe and tell me what you think! What other citrus fruits would you try? Curious about kitchen spices or herbs in cold process soap? Vote now in our poll for future blog posts! The poll can be found on the right side of the screen between the Join In and Follow us on Twitter sections. Every vote counts! You can choose up to five answers if there are multiple spices or herbs you would like to see!
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 Finished soap.  Three zested lemons.  Adding lemon zest to oils before melting.  Partially melted oils.  Melted oils with floating lemon zest.  Adding the lye solution to the melted oils.  Beginning to mix the lye solution and oils together. |
 Almost to a light trace. |
 Soap in the mold. |
I love the idea of using freshly grated lemon zest! I made a lemon batch using litsea cubeba essential oil. My husband ground up some dried lemon peel and we added most of it at trace to be mixed throughout. Then sprinkled the rest on top for added decoration. Since we ground is quite fine the lemon peel wasn’t rough at all and it adds a wonderful element to the soap. The lemon peel also gave it a nice light yellow color, too.
~Robin
Several weeks ago, I made lemon/ginger soap. I had been intrigued by the idea, especially since I have a lemon tree in my backyard. I used fresh grated lemon rind and lemon juice. I also used lemon essential oil and ground ginger. It has a wonderful fragrance, I love it. I plan on making it again, but next time, I will add ginger essential oil as well.
It lathers beautifully, and makes my hands feel so soft.
Look out family/friends, you will probably receive lemon/ginger soap for Christmas this year, if my lemons are ready in time.
Yvonne
I have used fresh grapefruit zest in a couple of different soaps. The zest keeps it’s color throughout the saponification process and it looks so pretty! I am trying the lemon tonight! Wonder if there is anything I can do with peaches or plums?
Lori
Considering the sugary nature of peaches and plums I suspect they are not good candidates for soap. At times the pits or stones are used to make a jelly (not a great idea since we now know more about the contents of pits and stones) and the color can be quite nice. However, remember that jellies are acidic environments and the color will not last in an alkaline
environment. Sooo…… make jam, jelly, fuzzy navels or other peach items and forgo the soap when it comes to stone fruits.
Tina