Oatmeal and Shea Butter Soap

Last updated: October 2026

Oatmeal and shea butter soap recipe: ingredients, amounts and yield

Use 1 lb (454 g) shea butter, 1 lb (454 g) coconut oil, 1/2 lb (227 g) olive oil, 1/2 lb (227 g) castor oil, 6.7 oz (191 g) sodium hydroxide, 13.5 oz (382 g) distilled water, 1.1 oz (30 g) ground oatmeal and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fragrance oil or essential oil. This makes about 4 pounds (1,810 g) of soap, which cuts into 8–10 bars. The lye and water amounts are calculated for these exact oils, so re-run them through a soap calculator if you change any oil. Baraka's shea butter and traditional coconut oil suit this recipe. More in Ingredients

How to make oatmeal and shea butter soap: the cold-process method

Wear gloves and eye protection, then stir sodium hydroxide into distilled water (never water into lye) and let it cool. Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil. When both are around 100–120°F (38–49°C), pour the lye solution into the oils and blend to trace. Stir in the ground oatmeal and the fragrance or essential oil, pour into a mould, let it set for 24–48 hours, then cut the bars and cure them for 4–6 weeks before use. More in Directions

What is oatmeal and shea butter soap good for?

This soap is made for everyday cleansing, with a rich, gentle lather. The ground oatmeal gives a gentle texture as you wash, and many people find an oatmeal bar a gentle, comforting wash for sensitive-feeling skin. It also makes a hand-made gift once it has fully cured. Baraka's shea butter, made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana, makes up a third of the oils and gives the bar its creamy, conditioning feel. More in What This Recipe Is For

In This Recipe:

• What This Recipe Is For
• Why Make This Yourself
• Why These Ingredients Work Together
• Ingredient by Ingredient
• Before You Begin: Soap-Making Safety
• Ingredients
• Directions
• Troubleshooting
• Storage and Shelf Life
• Scaling and Substitutions
• Customisation Ideas
• Essential Oils
• Application Tips
• What We Know and How We Know It
• FAQ
• Try These Next
• Disclaimer

What This Recipe Is For

An everyday bar with a little texture. These are the situations this soap is made for:

• A daily body bar when you want a creamy lather with a light, oaty texture
• A hand soap by the kitchen or garden sink, where the oats help lift everyday grime
• A cold-weather wash when skin feels dry and you want a creamy, conditioning lather
• A traditional, hand-made alternative to shop-bought detergent bars
• A plain, unscented bar for people who prefer to leave fragrance out
• A batch of hand-made gifts, wrapped once the bars have fully cured

Why Make This Yourself

Intermediate, about 45 minutes, 8–10 bars. This recipe suits anyone who has made cold-process soap at least once before: the method is forgiving on scent and mould choice, but precision matters for the lye and water. Prep and make time is about 45 minutes, the soap sets in the mould for 24–48 hours, and the bars then cure for 4–6 weeks. One batch makes about 4 lb (1,810 g) of cured soap, which cuts into 8–10 bars.

It follows the fundamentals in How to Make Shea Butter Soap, with ground oatmeal folded into the batter, and it sits within the wider Definitive Guide to DIY with Shea Butter. There is something satisfying about watching a liquid mix of oils and lye become a firm, oat-flecked bar over a few weeks. The batter comes together quickly; the real change happens during the cure.

The bar is built on Baraka's raw shea butter, which is unrefined and made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana. Shea butter is the ingredient this recipe rests on, a third of the oils by weight, so it is worth using a butter you can trace back to the women who made it.

How it compares with a shop-bought bar. A commercial oatmeal bar is consistent from bar to bar, made in large batches and ready to use the day you buy it. Making your own gives you something different: you choose every oil and its amount, the texture comes from real ground oatmeal, and cold-process soap keeps in the bar the glycerin that forms as the oils turn to soap. If you want convenience and an identical bar every time, a commercial soap suits; if you want to know exactly what is in the bar and enjoy the process, this one does.

Why These Ingredients Work Together

Two conditioning oils, two lathering oils, one texture. This bar balances conditioning oils with cleansing and lathering ones, then finishes with oatmeal for texture. Shea butter contributes conditioning and a smooth, creamy bar, while traditional coconut oil is the main cleansing and lathering oil, producing big, bubbly suds and a hard bar. Olive oil gives a mild feel, while castor oil boosts and steadies the lather that coconut oil starts.

The proportions are what make it work. Coconut oil is a third of the oils: enough for a hard bar and quick lather, without the dry, squeaky feel a soap with much more coconut oil can have. Shea butter matches it weight for weight, so every wash brings conditioning as well as cleansing. Olive and castor oil make up the last third between them, softening the feel and keeping the bubbles creamy rather than thin, and the 5% superfat leaves a little oil unsaponified in each bar.

Ingredient by Ingredient

What each ingredient does in this bar.

• Shea butter: Baraka's is unrefined, strained and filtered only, with no refining, bleaching or deodorising. Solid at room temperature, it gives the bar a smooth, creamy texture and keeps the finished soap from feeling drying even with cleansing oils in the mix. Its natural colour ranges from ivory to pale yellow between batches, which can warm the shade of the bar slightly.
• Traditional coconut oil: virgin coconut oil, mechanically pressed from the fresh kernel of the coconut. In soap it contributes hardness and abundant lather. It is solid below about 75°F (24°C) and liquid above it, so it may arrive either way; both are normal.
• Olive oil: a mild, slow-moving oil that gives the bar a gentle feel. It also slows trace a little, which gives you more time to stir in the oatmeal and pour.
• Castor oil: a thick oil used in small amounts to boost and stabilise lather, so bubbles last longer in use.
• Ground oatmeal: plain rolled oats, ground fine. It adds a light, even texture as you wash, leaves skin feeling soft after use, and gives the bar its flecked look.
• Sodium hydroxide (lye) and distilled water: the lye reacts with the oils to make soap. None remains in a correctly made, fully cured bar. Distilled water dissolves the lye cleanly without the minerals in tap water.
• Fragrance oil or essential oil: optional. Oats themselves give no essential oil; the "oatmeal" scents sold for soap are fragrance oils. An essential oil such as lavender or sweet orange works too (see Essential Oils).

Before You Begin: Soap-Making Safety

Lye is caustic: protect your skin and eyes.

• Wear protective gloves and eye protection whenever you handle lye.
• Work in a well-ventilated area — open a window or work near an extractor fan.
• Always add lye to water, never water to lye.
• Keep lye, raw soap batter, and curing soap well out of reach of children and pets.
• This is an adults-only project from start to finish.

Ingredients

About 4 lb (1,810 g) of cured soap, 8–10 bars. Weigh every oil, the lye and the water on a digital scale. Solid butters are measured by weight, never by volume.

• Shea butter — 1 lb (454 g)
• Traditional coconut oil — 1 lb (454 g)
• Olive oil — 1/2 lb (227 g)
• Castor oil — 1/2 lb (227 g)
• Sodium hydroxide (lye) — 6.7 oz (191 g)
• Distilled water — 13.5 oz (382 g)
• Ground oatmeal — 1.1 oz (30 g), about 1/4 cup
• Fragrance oil or essential oil (optional) — 1 tablespoon (15 ml)

Prep and make time: about 45 minutes · Set: 24–48 hours · Cure: 4–6 weeks · Skill level: intermediate.

Equipment: digital scale, heat-resistant jug for the lye, stainless steel or heat-resistant pot, stick blender, silicone spatula, thermometer, and a loaf mould that holds about 4 lb (1,810 g).

How the lye and water are calculated

The lye is worked out from the oils by weight, using the sodium hydroxide value for each oil, then reduced by 5% so a little oil stays free in the bar (the superfat). The water is twice the lye.

Oil	Weight	Lye per unit of oil	Lye needed
Shea butter	1 lb (454 g)	0.128	2.05 oz (58.1 g)
Traditional coconut oil	1 lb (454 g)	0.183	2.93 oz (83.1 g)
Olive oil	1/2 lb (227 g)	0.135	1.08 oz (30.6 g)
Castor oil	1/2 lb (227 g)	0.128	1.02 oz (29.1 g)
Total before superfat	3 lb (1,362 g)		7.09 oz (200.9 g)
After 5% superfat (× 0.95)			6.7 oz (191 g)
Water (2 × lye)			13.5 oz (382 g)

These lye and water amounts are calculated for this exact oil combination and these weights. If you change any oil or its amount, recalculate the lye before you make the soap.

Directions

Nine steps, about 45 minutes of work. Read them through before you start, and weigh everything out first.

1. Put on gloves and eye protection before handling lye.
2. In a heat-resistant container, slowly add the sodium hydroxide to the distilled water (never the reverse), stirring until fully dissolved. The mixture will heat up — set it aside in a ventilated area to cool.
3. Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and castor oil together gently until fully liquid.
4. Once the lye solution and the oils are both around 100–120°F (38–49°C), slowly pour the lye solution into the oils, stirring continuously.
5. Use a stick blender in short bursts, alternating with hand stirring, until the mixture reaches trace — it will thicken and leave a visible trail when you drizzle it across the surface.
6. Add the ground oatmeal and the fragrance or essential oil, stirring until evenly distributed.
7. Pour the mixture into a soap mould, tap gently to release air bubbles, and cover.
8. Let the soap set in the mould for 24–48 hours before unmoulding.
9. Cut into bars once firm enough to handle, then set the bars on their sides in a well-ventilated space to cure for 4–6 weeks before use.

Troubleshooting

Most problems come from temperature, fragrance or measuring. These are the ones that turn up most with an oatmeal bar.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
The batter thickens suddenly, almost solid in the pot	A fragrance oil that speeds trace, or oils and lye mixed too hot	Use a fragrance made for cold-process soap, add it at light trace, and work at 100–120°F (38–49°C). If it seizes, spoon it into the mould quickly and press it down.
Bars turn tan or brown over the first weeks	Vanillin in some "oatmeal" fragrance oils, which darkens in soap	Choose a vanillin-free fragrance, or leave the bar unscented. The colour change is cosmetic and does not affect the soap.
The oats feel scratchy	Flakes left too coarse	Grind the oats to a fine flour, or use colloidal oatmeal next time.
The soap is still soft after 48 hours	A cool room, or the high share of olive and castor oil	Leave it in the mould another day or two before cutting, then give it the full cure.
A white, powdery film on top	Soda ash, which forms where fresh soap meets air	Cover the mould while it sets. On finished bars, plane or wash the film off; it is cosmetic.
Pools of liquid, or hard white pockets inside the bar	Lye or oils weighed wrongly, or not mixed to trace	Do not use the batch. Wearing gloves, discard it safely, then reweigh carefully next time and blend to a true trace.

Storage and Shelf Life

Cure 4–6 weeks, then keep cool and dry. Cure time is 4–6 weeks; do not use the soap before curing is complete, as it needs this time to harden fully and mellow. During the cure, set the bars on their sides with space between them, turning them now and then so air reaches every face.

Store fully cured bars in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight; a drawer or shelf with airflow works well. Once cured, bars typically keep well for 12–18 months. Between uses, keep the bar on a well-draining soap dish to extend the life of each bar.

Scaling and Substitutions

Halve it, double it, or swap one liquid oil, and recalculate the lye each time. Lye is always worked out from the oils, so every change below comes with its own lye and water figures.

Half batch, about 2 lb (907 g) of cured soap

• Shea butter 8 oz (227 g), traditional coconut oil 8 oz (227 g), olive oil 4 oz (113 g), castor oil 4 oz (113 g)
• Sodium hydroxide 3.4 oz (95 g), distilled water 6.7 oz (190 g)
• Ground oatmeal 0.5 oz (15 g), fragrance or essential oil 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml)

Double batch, about 8 lb (3,630 g) of cured soap

• Shea butter 2 lb (907 g), traditional coconut oil 2 lb (907 g), olive oil 1 lb (454 g), castor oil 1 lb (454 g)
• Sodium hydroxide 13.4 oz (381 g), distilled water 26.9 oz (762 g)
• Ground oatmeal 2.1 oz (60 g), fragrance or essential oil 2 tablespoons (30 ml)

The lye in each scaled batch is calculated from its own oil weights rather than halved or doubled, so it can differ by a gram from a straight multiple.

Substitutions

• No castor oil: use 1 lb (454 g) olive oil in total and leave the castor oil out. Lye becomes 6.8 oz (192 g) and water 13.5 oz (384 g). The lather will be a little less dense.
• No olive oil: raise the shea butter to 1 1/2 lb (681 g) and leave the olive oil out. Lye becomes 6.7 oz (189 g) and water 13.3 oz (378 g). The bar will be firmer and creamier.
• No ground oatmeal: use the same weight of colloidal oatmeal, or leave it out for a smooth bar; the oils and lye do not change.
• Kombo butter is never used in this soap or as a substitute in it.

Customisation Ideas

Change the texture, shape or colour, never the oils without recalculating.

• Adjust the grind using finer ground oatmeal for a smoother feel, or coarser oats for more texture.
• Add colloidal oatmeal in place of regular ground oatmeal for an even silkier finish.
• Adjust the mould to individual bar moulds instead of a loaf mould for a different shape.
• Add natural colour with a pinch of ground cinnamon for a warm, oat-and-spice tone.
• Always recalculate lye and water amounts with a soap calculator before changing any oil or its weight. Any change to the oils means the lye must be recalculated.

Popular soap calculators (external links, always re-run before adjusting oils): SoapCalc.net, HSCG Lye Calculator, LyeCalc.com.

Essential Oils

Up to 3 tablespoons (45 ml) in this batch; the recipe uses 1. In soap, use no more than 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of essential oil in total for every 16 oz (454 g) of oils. This batch has 48 oz (1,362 g) of oils, so the limit is 3 tablespoons (45 ml) for all essential oils together; the half batch takes no more than 1 1/2 tablespoons (22.5 ml).

• Lavender: a soft, familiar scent that sits well with oats.
• Sweet orange: bright and light; citrus scents fade faster in soap than most.
• Cedarwood: warm and woody, and it helps a lighter scent last longer.
• Unscented: the bar works well with no fragrance at all, and it is the choice for anyone who prefers to avoid scent.

Weigh or measure essential oils by spoon, add them at light trace with the oatmeal, and stir them in fully before pouring.

Application Tips

Lather, wash gently, rinse well. Use like any bar soap for hands, face, or body: lather with warm water and rinse well, letting the ground oatmeal add a gentle texture as you lather, so there is no need to scrub hard. A soap dish with drainage helps the bar last longer between uses, and keeping it dry gives it the longest life. Cutting a large bar in half and using one piece at a time also stops the bar from softening in the shower.

What We Know and How We Know It

Three kinds of source sit behind this recipe. The method, ratios, temperatures, cure time and troubleshooting come from common practice in the home soap-making community. The lye figures are calculated from published sodium hydroxide values for each oil, with a 5% superfat.

What we say about colloidal oatmeal comes from published research: a review of oats in skin care in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology and a 2012 study by Criquet and colleagues in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology both describe colloidal oatmeal as finely milled oat used in cleansers and moisturisers made for dry skin. What we say about Baraka's shea butter and coconut oil comes from Baraka's own product documentation.

FAQ

What's a good DIY soap recipe with oatmeal?

A shea butter-based cold-process soap with ground oatmeal works well, adding gentle texture to a traditional soap base. The recipe on this page uses equal weights of shea butter and coconut oil, with olive and castor oil making up the rest and 1.1 oz (30 g) of finely ground oats stirred in at trace, a balance that gives a hard bar with a creamy, lasting lather. Baraka's shea butter and traditional coconut oil are the two main oils, and the full ingredient list, lye calculation and directions are above. If this is your first soap, start with the plain shea butter soap guide linked above, then come back to this one.

Can I use oatmeal in soap for sensitive skin?

Yes: ground oatmeal is commonly used in cold-process soap to add gentle texture, and many people with sensitive-feeling skin choose an oatmeal bar for a gentle, comforting wash. Colloidal oatmeal, which is oat milled to a very fine powder, is a long-standing ingredient in cleansers and moisturisers made for dry skin. For sensitive-feeling skin, grind the oats very fine or use colloidal oatmeal, and leave the fragrance out, since scent is the ingredient people most often choose to avoid. If you have a skin condition, or anything persistent, ask a doctor or pharmacist before trying a new soap.

How long does homemade soap need to cure?

Cold-process soap like this typically needs 4–6 weeks to cure fully. Curing lets excess water evaporate and allows the bar to harden, so don't use it before this time is up; during the cure the bar becomes firmer, milder and longer-lasting in the shower. Stand the bars on their sides on a rack or a towel in a cool, airy room, with a little space between each one, and turn them every week or so. A bar that still feels soft at four weeks simply needs longer; the higher share of olive and castor oil in this recipe can make it take the full six weeks.

The Impact of Your Purchase

When you make skincare with Baraka ingredients, you are buying from women's cooperatives that earn fair wages and keep traditional processing methods alive. Baraka's 2025 Social and Environmental Impact Report records income opportunities for more than 3,000 women in northern Ghana, over $100,000 invested in women's enterprise infrastructure, and equipment and fuel recovery that have cut the carbon impact of shea processing by up to 90%. At the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region, Baraka's shea butter is made by hand, and the waste left over from making it is dried into fuel blocks that fire the next batch. Baraka also offsets 100% of the carbon cost of shipping to customers. You get full transparency about what touches your skin and your family's skin, and about where it came from.

To see each stage of the process, read How is Handcrafted Shea Butter Made?, and meet one of the women who make Baraka's shea butter in this short film: Shea Butter Producer: Zenabo Imoro.

Shop the Baraka Ingredients in This Recipe

The two Baraka ingredients in this bar.

Shea Butter | Shop Shea Butter | Baraka's shea butter is unrefined and made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana; it gives this soap its conditioning, creamy feel.

Traditional Coconut Oil | Shop Traditional Coconut Oil | Virgin coconut oil, mechanically pressed from the fresh kernel; it gives the bar its hardness and abundant lather.

Browse more for soap making: Butters · Oils · DIY Starter

Try These Next

More shea butter soaps to make next.

• Shea Butter and Turmeric Soap — another additive bar, this time coloured with a spice rather than textured with a grain.
• Shea Butter and Goats Milk Soap — the classic partner to oatmeal, if you want to try a milk soap next.
• Honey and Shea Butter Soap — pairs naturally with oats, and teaches you to handle a sugar that speeds up the batter.
• Creamy Cow Milk and Shea Butter Soap — a creamy milk bar built on the same shea butter fundamentals.
• Shea Butter and Aloe Vera Soap — a smooth bar with no added texture, for comparison with this one.
• Citrus Shea Butter Soap — a brighter, more energising scent profile if oatmeal's quiet character isn't what you're after.
• Charcoal and Shea Butter Soap — another textured soap with a different character.
• Rose and Shea Butter Soap — a floral scent direction using the same shea-based soap fundamentals.
• Peppermint and Shea Butter Soap — a minty variation for a different kind of invigorating scent.
• Vanilla and Shea Butter Soap — a warm, sweet-scented option for a comforting everyday bar.

About These Ingredients

This recipe is expanded from the Definitive Guide to DIY with Shea Butter, which explores additional formulations, ingredient options, and variations. Visit the full guide for more approaches to shea-based DIY skincare.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is for general education. It reflects traditional use, reported experience and, where noted, published research. It has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. Baraka products are cosmetics and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or medical condition. Always patch test a new ingredient, keep products away from the eyes and out of reach of children, and speak to a qualified healthcare provider about any skin or health condition. If you add essential oils, use no more than the amount given, and leave them out for young children, during pregnancy and on sensitive skin. Individual results vary.

About the Author

Wayne Dunn is the founder of Baraka Impact and a former Professor of Practice in Sustainability at McGill University. He holds an M.Sc. in Management from Stanford and has spent over 15 years working directly with the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region to source traditionally made shea butter and natural oils. He shares DIY skincare recipes and ingredient guides designed to be made at home with real ingredients — and sourced with full transparency about where they come from.