CBD Soap: Everything You Need to Know
It’s no surprise that people will put CBD in just about anything. That’s what makes this little cannabinoid so versatile! In addition, CBD topicals are some of the most popular CBD products on the market, so we wanted to cover one of the lesser-known topicals: CBD soap.
The benefits of CBD soap may surprise you. Much like other topicals, these CBD-infused soaps can alleviate the same external symptoms inherent to the benefits of CBD. However, CBD soap has an added advantage: it can be infused with other skin-benefiting ingredients to provide you with CBD’s properties and a deep clean that challenges any store-bought bar soap.
Utilizing both essential oils and CBD oil, we’ll show you how to make your very own cannabis soap with our CBD soap recipe guide! But first, let’s take a look at some of these CBD soap benefits so that you can gain a better sense of how CBD beauty products work.
CBD Soap Benefits & More
To better understand the benefits of CBD soap, we must look into the benefits of CBD topicals themselves. As CBD users know, one of the compound’s greatest assets is its ability to fight inflammation and physical discomfort. The same goes for CBD soaps: the cannabinoid molecules from cannabis-infused soap transfer to the skin when contact is made.
These molecules pass through the dermal layers of our skin and find endocannabinoid receptors rooted beneath the surface. It may sound intimidating, but it’s quite normal! Our skin is full of receptors, responsible for telling our brain when we’re in external pain, discomfort, or on the other end of the spectrum, feeling physically well.
When CBD transfers from the soap to these receptors, it signals to your brain that your body needs the benefits of CBD. And because we apply soap all over our bodies, CBD soap’s benefits come with the unique ability to offer CBD treatment to the entire body, all at once!
CBD Soap Recipes: How Do You Make Your Own?
CBD soap sounds fantastic, right? Unfortunately, however, there aren’t many companies manufacturing CBD soap, at least compared to other topical CBD products. Instead of scouring the internet for the perfect CBD soap, let’s learn how to make our own! What will you need to start?
How to Make CBD Soap Basics
To start, you’ll need to gather some basic ingredients. Here’s what we recommend:
- Coconut Oil (preferably fractionated or pressed) – 20 ounces.
- Olive Oil (extra virgin) – 10 ounces.
- Distilled Water – 9 ounces.
- Lye (100% pure) – 4.5 ounces.
- Your favorite CBD Oil – 5ml or 0.17 ounces.
These five ingredients will create the base of your homemade cannabis-infused soap. We recommend these ingredients because:
- Both coconut oil and olive oil possess anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and moisturizing properties when applied to the skin. This can help reduce irritation and boost skin health when used in your CBD soap.
- Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide lye, is used solely in the soap-making process. No traces of lye will be present in the final CBD soap. However, you can also opt for potassium hydroxide as an alternative, which some say creates a softer, more water-soluble soap.
But what about all the fun ingredients? Where are the essential oils and dried flowers you’ve seen in those Etsy soaps? Don’t worry, because you can add any of your preferred essential oils or dried flowers to your CBD soaps! Doing so can boost aromas and offer some additional benefits to your skin, depending on which essential oils you decide to use.
What Equipment Do You Need to Make Soap?
For CBD soap recipes, you’ll need more than just the ingredients listed above. In fact, some equipment is required:
- Slow cooker
- Plastic, glass, or stainless steel container (to measure lye)
- Heavy-duty plastic, glass, or stainless steel container (to mix lye with water)
- Digital kitchen scale
- Silicone spatulas
- Silicone loaf mold (or individual silicone molds)
- Immersion blender
- Candy thermometer
- Soap cutter
We also recommend using safety equipment – especially gloves and protective eyewear – when handling lye. However, if you don’t want to bother using lye, you can always purchase a soap starter kit, which makes soap making easy. With starter kits, simply add CBD oil when you’re instructed to add essential oils.
How to Make CBD Soap
- Set your slow cooker to low; add coconut oil.
- Add water to your heavy-duty container; measure lye in your other container.
- SLOWLY add the lye to the water (side note: DO NOT add water to lye as this can be dangerous, only ever add lye to water); stir with a spatula. This should release some fumes, which is normal.
- Set aside your lye-water solution and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Check on your slow cooker: once the coconut oil has completely melted, add the olive oil.
- Using your candy thermometer, wait for the oils to reach a temperature of between 120° and 130°.
- Turn your immersion blender to low; gently pour the lye-water solution into your slow cooker, stirring in circles with the immersion blender.
- Stir for 15 minutes, or until the mixture begins to look like pudding within the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and let cook for 50 minutes. Gently stir out any bubbles that form during this time.
- Turn off your slow cooker; wait until the temperature of the mixture drops below 180°.
- Add your CBD oil and essential oils; mix well.
- Pour the mixture into your silicone mold(s) and smooth the top with a spatula. Gently add dried flowers or other herbs if desired.
CBD Soap: The Soap of the Future
As far as CBD products go, CBD and other cannabis soaps make for some of the best! Who doesn’t love getting clean and receiving the benefits of their favorite cannabinoid at the same time? But praise aside, CBD soap benefits can improve your daily grooming rituals with ease, providing you with the potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that CBD has to offer.
Using our CBD soap recipe, you can find infinite CBD oil combinations that work for your skin and your CBD treatment! Get started on a cleaner CBD routine today.
