Yogurt & Banana Soap Recipe with Organic Flax Seed Oil

This yogurt & banana soap recipe with organic flax seed oil is formulated especially for dry skin. It’s made using real banana powder, yogurt powder and organic flax seed oil. Crafted using the cold process soapmaking method, my yogurt & banana soap recipe yields a high conditioning / low cleansing soap bar.

Banana powder, made from 100% banana, is rich in both potassium and vitamin A. It’s great for those suffering from dry skin and you can even use the leftover banana powder mixed with water or milk to create a rich, moisturizing facial mask. It’s used in place of real banana in this recipe along with skin soothing yogurt powder.

This yogurt & banana soap recipe also contains organic flax seed oil. As flax seed oil tends to have a shorter shelf life, a 5% usage rate is recommended for cold process soap. Flax seed oil is an emollient that is high in essential fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B and minerals.

It contains the alpha-linoleic acids believed to contribute to younger looking skin. Suitable for even sensitive skin, this soothing carrier oil is found in skin care products and cosmetics that claim to help improve skin’s elasticity and reduce the appearance of cellulite.

If you’re interested in making banana soap from ripe bananas rather than a powder, you can find my oatmeal banana soap recipe made with ripe bananas here. In addition I also have two yogurt soap recipes made using fresh yogurt. I have a homemade yogurt soap recipe with chamomile here and a simple 3-oil yogurt & avocado soap recipe here.

Yogurt & Banana Soap Recipe

© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients:

1.6 oz. refined coconut oil
1.6 oz. castor oil
4.8 oz. babassu oil
3.2 oz. cocoa butter
17.6 oz. olive oil
1.6 oz. refined shea butter
1.6 oz. organic flax seed oil

9.75 oz. distilled water
4.25 oz. lye/sodium hydroxide

1 oz. sodium lactate (60% solution)
.4 oz. yogurt powder
.6 oz. banana powder
1.9 oz. fragrance oil, optional

Soap Notes:

I’ve included a screenshot from SoapCalc (above) to make resizing my yogurt & banana soap recipe easier. It also gives you an idea of the overall soap bar quality. (SoapCalc is great tool for anyone wanting to create their own custom soap recipes from scratch. You can learn how to create your own custom soap recipes using a lye calculator here.)

Because my yogurt & banana soap recipe is palm free, I did a steeper water discount than normal and included sodium lactate in the soap recipe to get a harder bar.

I used a coconut milk fragrance oil to scent my yogurt & banana soaps. You can use any fragrance oil of your choosing however, or simply omit it altogether.

I used two Crafter’s Choice basic round soap molds for this recipe. My yogurt & banana soap recipe yields about nine soap bars weighing around 5 oz. each.

Instructions:

You should be familiar with making cold process soap before trying this soap recipe. If you’ve never made cold process soap before – or any kind of soap in which you’re working with lye – I strongly recommend you start with a beginner soap recipe so you get a feel for the process and know you can create a successful soap. Otherwise, you’ll follow your basic cold process soapmaking instructions to create this soap. You should adhere to all basic safety precautions when working with lye.

Begin by measuring out the amount of water called for in the recipe into a heat safe container. Next, use a digital scale to weigh out the lye.

Slowly pour the lye into the water in a well ventilated area. Stir the lye until it has dissolved, then set the lye-water aside.

Next, weigh out the soapmaking fats – these are all of the carrier oils and butters called for in my yogurt & banana soap recipe.

Heat until melted then set aside.

Allow the lye-water and the melted soapmaking oils to cool to around 95°F. Once they’ve reached this temperature, you’re ready to make soap.

Weigh out the sodium lactate and stir it into the cooled lye-water.

Then weigh out the yogurt and banana powders along with the fragrance oil, if desired. Add these ingredients to the melted oils and mix to combine with a stick/hand blender.

Now slowly pour the lye-water into the melted oils.

Mix with a stick blender until you reach trace then evenly pour the yogurt & banana soap batter into the molds’ cavities. Cover if desired with plastic film or parchment paper and set aside in a safe location.

Remove the soap from your molds the next day or the day after depending on the hardness of the soap. If your soap doesn’t gel then you may need to wait an extra day or two before unmolding to get your yogurt & banana soaps to release cleanly from the molds.

Allow your yogurt & banana soap bars to cure 4-6 weeks. Once your soaps have cured, they are ready for use. Simply wrap and label as desired for personal use or gifting. You can also bevel the edges with a potato peeler if desired.

If you’re planning to sell your yogurt & banana soaps, be sure to label them according to FDA guidelines. Not sure how to label your creations? I highly recommend the book, Soap and Cosmetic Labeling: How to Follow the Rules and Regs Explained in Plain English, by Marie Gale.

For even more of my soap recipes and tutorials, be sure to follow my Simply Soapmaking Pinterest board and my DIY Bath and Body Pinterest board. You can also find and follow me on G+, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin’, and Instagram. Or sign up to receive new posts from Soap Deli News blog to your email via FeedBurner so you never miss a post.