I’ve been looking for the best whipped soap base from scratch recipes for a while and I am so excited to finally be able to share a recipe that I am very happy with. If you have been following this blog for a while you know how much I like making whipped soap DIY. I’ve also been getting lots of questions on making the base at home and a good mild recipe to use.
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I usually use the foaming bath butter but today I wanted to share how to make whipped soap base from scratch. This whipped soap recipe from scratch can then be used for so many variations of whipped soap. This type of whipped soap is also known as foaming bath whip or foaming bath butter since it is made with mild surfactants instead of fats or oils and lye. Soap is defined as the alkali salt of fatty acids, however, the word soap is generally used for other cosmetics that are also skin cleansers, and that is the case for this wonderful whipped soap base recipe from scratch.
I’ve added a list of many variations of whipped soap I have created in the past to the bottom of this post. Take a look at those, there are a lot of great ideas. Also, they may give you some inspiration for other variations of your own using your favorite scents, additives, and colors.
Ingredients and materials to make Whipped Soap Base from scratch
- 3.84 ounces Vegetable Glycerin
- 3.68 ounces Distilled Water
- 3.52 ounces Cocamidopropyl Betaine (also known as bubble up)
- 3.52 ounces Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate Powder (SCI Powder)
- 1.28 ounces Stearic Acid
- 0.08 ounce Tetrasodium EDTA
- 0.08 ounce Preservative* see my note below on preservatives
- Food weight scale – to weigh out all ingredients above
- Wisk
- Mixing bowl
- 2 – 8 oz jars with lid
How to make Whipped Soap Base from scratch
Add the distilled water, glycerin, and Cocamidopropyl betaine to a mixing bowl and mix together using the whisk.
Add the SCI Powder, stearic acid, and tetrasodium EDTA and mix well. Then bring over to a double boiler and continue to mix until all the stearic acid is fully melted. Continue to mix for a few minutes in the double boiler. The whipped soap mix will turn a pale white.
Check with your fingers to make sure that the ingredients are fully incorporated and it is not grainy. This takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Once the whipped soap base is no longer grainy remove it from the double boiler and allow it to cool.
Add the preservative once the whipped soap base has reached room temperature and mix well. The preservative is optional if you are making this whipped soap base for home use and plan to use it within a few weeks. Otherwise, I do recommend using a naturally derived preservative such as the one I linked above because the recipe contains water and the soap will be close to water. The preservative will prevent building mold and bacteria. The preservative I am recommending above is both paraben and formaldehyde free.
At this point, the whipped soap base from scratch is ready and can be used for a whipped soap or sugar scrub DIY. This recipe filled two 8-ounce jar containers, you can double it for a larger batch if you need to. It also keeps well for at least six months. Although it does not last that long for us because we use it a lot.
This is an easy recipe to make and the potential is great with all the possibilities to transform it using colors, scents, and wonderful additives.
What is whipped soap base used for?
The whipped soap base is used for multiple skin cleansing product variations and for making sugar and salt body scrubs. This whipped soap base recipe from scratch is great because it can take oils and butters, colors, and fragrances without impacting the quality of the lather significantly. Whipped soap can be made by adding fragrances, and essential oils and changing the colorants to this base to create very unique and super luxurious variations. When making salts and sugar scrubs the whipped soap base is also great for cleaning the skin at the same time as the sugars, salts or other additives exfoliate the skin.
What to add to whipped soap base?
Usually, butters and oils are added to the whipped soap base to create a more luxurious and impart some moisture to the skin when using. In addition to oils and butters, additives such as sugars, clays, salts, coffee, and florals can be added as exfoliants. Also, you can add fragrance and essential oils to make the bathing experience more enjoyable. Lastly, mica colorants can be added to the soap base to create lovely colors for the final product.
Whipped Soap DIY Ideas
Facial Whipped Soap with Activated Charcoal and Bentonite Clay
Shea Butter and Colloidal Oats Whipped Soap
Falling in Love Shea Butter Whipped Soap
Coffee and Brown Sugar Whipped Soap Scrub
Pastel colors whipped soap – 5 different colors
Baby Blue and Pink Skin Loving whipped soap
Mermaid blue exfoliating whipped soap
Sweet buttercream whipped soap
Are you inspired by the whipped soap shared on this website? Then this is the perfect eBook for you. You can get five of the most popular whipped soap DIYs in this eBook and keep them for yourself. Let these ideas and DIY inspire you to create your own with unique colors and scents. Avoid the ads and have these five different whipped soaps readily available when needed.
Are your dry measurements done on a scale?
Hello Alison, yes all my measurements are using a food weight scale. I got mine from amazon, this one is good for small amounts. https://amzn.to/3qAtZCA
What can I use in place of Tetrasodium EDTA?
Do you have recipe to turn this base into a fragrant whipped soap? Or how much oil to add? I looked at you other recipes and they use a prefabricated whipped soap base instead of your base. I would like to make a mixture using your base and would love help.
Hello Jeanette, this soap base has a lighter consistency than the store bought. It makes a really airy and wonderful soap base. I use it all the time for sugar and salt scrubs. For fragrance I suggest to add one to three percent of the total amount you plan to use. Keep in mind the fragrance recommended usage rate (using IFRA for Melt and Pour). In terms of oils since this formulation is lighter I suggest to add up to one ounce for every 16 ounces of soap base.
Thank you for the great idea to add a formulation using this soap base, I will publish one soon!
This looks amazing! How much (oz) base does this make? And how many batches of whipped soap do you typically end up getting?
Hello Emma, this formulation makes approximately 16 ounces. It filled two 8-ounce jars completely. I usually make just one batch at a time and split at later times to make variations with colors and scents.
Could the tetrasodium be substituted with something else or just left out?
Hello, I have not tried removing it from the formulation but it is intended to be a chelating agent to and also helps with the lather in hard water. I think it will be fine to be left out but I have not tried it yet. I will try this formulation without it in the future to see how it works and may update the formulation then.
Hello
Have you ever used this base for a soap free shampoo?
I have not used it for shampoo yet. I think its a great idea but I will have to do some research.
I absolutely love this whipped soap recipe because it is so versatile. I ended up adding some calendula oil, avocado oil and some rose water /glycerin . Thank you so much for sharing this with us !
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I am so glad you enjoyed this DIY.
Thank you thank you. Thank you
My grandson started a soap/bathbomb company and I help with everything. I’ve been trying to find an alternative to buying whipped soap base to make “soap frosting” for bath bomb cupcakes.
I’ve tried other recipes but this is perfect!
I did have to sub a couple things to what I had on hand. With no problems.
I used SLSA instead of SCI.
I made a half batch to try. Took less than 10 minutes for the stearic acid beads to melt and it to foam and turn white.
I put it into my KA bowl that had been in the freezer. Put about half ounce each of Shea butter and coconut oil in the still warm double boiler to melt. Then dumped that into the mixing bowl
No tetrasodium here. Looked up subs and citric acid is one. This is when I added it.
I also added poly 80 , and propylene glycol for preservative. And a little vitamin E.
Whipped it for only about 5 minutes to get beautiful stuff peaks. then i added some sugar for exfoliant.
Stirred in some color. Got it into a Piping bag and it was fantastic! Easy to pipe.
A tiny bit of it suds up in water and left my hands feeling great.
I am so pleased to have a much lower cost alternative!
Thank you for sharing!
Judy, you’ve made my day!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I am so glad this works for you! I am going to try it with the changes you made, this is awesome!
Hello! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge of soap making. I have a question… I would like to make the base, but I would like to have the butters and oils and vitamin E already mixed in the base, so when I go to make my scrubs all I need to add is sugar, fragrance and coloring. Do you recommend this method, or should I keep the butters and oils separate from the base until I am ready to make my scrubs?
Hello, you can keep the butters and oils mixed in. You will need to keep in mind the shelf life of the oils and butters, usually one to two years. Also, make sure you keep the product in an air tight container.