How to customize the scent of your Dr. Bronner's soap.

One question our passionate customers often ask us is if we have plans to launch liquid Castile soap with a [fill in the blank] scent. But did you know it's quick and easy to make your own Castile Liquid Soap scent? Read on to find out how! Before you start making your own scent, don't forget to check out our eight Pure Castile Soap scents, if you haven't already!

Adding Essential Oils to Dr. Bronner's Gentle Baby Castile Liquid Soap

If you've dreamed of pairing your favorite fragrance with our liquid soap, then our Gentle Castile Baby Liquid Soap is the perfect place to start. It contains no essential oils and has twice the amount of olive oil, making it especially moisturizing and nourishing for the skin. We suggest adding it only to our Gentle Castile Baby Liquid Soap, as adding essential oils to our scented soaps can make them cloudy or thick .

Note on essential oil quantities: The amount of essential oil you need to add to the Gentle Baby Castile Liquid Soap varies because each type and brand of essential oil is unique, and some are stronger than others. We encourage you to experiment until you find a recipe that works for you.

Gentle essential oils

Here are the types of essential oils that many characterize as having a mild aroma, so a few more drops will be needed to achieve the desired effect: Chamomile, jasmine, geranium, neroli, ylang-ylang, petitgrain, angelica root, sage, fennel, rosemary, thyme, parsley:

• 60ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 30 drops.
• 240ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 120 drops.
• 475ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 3/4 of a 10ml bottle.
• 945ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately one full 15ml bottle.

Strong essential oils

Here are the essential oils characterized by having a stronger aroma and which will likely require fewer drops: Cedarwood, camphor, cajeput, eucalyptus, patchouli, pennyroyal, bay leaf, lavandin, peppermint, basil, cinnamon, pine:

• 60ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 10 drops.
• 240ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 40 drops.
• 475ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 80 drops, or about half of a 5ml bottle.
• 945ml bottle of Suave-Bebê: Add approximately 160 drops, or a full 5ml bottle.

Experiment with these amounts and adjust until you get the desired result. It's best to start by adding smaller amounts and testing, as it's easy to add more if you want a stronger aroma.

How to mix essential oil(s) with Castile soap

Once you've chosen an essential oil, you can mix it directly into the Gentle Baby Soap. Mixing directly may lead to some separation between the oils and the soap, so it's best to shake the soap well before each use. If you want to avoid separation altogether, here are some mixing tips!

• Heat the soap in a stainless steel pan over low heat for about 5 minutes.
• Combine the soap and oil(s) using an immersion blender.
• Mix for 1 minute.
• Stir occasionally while the soap cools.
• After it cools, pour the mixed soap into a jar.

Additional mixing tips

Using large quantities of essential oils can lead to consistency and/or cloudiness problems. We recommend adding a few drops at a time, checking for changes in consistency as you go. If the soap starts to thicken, you can add hot distilled water, a few drops at a time, to dilute the product until you reach the desired consistency. Be careful when handling hot soap (take the same precautions you would when handling hot soup). We recommend holding the immersion blender vertically to avoid spilling the hot soap. When heating the soap over low heat, make sure not to exceed the stove's low heat or ~63ºC.