Lemon soap?!

[Ozzy-aaago]

I was curious if anyone had a recipe for one they would be willing to share with me. Was thinking of something like lemon and shea butter because I like how the lemon helps with dark spots on the skin and the way shea butter makes the skin soft. Is there anything like that? I'm very new to this and would really appreciate any help. Thank you.

 

[Gerry]

It's probably the mild fruit acids in lemons (like citric) that have the effect on skin that you're looking for. Sadly any acids don't survive saponification since we're mixing our oils with a strong base (lye) that would neutralize them into salts. You'll probably want to wash yourself with the soap, then use real lemon after. Of course being a guy, I'm no beauty expert! Haha

 

[Millie]

It would take a page or so to completely answer that question but here is the first step in your research:

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wFOdi989-aU[/ame]

There is lemon essential oil (scent won't last). Lemon is phototoxic. With a lot of experience you could make a lemon juice soap, but by the time you've gotten that far you probably won't want to. But I love that you are thinking about your ingredients and asking questions. When I first started making soap, I saw recipes all over the internet claiming to heal this that and the other. But soap is really just soap. I hope you find a wonderful recipe that is gentle and leaves your skin happy. Good luck!

 

[earlene]

I still have a couple of bars of lemon juice soap I made in Oct 2015 as an experiment. It was a recipe from Anne L. Watson's book, but as I look back on the proportions now, I would totally change the recipe next time I make it. It had 40% Coconut oil and that's rather high for my liking, but I didn't realize that then. Besides the 9 ounces of lemon juice, I used in the lye solution, I also added Lemongrass EO and Lemon EO, as well as used turmeric-infused Almond Oil as a colorant. The soap is still an orange-yellow color.

I would definitely make lemon juice soap again, but I'd use a different base recipe, one with less CO. I just haven't done so because there is so much to try that I haven't gone back and tried it again.

As far as that video, the mistake she made was to use lemon pulp. I think it's a bit unfortunate she didn't do a follow up to show that you can successfully make soap with lemon juice, and in fact, many people have made soap using lemon juice. Beginners see that video and come away with the idea that it's just impossible to use lemon in any form in soap. That's just not true at all.

If you want to see Anne Watson's actual recipe, it is here, but before trying it make sure to run it through a lye calculator. It's not a bad soap, but I do believe the recipe could be much better without that much CO. But then, some people really like high CO soaps.

ETA: The recipe I used on that link is the one called 'Basic Citrus Soap'.

 

[Ozzy-aaago]

That's awesome!! I love all the responses!! All very helpful. Thanks everyone!

 

[Millie]

Here is a link to a similar thread http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=22533

Earlene, could you share that recipe? edit: NM, I can see your link now. I looked at Watson's website but she didn't post her results with pure lemon juice. I'm glad to hear you got good results. It takes a little chemistry to get a good soap using acidic liquids, but it can certainly be done. You just have to do some research first and a little experimentation. I adjust my recipe for wine and coffee soaps, I have never tried lemon juice. I thought it would take a lot of extra lye with lemon having a pH of 2 but I guess I have more research to do

 

[toxikon]

You'll probably want to wash yourself with the soap, then use real lemon after. Of course being a guy, I'm no beauty expert! Haha

Please never ever use lemon juice directly on your face! It's waaay too harsh for your skin's acid mantle, and if you go outside with lemon residue on your skin it can results in awful burns.

You can achieve the same skin-lightening effects with topical BHAs and AHAs or Vitamin C serum without the phototoxicity.

 

[Millie]

DeeAnna has the answer as usual
http://classicbells.com/soap/citricAcid.html

 

[Gerry]

Please never ever use lemon juice directly on your face! It's waaay too harsh for your skin's acid mantle, and if you go outside with lemon residue on your skin it can results in awful burns.

You can achieve the same skin-lightening effects with topical BHAs and AHAs or Vitamin C serum without the phototoxicity.

No worries. My skin is way too light as it is. It's winter in my area.

Now what I'd really like is a good tanning soap. Pine tar isn't doing it for me! Haha

 

[earlene]

Papaya soap is popular in some areas and some of the soap makers who market it claim it will lighten the skin. I actually have made it too, not to lighten skin, because I don't believe that. I made it because I could and because I had some papaya that was ripening up faster than I could eat it. It's more of a novelty than anything else, as far as soaps I've made goes. It was early in my soaping adventures and not one of my favorites.

Earlene, could you share that recipe? edit: NM, I can see your link now. I looked at Watson's website but she didn't post her results with pure lemon juice. I'm glad to hear you got good results. It takes a little chemistry to get a good soap using acidic liquids, but it can certainly be done. You just have to do some research first and a little experimentation. I adjust my recipe for wine and coffee soaps, I have never tried lemon juice. I thought it would take a lot of extra lye with lemon having a pH of 2 but I guess I have more research to do

Yes, that batch of soap was probably improved by the 5% Citric Acid in the lemon juice. My notes tell me that by using Anne Watson's recipe that I ended up with about 7.5 to 8% SF. That's based on the results from the lye calculator using a 5% SF, then deducting the neutralized lye (which one can calculate using the formula DeeAnna shows in the link you included above.) But would I notice the difference between a 5% SF and an 8% SF bar? I am not really sure I would be able to actually feel the difference. Maybe.

 

[deebop]

I made a beautiful lemony soap the other day using the new scent from Brambleberry called electric lemonaide cocktail along with some lemongrass essential oil I had kicking around ... and the pure ZEST of 2 whole lemons!!
I gelled it in the oven for a while and it's so yellow and pretty and smells fab!! I too am guilty of too high CO concentration but I am learning!! So glad to be here and among other people who love wonderful things like lemons and soapy bubbles!

 

[xuledywo]

I still have a couple of bars of lemon juice soap I made in Oct 2015 as an experiment. It was a recipe from Anne L. Watson's book, but as I look back on the proportions now, I would totally change the recipe next time I make it. It had 40% Coconut oil and that's rather high for my liking, but I didn't realize that then. Besides the 9 ounces of lemon juice, I used in the lye solution, I also added Lemongrass EO and Lemon EO, as well as used turmeric-infused Almond Oil as a colorant. The soap is still an orange-yellow color.

I would definitely make lemon juice soap again, but I'd use a different base recipe, one with less CO. I just haven't done so because there is so much to try that I haven't gone back and tried it again.

As far as that video, the mistake she made was to use lemon pulp. I think it's a bit unfortunate she didn't do a follow up to show that you can successfully make soap with lemon juice, and in fact, many people have made soap using lemon juice. Beginners see that video and come away with the idea that it's just impossible to use lemon in any form in soap. That's just not true at all.

If you want to see Anne Watson's actual recipe menu, it is here, but before trying it make sure to run it through a lye calculator. It's not a bad soap, but I do believe the recipe could be much better without that much CO. But then, some people really like high CO soaps.

ETA: The recipe I used on that link is the one called 'Basic Citrus Soap'.

Lemon and Shea Butter Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shea butter
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon almond oil
• 10 drops lemon essential oil (or juice of half a lemon)

Instructions:

1. Melt the shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler.
2. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
3. Add almond oil and lemon essential oil (or lemon juice).
4. Whip the mixture until it becomes creamy.
5. Store in a clean, airtight container.

This cream can help with dark spots and makes your skin soft. Enjoy!

 

[Relle]

This cream can help with dark spots and makes your skin soft. Enjoy!

I would caution people using this for dark spots unless they know exactly what the dark spots are - dark spots could be skin cancer, you would have to go to a dermatologist for that information. I'd hate to see someone doing this only to find time has gone by and they should have seen a doctor. This kind of thing needs to be handled by medical people, there is know way of knowing on your own, don't take the risk.

 

[lsg]

Years ago, Soaping 101 had a video on making soap with lemons on YouTube. You might check that out

 

[AliOop]

Lemon and Shea Butter Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shea butter
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon almond oil
• 10 drops lemon essential oil (or juice of half a lemon)

Instructions:

1. Melt the shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler.
2. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
3. Add almond oil and lemon essential oil (or lemon juice).
4. Whip the mixture until it becomes creamy.
5. Store in a clean, airtight container.

This cream can help with dark spots and makes your skin soft. Enjoy!

If one uses lemon juice, one is now mixing water into a previously anhydrous formula. There are two big problems with that.

First, the water from the lemon juice will separate from all those oils, because there is no emulsifier in the recipe.

Second, and more concerning to me, is that one needs a preservative for any product containing water, which includes lemon juice.

A third problem with the recipe in any of its iterations is that lemon is phototoxic. One can be seriously burned by using lemon products on skin and then exposing that skin to sunlight.

Bottom line, I wouldn’t trust anything from the source of that recipe.