Top Essential Oils for Making Soaps for Sensitive Skin

Using essential oils for soap making is a sure shot way to add mesmerising scent and skin care benefits to your handmade bars. As much as we all love playing with numerous scents for soaps, some of these natural essential oils could potentially create allergic reactions in sensitive skin folks. 

But does this mean sensitive skin individuals can’t enjoy the aromatherapy benefits of soaps? Are they just left with scent-less boring soap bars?

Absolutely not! There are certain essential oils that are comparatively more gentle on skin and hence work well for sensitive skin. 

But why create soaps for sensitive skin?

As a soap maker, it is important to understand the unique needs of your clients and then design recipes and soap bars that align with these needs. This helps diversify your offering and creates your niche in a competitive market. 

Now that’s something you might have heard in every soap making community. But what often gets missed is how to identify these needs and how to create soaps for these needs. 

Well, that is why we decided to create a series of informational resources that help soap makers identify these needs and customize soap bars for them. Starting with essential oils for sensitive skin soap, so here we go…

1. Lavender Essential Oil For Sensitive Skin Soap

Lavender is floral steam distilled extract with a relaxing scent that is difficult to not love. As one of the most used essential oils across the globe, lavender oil is everything summer dreams are made of. Lavender essential oil has a low flash point so add it just when you are about to cool the base. Adding it too soon might burn the scent and result in little to no aroma. Lavender is also an excellent essential oil for cold process soap making as you can blend it with numerous other oils. 

Why use lavender essential oil for making soaps for sensitive skin?

Lavender is inherently a soothing and calming essential oil which is used to reduce redness and irritation. It is well tolerated by most sensitive skin individuals. Linalool present in lavender essential oil is an active compound responsible for keeping germs away and reducing irritation. Let’s not forget that lavender essential oil is a well behaving aromatherapy oil and mostly doesn’t discoloration. Having said that, always experiment with a small batch to check the performance of any new oil. 

Learn more about complete benefits of lavender essential oil and how to use it for maximum results. 

2. Chamomile Essential Oil For Sensitive Skin Soap

You already predicted this, didn’t you? Well chamomile essential oil is one of the most calming oils. It has a soft, floral and slightly fruity scent which may or may not remind of the famous chamomile tea. While seasoned soap makers are well aware of how to use chamomile essential oil for making soaps, new bees can refer to complete guide to using essential oils for soap making and get started. 

Why use chamomile essential oil for making soaps for sensitive skin?

It not only prevents irritation but also helps soothe existing redness or itchiness on skin. Chamomile is a slightly more expensive essential oil and hence works well if you want to make your soaps for a high-end clientele. 

3. Rose Essential Oil For Sensitive Skin Soap

Famous as one of the most luxurious oils out there, rose essential oil is everything a floral soap needs to win hearts. Its sweet, floral and slightly green notes create the perfect symphony for a soap for your royal clients. 

Why use rose essential oil for making soaps for sensitive skin?

Natural and pure bulgarian rose oil works with oily, dry and most sensitive skin types. It helps restore hydration in skin and adds a dewy glow. When used in moderation, rose is undoubtedly one of the top essential oils for soap making and skin care. 

Discover the complete benefits of rose essential oil.

4. Sandalwood Essential Oil For Sensitive Skin Soap

This South Asian treasure is also a great to make masculine essential oil blends for soaps because it is woody and cooling at the same time. However, it is almost impossible to find pure and natural sandalwood essential oil. 

Why use sandalwood essential oil for making soaps for sensitive skin?

Original sandalwood oil is extremely cooling and can defend against summer heat. Its scent also leaves a positive impact on nervous system and eases the mind. 

5. Vetiver Essential Oil For Sensitive Skin Soap

If finding and using sandalwood oil for your soap project seems like a task - try vetiver essential oil instead. It has similar cooling properties without the expensive price tag. Pure vetiver oil also has a woody, earthy and refreshing scent that reminds of petrichor. 

Why use vetiver essential oil for making soaps for sensitive skin?

Its natural bioactive compounds like khusimol are powerful anti-inflammatory agents. Using soaps made with vetiver essential oil can reduce the redness and irritation caused by sun and cools skin from within. 

Other Essential Oils For Sensitive Skin Soaps and Their Unique Properties

Precautions and Safety Guidelines To Keep In Mind

While some essential oils work better than others for sensitive skin, it is important to identify individual allergies or skin response to essential oils. Selection of carrier oils also plays an important rolse when crafting soaps for sensitive skin. 

As always, dilution plays a key role when using essential oils. Refer to an essential oil dilution chart to understand how much oil to add per 10 ml of carrier oil.

Start with a small batch and with lesser concentration of essential oil in soap weight and gradually adjust as per need and sensitivity levels. 

Concluding Thoughts

Soap makers can create a range of soap bars addressing the numerous concerns of sensitive skin. Most handmade soaps designed for sensitive skin are scent less. This leaves the clients feeling like they are missing out on the great aroma and many benefits of natural extracts. You can fill this gap by introducing soaps made with pure and sensitive skin compatible essential oils. Don’t forget to put the warning on label to perform a patch test first as some people could be allergic to otherwise safe ingredients too. Lastly, don’t forget to explore our collection of essential oils for soap making for your next soap batch. It has pure rose, vetiver, chamomile, lavender and many more scents for making soaps of all kinds.