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Home » Soap Making

Avocado Soap Recipe

Published: Jun 15, 2019 · Modified: Feb 2, 2025 by Celine Logan · This post may contain affiliate links · 30 Comments

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Avocado soap pin

Avocado soap is an absolute delight for your skin - super nourishing and gentle, and the lather is so rich and creamy you won't want to put this bar down!

avocado soaps lined up with avocado in background.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

Note: Substitutions to soapmaking oils have been carefully selected and checked for safety. Don't make substitutions on your own without running the recipe through a lye calculator first.

  • Avocado oil is a soft oil chosen for this recipe because of its conditioning properties due to high amounts of oleic linoleic fatty acids. You can substitute 1:1 without making further changes to the recipe with olive oil or olive oil pomace.
  • Fresh Avocado contains skin-loving fatty acids; the extra sugar will boost the lather and make it extra creamy and bubbly.
  • Shea Butter has long been known for its emollient powers to remedy and heal dry skin. It adds moisturizing properties and some hardness to a bar of soap.
three bars of avocado soap on cutting board.

How to Make Avocado Soap

To make soap from scratch, you'll need to handle lye. To avoid injuries to you and others, it's essential that you follow some simple precautions:

  • Always wear gloves, goggles and long sleeves while making soap
  • Avoid inhaling fumes coming from the lye solution
  • Never ingest lye solution or get it on your skin, mouth, and eyes
  • Keep children and pets away

If you've never made cold process soap before, you can read more about lye safety, my beginner's tutorial, and the equipment needed first.

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

Equipment

  • Goggles and gloves
  • Crafter's Choice loaf mold or similar 42 oz silicone loaf mold
  • 2 medium-sized containers (plastic, glass, or stainless steel)
  • 2 plastic containers to mix the lye solution
  • Plastic spoon
  • Stick blender
  • Accurate digital scale
  • Spatula
  • Fork
  • Plastic knife (optional)

Recipe

This recipe makes ~ 42 oz or 7-8 regular-sized bars of soap, is superfatted at 5%, and uses a lye concentration of 45% to accommodate the added water from the avocado.

Lye solution:

  • Distilled Water (filtered works, too): 5 oz (140 g)
  • Lye (Sodium Hydroxide): 4.1 oz (118 g)

Hard Oils and Butters:

  • Shea Butter: 9 oz (255 g)
  • Coconut Oil: 9 oz (255 g)

Soft Oils:

  • Avocado Oil: 10 oz (284g) Substitute: Olive Oil or Pomace
  • Castor Oil: 2 oz (56 g)

Additives:

  • Avocado Puree: 4.5 oz (130 g)
  • Spearmint Essential Oil: 1 oz (30g)
  • Kaolin Clay (optional): 2 Tbsp
  • Nettle Leaf Powder (optional): 1 ½ teaspoon dispersed in 1 tablespoon of oil
pouring lye into water.
smashing avocado with fork.
using stick blender to mix avocado puree, oils and lye.
texturing avocado soap top with knife.

Instructions

  1. Gear up for safety: gloves, goggles and long sleeves
  2. Measure lye into a small cup using a digital scale
  3. Measure out water
  4. Carefully pour lye into water while stirring and set aside to cool
  5. Melt shea butter and coconut oil, then add avocado and castor oil
  6. Scrape out a small avocado, weigh out 4.5 oz, and smash it up with a fork
  7. Add the smashed avocado to the warm oils and stick blend until all of the avocado is evenly blended in, no clumps.
  8. Add essential oils and kaolin clay to the oils and stick blend
  9. Carefully pour the lye solution into the oils and stick blend to medium trace (pudding consistency)

Optional layer design:

  1. Separate a ¼ (~11 0z / 300g) of the batter into a small container and add 1 ½ teaspoon of dispersed nettle leaf powder
  2. Use a whisk to thoroughly incorporate nettle leaf powder until you see no more clumps
  3. Take the uncolored batter and fill the mold half way
  4. Wait until that first layer is thick enough to support another layer
  5. Then gently pour the green batter over a spatula into the mold, so that it doesn't break too much into the first layer

Continue:

  1. Pour the uncolored batter into the mold
  2. Give the mold a good tap to release any air bubbles
  3. To texture the top, I used a small plastic knife to drag midway across (see image above)
  4. Put the soap in the freezer overnight
  5. Take it out and let it sit at room temperature for another 24 - 48 hours until the soap is hard enough to be released from the mold
  6. Pull on all sides of the mold first, then gently push from the bottom
  7. Cut into bars and cure for 8 weeks
  8. Enjoy!

Looking for more cold process soap recipes? Try:

  • Charcoal Soap
  • Banana and Cream Soap
  • Lemongrass Calendula Soap

Until next time. Happy Tinkering!

4.62 from 21 votes
Print

Fresh Avocado Soap Recipe

This avocado soap recipe includes fresh avocado, avocado oil and lots of pampering shea butter. It’s a real treat for your skin!

Course Cold Process Soap Recipes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 28 days
Total Time 28 days 45 minutes
Servings 8 Bars of Soap
Author Celine Logan

Ingredients

  • Distilled Water filtered works, too: 5 oz (140 g)
  • Lye Sodium Hydroxide: 4.1 oz (118 g)
  • Shea Butter: 9 oz 255 g
  • Coconut Oil: 9 oz 255 g
  • Avocado Oil: 10 oz 284g Substitute: Olive Oil or Pomace
  • Castor Oil: 2 oz 56 g
  • Avocado Puree: 4.5 oz 130 g
  • Spearmint Essential Oil: 18 g
  • Patchouli Essential Oil: 12 g
  • Kaolin Clay optional: 2 Tbsp
  • Nettle Leaf Powder optional: 1 ½ teaspoon dispersed in 1 tablespoon of oil

Instructions

  1. Gear up for safety: gloves, goggles and long sleeves
  2. Measure lye into a small cup using a digital scale
  3. Measure out water
  4. Carefully pour lye into water while stirring and set aside to cool
  5. Melt shea butter and coconut oil, then add avocado and castor oil
  6. Scrape out a small avocado, weigh out 4.5 oz, and smash it up with a fork
  7. Add the smashed avocado to the warm oils and stick blend until all of the avocado is evenly blended in, no clumps.
  8. Add essential oils and kaolin clay to the oils and stick blend
  9. Carefully pour the lye solution into the oils and stick blend to medium trace (pudding consistency)

Optional layer design:

  1. Separate a ¼ (~ 300g) of the batter into a small container and add 1 ½ teaspoon of dispersed nettle leaf powder
  2. Use a whisk to thoroughly incorporate nettle leaf powder until you see no more clumps
  3. Take the uncolored batter and fill the mold half way
  4. Wait until that first layer is thick enough to support another layer
  5. Then gently pour the green batter over a spatula into the mold, so that it doesn't break too much into the first layer

Continue:

  1. Pour the uncolored batter into the mold
  2. Give the mold a good tap to release any air bubbles
  3. To texture the top, I used a small plastic knife to drag midway across (see image above)
  4. Put the soap in the freezer overnight
  5. Take it out and let it sit at room temperature for another 24 - 48 hours until the soap is hard enough to be released from the mold
  6. Pull on all sides of the mold first, then gently push from the bottom
  7. Cut into bars and cure for 4-6 weeks
  8. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

You can substitue avocado oil with olive oil. If you wish to make an unscented soap, leave essential oils out.

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Comments

    4.62 from 21 votes (21 ratings without comment)

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  1. LUPITA says

    July 05, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    Hi, when you say in the freezer, what you mean is in the refrigerator? Or the ice making compartment?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Celine says

      July 05, 2019 at 7:49 pm

      I actually freeze my soap, but you can try the refrigerator too. It just doesn’t always guarantee that the soap won’t gel/ heat up.

      Reply
      • Dee says

        August 27, 2020 at 9:51 am

        Thanks for this! I'm curious though about why you wouldn't want your soap to gel? I usually want it to gel, especially if I'm trying to hang onto the beautiful green color of the botanicals! Thank you!

        Reply
        • Celine says

          August 27, 2020 at 11:02 am

          Hi Dee, the avocado purée can cause your soap to heat up and the top to crack. If you keep a close eye on your soap while it gels you can certainly do so.

          Reply
  2. LUPITA says

    July 07, 2019 at 8:38 pm

    Thank you! Here is really hot! 30-32Celsius in the aftenoon

    Reply
    • Celine says

      July 08, 2019 at 7:08 am

      Hi Lupita, I would freeze the soap then.

      Reply
  3. Bev says

    December 14, 2019 at 6:52 pm

    Cant wait to try this tomorrow! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Celine says

      December 14, 2019 at 7:12 pm

      You’re welcome Bev. Happy Tinkering:)

      Reply
  4. nathalie says

    February 17, 2020 at 7:40 am

    What can I replace the rice bran oil with? I will not be using this oil for other recipes so I don't want to buy a full bottle!

    Reply
  5. Lish says

    March 01, 2020 at 7:06 am

    The recipe says 4.5 oz of fresh avocado purée but the instructions say 1.5 oz. Do you add 4.5 or 1.5 oz of avocado? I want to try this today! 😊

    Reply
    • Celine says

      March 01, 2020 at 10:48 am

      Hi Lish, thank you for catching that error. It should be 4.5 oz! Happy Tinkering 🙂

      Reply
  6. Luisa says

    April 25, 2020 at 9:56 am

    I have a question, can I replace the lye for other product?

    Reply
    • Celine says

      April 25, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      Hi Luisa, for cold process soap you will need lye there's no way around it. If you want to try something else you can use melt and pour soap base, but you won't be able to add avocado to it.

      Reply
  7. Cristel says

    September 18, 2020 at 4:16 pm

    Made your soap today! Looks great and smells great too. It's in the freezer right now, and I'm excited to see the result.
    Just an FYI that you may want to fix: a typo snuck into your Rice Bran Oil measurement: 3.26 oz is 92 grams, not 192 grams.

    Happy soaping!

    Reply
    • Celine says

      September 20, 2020 at 9:12 pm

      Hi Cristel, yikes I will have to correct this. Thank you for telling me. Hope you enjoy your soap. 🙂

      Reply
      • Angela Thomas says

        January 25, 2021 at 9:46 am

        Can this be used as a face cleanser?

        Reply
        • Celine says

          January 25, 2021 at 11:11 am

          Yes you can use this on your face. It might be a little more drying though than a regular face cleanser.

          Reply
  8. Moksha Essentials says

    April 23, 2021 at 4:36 am

    Oh, I love this, and need to read it again! you have the basics laid out so clearly! Great job,

    Reply
  9. Mark says

    May 18, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    Hello Celine,

    Thank your for this informative article. I haven’t started making my soap, however I am into. Avocado oil extraction and looking to make great soap out of it.

    Is it possible to leave out some of the oils in your receipe for instance rice and castor oils. I am also looking for a professional to help me come out with a commercial soap receipe based on a few ingredients.

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Celine says

      May 20, 2021 at 7:45 pm

      Hi Mark, I don’t recommend leaving out or replacing any of the oils if you are new to the science of soap making. Every soap recipe has carefully balanced ingredients and very exact measurements. Changing it could lead to bad outcomes.

      Reply
  10. Paula says

    July 01, 2021 at 11:55 am

    Yikes l put 192gram of ricebran oils instead of 92, will it be okay? Was using grams??? Its in freezer now.

    Reply
    • Celine says

      July 01, 2021 at 4:27 pm

      You’ll have to see after you take it out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature. It could be soft or have extra oil sitting on top. It’s still safe to use though if you dab of the extra oil.

      Reply
      • Joni says

        September 20, 2021 at 8:56 pm

        I just posted a comment and see where the discrepancy is. 92g of rice bran oil instead of 192g. May want to correct that.

        Reply
        • Celine says

          September 21, 2021 at 6:51 am

          Hi Joni, thank your for pointing this out to me. I will correct it. I’m sorry about that!

          Reply
          • Joni Stiles says

            October 27, 2021 at 3:23 pm

            I think it will still work out. Soap Queen informs that superfatting can be done from 1-20%. With the error in the recipe, it comes to about 15% superfat. Im letting the soap cure for a bit longer, but I have faith it will be fine!

  11. Fah says

    August 10, 2021 at 10:35 am

    In “18” Can I use this soap before 8 weeks?

    Reply
    • Celine says

      August 10, 2021 at 8:58 pm

      Yes you can. It’ll be a bit soft.

      Reply
  12. Jana says

    October 22, 2021 at 1:53 pm

    Hi there,
    We tried out this recipe on Wednesday and loved how silky it turned out!
    By the time we took it out of the freezer the bars had turned pink. I presume this is from oxidation in the avocado and am wondering if anyone else has had this experience. It’s our first attempt at using raw avocado in soap and would be open to any helpful tips.
    Does the pink continue to fade over time?

    Reply
    • Celine says

      October 24, 2021 at 10:00 am

      Hi Jana, I had the pink color happen to me with a different soap though and it faded as the soap saponified some more.

      Reply
      • Jana says

        November 29, 2021 at 12:06 pm

        Thanks! The color did clear up as the bars cured.

        Reply
headshot celine.

Hi, I'm Celine, I've been making my own soap and skincare since 2015 to help my family's sensitive skin. You can do it too, I'll show you how right here.

More about me →

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