Gentle Bastille Baby Soap

This gentle soap recipe is great for a baby's delicate and sensitive skin. Made with soothing ingredients like chamomile-infused olive oil, Shea butter, and colloidal oatmeal to gently cleanse the skin without stripping it of its natural barrier mantel.

I’ve been making this baby soap since our first child, prone to eczema in the winter, was a wee toddler. We all use it these days, especially when everyone’s skin is crazy dry and itchy. It does a nice job of cleansing while still being moisturizing.

I have to let you know that it's not a tear-free soap. It will still sting despite being gentle if you get it into your eyes.

What’s Bastille Soap?

Probably the best-known "single oil soap" is Castile soap. A soap made entirely (100%) from olive oil named after the Castile region in Spain, where the soap is said to have first originated. While Castile soap is the most gentle soap for your skin, it can also feel slimy and take a very long time to cure.

For this gentle soap, I chose to formulate a Bastille Soap, which is mainly (at least 70%) made of olive oil but uses the addition of shea butter and castor oil for lather, hardness, and moisturizing properties.

How to Make Oil Infusion

This recipe calls for chamomile-infused olive oil. Since the infusion process can take up to 1 month, depending on your chosen method, prepare your oil beforehand. You can skip this step and use plain olive oil!

There are two ways to infuse dry herbs or flowers into oil: Cold or heat infusion. Both methods start with combining plant material with oil in an airtight glass container.

So, for this recipe, take 1 cup of chamomile flowers, place them on the bottom of a mason jar, and add 13 oz (370 g) of olive oil, close the lid tight, and shake it well.

Now, depending on how much time and patience you have, you can either:

a) place the mason jar on a sunny window sill for 3-4 weeks, or

b) fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water, stand your mason jar in it, put it on a very low simmer for 2-3 hours. For this method you will have to check on your oil frequently and ensure the water hasn't evaporated.

After the chamomile is done infusing the oil, it's time to strain the buds. I used a colander that I lined with a coffee filter, but you can use a cheesecloth or a very fine sifter instead. Make sure that you squeeze as much olive oil as possible out of the chamomile at the end.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you will I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

If this is the first time making cold process soap I suggest you go back and check out my article about lye safety, equipment needed and my beginners tutorial.

Equipment

• Two medium-sized heat-resistant containers
• One mason jar with a lid
• Fine mesh sifter
• Coffee filter
• Accurate digital scale
• Immersion blender
• Single cavity soap mold
• Soap stamp "Baby Soap"(optional)
• Rubber mallet (optional)
• Small spray bottle for rubbing alcohol (optional)

Ingredients

• Distilled Water: 4 oz (117 g)
• Lye: 2.3 oz (65 g)
• Olive Oil: 13 oz (370 g)
• Shea Butter: 4 oz (113 g)
• Castor Oil: 1.5 oz (43 g)
• Dried Chamomile Flowers (optional for oil infusion): 1 cup
• Lavender Essential Oil (optional for scent): 15 g
• Chamomile Essential Oil (optional for scent): 5 g
• Colloidal Oatmeal (optional): 2 Tbsp

Instructions

1. Place dried chamomile flowers in a mason jar
2. Weigh 13 oz of olive oil and add to mason jar so that chamomile is completely covered, close the lid and shake
3. To infuse the olive oil, you can either leave the mason jar on a sunny window sill for 4-6 weeks or place it in a small saucepan filled with water over low heat for 2 hours
4. Gear up for safety: gloves and goggles are a must when dealing with lye!!!
5. Prepare lye solution by pouring the lye into the water, NEVER the other way around, and set aside to cool
6. Strain olive oil through a fine mesh sifter line with a coffee filter, an old shirt or cheesecloth
7. Squeeze out as much olive oil as possible from the chamomile flowers
8. Weigh olive oil to make sure you have right amount, add more olive oil if not
9. Melt shea butter in a water bath over low heat
10. Add shea butter, olive oil, and castor oil to a medium-sized container
11. Add colloidal oatmeal and essential oils (if using) and stick blend until well combined
12. Add lye solution to oils and stick blend until light pudding consistency is achieved
13. Place your soap mold on a cutting board
14. Pour the soap batter into the soap mold cavities
15. Tap soap mold with cutting board down to release air bubbles
16. Leave your soap out on the counter for 24 hours
17. Unmold soaps and set out to dry
18. After 4 days stamp your soaps (if desired, see tips below):
19. Lay your soap on a hard flat surface
20. Spritz the stamp with a little bit of rubbing alcohol to prevent sticking
21. Lign the stamp up with your soap
22. Using the palm of your hand, press down on the stamp
23. With a rubber mallet, gently pound the stamp in each corner and finish by pounding in the middle once.
24. Remove the stamp by first rocking it back and forth, then gently pulling it off the soap
25. Cure for 6 weeks

Looking for more skin-loving soap recipes? Why not try:

• Avocado and Shea Soap
• Rose Clay and Coconut Milk Facial Soap
• Oatmeal and Lavender Soap