Honey & Beeswax Soap Recipe (Cold Process)

Here’s a cold process soap recipe that combines beeswax and honey!

When added in small amounts, beeswax helps harden your soap, makes your bars last longer, and can reduce soda ash.

Honey boosts lather and helps soften and moisturize your skin.

Together, they’re a winning combination!

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Related Articles:

How to Use Beeswax in Soap

Honey & Agave in Soap: Usage Rate & Tips + Recipes

Before You Begin

Take special note of the higher temperatures required for this recipe.

You want to make sure the beeswax stays nice and hot so you don’t end up with chunks for solid wax in your bars of soap.

For this reason, I don’t suggest this recipe for brand new soapmakers.

Honey & Beeswax Soap Recipe (Cold Process)

You’ll Need:

(See substitutions & tips below.)

• 9 oz (255 g) distilled water
• 3.85 oz (109 g) sodium hydroxide (I like Essential Depot)
• 7 oz (196 g) coconut oil (25%)
• 0.5 oz (14 g) beeswax (1.8%)
• 15 oz (425 g) olive oil (53.6%)
• 4 oz (113 g) sweet almond oil (14.3%)
• 1.5 oz (43 g) castor oil (5.4%)
• 1 tsp honey mixed with 1 tsp warm water
• 1.06 oz (30 g) lavender essential oil (optional, for scent)

Substitutions & Tips:

• Coconut oil could be replaced with babassu oil. (If you do this, the lye amount will shift slightly to 3.8 oz or 108 grams.)
• Instead of olive oil, you could use rice bran oil.
• Sweet almond oil can be replaced with sunflower oil, apricot kernel oil, or rice bran oil.
• If you’re resizing this recipe, most of my soaps are superfatted between 5 and 6%; and a full water amount is suggested for beeswax soaps.
• Make sure you’re using a true lavender essential oil from a reputable supplier such as Wholesale Supplies Plus, Bramble Berry, Mountain Rose Herbs, etc. (A large portion of the EOs on Amazon are fakes and are really mislabeled fragrance oils – several of my readers have ran into soaping troubles with these oils.)
• If you run into trouble, check out my article: What’s Wrong With My Soap? {troubleshooting cold process soap problems}

Directions to Make:

1. Put on your protective gloves and eyewear. (Never get too comfortable with soapmaking to skip this step! Even after so many years of soapmaking, I recently splashed lye right onto my cheek by accident. I was so thankful my eyes were protected!) <3
2. Carefully stir the lye into the water, then set it in a safe place to cool to around 125 degrees F (52C). You will need this high of a temperature when making beeswax soap.
3. Melt the coconut oil and beeswax completely then add the other liquid oils and stir well.
4. Heat the oils if needed to ensure that they are around 145 degrees F (63C).
5. Hand stir for a several moments to combine, then add your honey and essential oil.
6. Keep stirring – a combination of hand stirring with brief little pulses of your stick blender. You’ll likely reach trace in under a minute.
7. Immediately pour into prepared mold(s).
8. If your room is warm enough, you likely don’t need to cover this soap, so that it doesn’t overheat.
9. Keep your soap in the mold(s) for one to two days, until it can easily be removed. Slice into bars then cure in the open air for 4+ weeks before using.