This homemade lemon soap recipe smells amazing, it’s definitely one you’ll want to try. The lemon zest gives the soap a great texture and the citrus scent will leave your hands feeling rejuvenated. With only three ingredients required this soap recipe is easy to make and makes a wonderful handmade gift.
DIY Lemon Soap
If you’ve been following along my soap making adventures this year I have to say that this is my favorite so far! For this recipe I used the goat’s milk soap base, because it makes soap making a breeze and it’s available at most craft stores. Beside the citrus scent what I like is that I don’t need to add any colorant to the soap, it’s totally optional. The lemon zest mixed with the melted soap produces a yellow color on it’s own. To make lemon soap you will need a soap base (goat’s milk, shea, or glycerin), lemon essential oil and lemon zest. 
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Homemade Lemon Soap
Supplies:
1 1/2 cups Goats Milk Soap Base
or Shea Butter Soap Base
, cubed
4-6 drops Lemon Essential Oil
Dried Lemon zest of 3-4 lemons
More DIY Soap Ideas
- Lavender Lemon Soap
- Exfoliating Loofah Soap
- DIY Peppermint Soap
- Honey and Oatmeal Soap
- DIY Watermelon Soap
- Pink Himalayan Salt Grapefruit Soap
Step one: Cut soap into cubes and microwave in 30 second intervals (I like to use a large Pyrex measuring cup to melt the soap in). This recipe makes 3 bars of soap and I used about 15 cubes of goat’s milk soap base.
Step two: Melt soap for about a minute. Add another 15-30 seconds if it’s not completely melted.
Step three: Once soap cubes have liquified add a few drops of the lemon essential oil and the lemon zest; stir well.
Step four: Pour into soap molds and allow to harden for at least one hour. Press mold to release soap.
***Update: For longer lasting soap omit the lemon zest and use yellow soap dye for color (if desired). The essential oil will provide enough lemon scent without the lemon zest.
Looking for more homemade Mother’s Day gift ideas? Here are some of my favorite!
How to make bath bombs + video tutorial
Thanks for stopping by!
I love all these ideas. Might try these for my daughter’s next birthday. She wants a spa birthday party!
I love all these ideas. Might try these for my daughter’s next birthday. She wants a spa birthday party!
Heya!
Just a word from a soapmaker – using fresh anything will result in moldy bits in your soap! Using a
Preservative will prove tricky, especially with a melt & pour base like you’re using! Grapefruit seed extract will provide some preservative aspects, but rosemary extract and vitamin e are just antioxidants used to help prolong the freshness of oils in soap making! If you want to incorporate herbs or peels, go ahead, but dry them first! Dried mint or basil or orange rind will be a lovely addition to the soap!
Also, make sure your soap base isn’t boiling hot, as essential oils have certain evaporation points — add the EO to too hot soap and all the volatile oils (the good smelling stuff!) will be released in a sort if scent wave and there will be very little left in the actual soap!
Happy soaping!
(Check out my friend’s DIY soap making studio – The Nova Studio — for some awesome classes!!)
Xo,
Violet
Stephanie Violet! » Hi Stephanie, thank you SO much for sharing your knowledge! I’ve read contradicting articles on soap preservatives and have yet to try them because I’m not sure which actually preserve. If it’s ok with you I’m going to edit the post to include a “reader suggestion” quote from you on what preservatives to use. Thanks again, Stephanie!
Where can I purchase Goat soap ? I’ve never made soap before but I’d love to try this one. Thanks
A question from a person whose never made soap before: Do I need to put in the essential oil? I’ve heard they can be bad for you. For the lemon scent could I just put in lemon juice and zest, even if it won’t look as yellow?
Thanks for this recipe im excited to try it!
Aly » Hi Aly, I haven’t tried that method but I recommend using the soap immediately as it may mold without a preservative. I’m still learning about preservatives to help the lemon zest from molding and will update my post to share what a reader suggested. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing!!! I just made this soap with my kids for Father’s Day and added some vitamin e oil to it…it is lovely!!! It smells wonderful and the color is gorgeous!
Great idea! I would recommend omitting the lemon zest for dried lemon peel (easy find at health food stores) since there is no way to properly preserve it in m&p soap. The effect and color would be much the same and there won’t be mold growing. As for vitamin e, it can extend shelf life a touch but is not a preservative. BTW your photos are absolutely gorgeous. Keep on soaping! ~Jennifer
P.S. I’m a handmade soap and body product maker/business owner and if you have any questions or ever need help don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
Oh I love that brown sugar scrub! I am actually using a mixture of honey, brown sugar and lemon as my body scrub. I actually like it because it leaves me soft skin after I use it. Moreover, I like those ideas shown above. They are great as gift ideas and also as party favors. I will try on the Lemon Soap sometime. Thanks for posting.
Hi, when I go to order the soap base online it is sold by the pound.. How many pounds do I need for this recipe? I’m a first timer :)
I used a two pound block and it was divided into small cubes. I used about a third of the entire block of soap to make 3 bars. Hope that helps! :)
If you don’t want to use the Lemon Zest & preservative, you can use dried Lemon Peel bits and/or Lemon Peel Powder. Make your own or purchase from internet (I buy a lot of herbs botanicals etc from Natures Garden as well as Starwest botanicals) I’ve made my own dried citrus slices and rind bits and powder. Makes for pretty decorations and embeds.
I bet it smells lovely. I know the scent is strong and will linger in your bath after. Thats what I love about lemon and citrus fragrance soaps period.
Have you tried drying your zest first? I’ve grated orange before and let it dry on a paper towel then store it for recipes.
That’s great idea Lisa! How long ddi the soap last then?
I made this soap and it is wonderful! I’ve never made soap using a soap base before and it’s so easy! I blogged about how I packaged this soap and linked back to your tutorial. I hope that’s okay! Thanks!
The picture of your soap is gorgeous. But once you dry the lemon zest it is considerably darker in color, almost a golden brown. How do we get the gorgeous yellow color while making sure our product doesn’t get moldy? Thanks for your help.
Have you ever thought about using almond. My favorite !!! It is very hard to find anything with that scent.
Can I ask how many bars of soap this recipe will yield?
This looks super easy and is such a great gift! You mention omitting the lemon zest to produce longer lasting soap. how long does the soap usually last with the zest, versus without? Thanks for sharing!
Hi i was wondering if i could get emailed the recipes to the soaps you have on your site, its very hard for me to try to print these out and find them.. There are tons of ads and i keep loosing the pages… I want to make a lavender and lemon soap recipe and yours all look amazing!
Will this soap get as hard as cold pressed soap made with Lye?
That’s a great and super easy receipe! Thanks for sharing!
Would you know how long the soap with zest last?
I’ve never made soap before, but these fun lemon bar soaps make me want to try it out! Thanks for the step by step instructions.