Easy Turmeric Soap Recipe and Benefits for Skin

Turmeric soap is wonderful for your skin, no matter what your age. It can help reduce dark spots and acne, while also adding a glow to your skin. With the addition of Frankincense and Myrrh essential oils, my easy turmeric soap recipe is simple to make with lots of soothing benefits for your face and body.

Adding turmeric to soap is a great way to get the benefits of the spice without cooking with it or drinking turmeric tea. Every time you wash your face or shower, you will be treating your body to a healthy glow.

Turmeric Soap Benefits for the Skin

Whether you use this DIY turmeric soap bar for your face or on your body, there are many benefits you might experience from switching out your soap.

This bright orange spice is known as a superfood, especially because of its anti-inflammatory properties. While many of the benefits come from cooking with the spice, there are topical skin benefits, too.

Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has been found to have the following properties:

• Antiinflammatory
• Antimicrobial
• Antioxidant

Turmeric Soap for Dark Spots

This orange-colored soap actually can help brighten and lighten the skin. Especially dark spots on your skin, such as age spots and pigmentation.

While many parts of the world already use turmeric soap to naturally lighten skin, it is not as common in the United States, even though it is an at-home remedy that is easy to do.

Turmeric Face Soap for Acne

Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric can be great to help with acne. While using the spice on your face can help with acne, using the soap boar on your body could help with blemishes on your back, chest, buttocks and other areas where you might not be able to use acne medication.

Anti-Aging Benefits

The anti-oxidant powers of this spice can help slow cell damage. In addition to improving skin texture, turmeric can also help reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Natural Ingredients to use

While any turmeric soap can help your skin, my turmeric soap recipe packs a powerful punch of using both turmeric powder, along with essential oils that are nourishing to the skin.

These ingredients combine for a spicy, earthy scent.

If you like making your own skincare products with safe food ingredients, check out this Homemade Beauty Products e-book.

Melt and Pour Soap Base

No need to worry about messy soap-making or needing harsh lye for these soaps. I use a gentle goats milk melt-and-pour soap base. If you want to make an organic soap, choose an organic soap base.

Can you use a shea butter soap base? Yes, you can substitute a shea butter base or a glycerin base if you would like.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is an inexpensive soap ingredient that is packed with moisturizing properties. Adding a small amount to the soap base makes it more gentle to use on your face and body. You can use the same olive oil that you cook with at home.

Turmeric Powder

Use the same type of turmeric spice that you can buy in the grocery store. You might already have it in your kitchen at home.

The powder is what gives the soap its beautiful yellow color. The soap can stain because of this colorful property. I’ve used turmeric facial scrubs on my skin before and found that they left a light yellow stain on my pillowcase at night. You do want to leave on the beneficial turmeric residue as long as possible for all of the benefits.

Turmeric Essential Oil

Adding a concentrated oil of turmeric spice increases the beneficial properties of this soap.

You can leave the essential oil out if you like and add more powder.

Frankincense and Myrrh Essential Oils

While you might be familiar with Frankincense and Myrrh and the gifts brought to Jesus from the Wise Men, they are also powerful essential oils. Both oils are known for their anti-aging benefits in skin care.

Frankincense reduces skin irritation and can improve skin tone, according to this study. Myrrh has antimicrobial properties, especially when combined with Frankincense, according to this research.

How to Make Turmeric Soap

This recipe makes 4-6 standard size bar soaps. If you have any mixture leftover, consider putting it in a mini soap mold to make a travel size soap.

Print out the recipe card below.

Ingredients

• 2 cups goat’s milk melt-and-pour soap base
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 15 drops Tumeric essential oil
• 15 drops Frankincense essential oil
• 15 drops Myrrh essential oil

Tools

Silicone soap molds (I used these molds that come with a variety of pretty designs)

Directions

Chop up the goat’s milk soap base into 1-2” cubes. If you have the type that is already scored into cubes, just follow the lines on it. Otherwise, you can just guess about the size.

Place about 12-16 cubes into a microwaveable glass mixing bowl or measuring cup and place in heat for 90 seconds.

With a rubber spatula, stir well after heating, turning the lumps to the top and scraping the bottom. Make sure you have 2 cups of base. If not, add in a few more cubes.

Heat for another 25-30 seconds. You want the soap to be smooth and liquefied and free of clumps. 

Mix the turmeric powder into the olive oil. This makes it easier to add to the soap base without clumping. You could use a very small whisk to blend them together. (You can do this step while the soap is being microwaved to prevent your soap base from thickening as it cools off.)

Add the mixture to the soap base. If the soap has thickened up, stir it and heat it for about 30 seconds before adding.

Add in the essential oils and stir well.

Pour the soap base liquid into the silicone soap molds. Fill almost completely full and leave to dry on a flat surface. It will take 1-2 hours to completely harden and cool. 

Peel the molds off carefully once cooled. Turn the soap bars upside down on a solid surface and allow any moisture to dry off that accumulate during drying. 

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This turmeric soap recipe is just one of many goats milk melt and pour soap recipes that I have! Be sure to check out the others, each with their own unique benefits.