Vanilla—It’s a key ingredient in oatmeal cookies, along with a dash of cinnamon. Oatmeal is soothing and one of the most gentle exfoliators. Combine all three in a bar of soap, and you have a bar of soap that’s gentle. You have Vanilla Oatmeal Spice All-Vegetable Soap.
My Story
The first time I used a bar of oatmeal soap, I didn’t like it. It was a handmade soap with old-fashioned oats taking center stage. The oats got in the way, making it hard to work up any lather.
Yet, I knew oatmeal can be very good for the skin. So I tried adding oatmeal flour to my hot process soap. It worked. I’ll share why in a moment.
Of course, I want my soaps to smell nice, too. Oatmeal—it’s not a scent everyone likes. So I took inspiration from my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe. I add vanilla oil for fragrance and a kiss of cinnamon leaf oil for spiciness!
Why Make Vanilla Oatmeal Spice Soap?
The properties of the individual ingredients inspired me to develop my personal version of oatmeal soap.
Colloidal Oatmeal’s Properties
Colloidal oatmeal—what you get when you combine oat flour with water—is a very effective treatment for itchy skin. It doesn’t matter whether your itch comes from eczema, dry skin, poison ivy, insect bites, hives or sunburn. Colloidal oatmeal bonds with your skin to form a protective barrier. [Source]
Vanilla Essential Oil’s Properties
So there’s no such thing as Vanilla EO. However, vanilla beans release their aromatic properties into oil (just like they do into alcohol). So infused vanilla oil scents each batch of soap. Why is this important? Genuine vanilla aroma calms everyone from newborns to adults. [Source]
Another claim we’ve seen is that vanilla EO can boost libido and relieve PMS symptoms by stimulating the production of sex hormones. [Source] However, the site doesn’t quote any supporting studies, so such claims are anecdotal at best and dishonest at worst.
Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil’s Properties
Cinnamon leaf oil is potent stuff. In one study, it was the most effective antimicrobial of all the EOs tested against the multi-drug resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The researchers recommended further studies. [Source]
However, I only use 0.1% of it in my soap. This means that even if cinnamon leaf oil exhibits strong antibacterial activity, its concentration in each bar is too low to be effective. My concern is that too much of this essential oil may cause skin irritation. I want just enough to add a spicy note.
Making Vanilla Oatmeal Spice All-Vegetable Soap
There’s one primary challenge making this soap. Oatmeal is easy to turn into flour. You just put oats in a blender, and seconds later you have flour. Getting the spicy scent is easy, too. Just a smidge of cinnamon leaf oil or cinnamon bark oil is all it takes.
That leaves getting the vanilla scent. I don’t want to use fragrance oils unless they are natural. So far I haven’t found a natural vanilla fragrance oil.
Because all vanilla EOs are oil infusions, quality can vary widely. Majestic Mountain Sage has never failed for quality, and they usually have a 20% vanilla oil for sale. I find its scent holds well for vanilla, especially since I began combining the vanilla oil with kaolin clay before adding it to my soap batter. It not only helps the scent stick. It improves the soap at the same time.
Summary
Vanilla Oatmeal Spice All-Vegetable soap is gentle for skin of all ages. The oat flour helps sooth inflamed skin, while the vegan soap base is rich in emollient properties.
