Grandma’s Oatmeal & Honey Tallow Soap Recipe (Cold Process)

🐝 Oatmeal & Honey Tallow Soap

(Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. They help support the journal at no extra cost to you 🤍)

🍯Oatmeal & Honey

Grandma’s Comfort Bar (Journal Entry #2)

From the soap journal…

This is the bar I make when my hands feel weather-worn and the air turns cool.

Oats for soothing. Honey for softness.

Nothing fancy — just steady, honest soap like Grandma always trusted.

Some soaps don’t announce themselves. They don’t strut or sparkle or smell like they’re trying to win a prize. Oatmeal & Honey is the kind that just shows up, rolls up its sleeves, and gets to work—quiet and dependable.

I learned early on that honey teaches patience. Rush it, and it sticks to everything but where you want it. Treat it kindly, and it rewards you with warmth, softness, and a glow that feels earned. Oatmeal’s the same way. Folks sometimes think of oatmeal as plain, but it is pure comfort for your skin. It’s a steady hand on a bad day. It’s the soap you reach for when your skin’s been through more than it should’ve had to.

This bar always reminds me of mornings when the house was still half-asleep. Light coming in soft through the curtains, the smell of something warm on the stove, and the quiet promise that the day didn’t need to be hurried. Grandma used to say, “If your hands feel taken care of, the rest of you follows.” I didn’t understand that then—but I do now.

When I stir this batch, I take my time. No rushing the trace, no fussing with fancy swirls. Just a steady hand and a little trust in the old ways. The oats settle in like they belong there, and the honey folds through the batter smooth and golden, like it’s found its home again.

Oatmeal & Honey isn’t here to impress anyone. It’s here to help. It soothes. It softens. It listens without interrupting. And somehow, every time I use it, I feel a little more put back together than I was before.

That’s good soap, if you ask me.

— Soapmaking Hobby 🫧🍯

🐝 Oatmeal & Honey Tallow Soap

🧺 The Recipe

Grandma’s Base Formula — 50 oz oils

• 20 oz Tallow (40%)

• 12.5 oz Coconut Oil (25%)

• 12.5 oz Olive Oil (25%)

• 5 oz Castor Oil (10%)

Lye Solution

• 7 oz Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)

• 14 oz distilled water

• Sodium lactate (optional, for harder bars)

Additives (mixed into melted oils)

• 2 tbsp Kaolin Clay

• 2 tbsp finely ground Oats

• 1–2 tbsp whole oatmeal for the top

• 1 tbsp honey (stir into warm oils)

Scent (optional – suggestion only)

• Oatmeal, Milk & Honey FO

• or raw honey + soft vanilla notes

• or leave unscented for sensitive skin

🤍 Why You’ll Love It

Oatmeal & Honey soap is known for:

• soothing dry or itchy skin

• gentle exfoliation

• creamy, stable lather

• long-lasting tallow hardness

• naturally comforting scent

🤍(Disclosure )This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission — just enough to keep the soap kettle warm — at no extra cost to you.

🔗 Tools & Supplies I Use

These are the basics I reach for every time:

• Stick blender

• Lye safe pitcher

• Stainless or enamel soap pot/bowl

• Wooden mold with silicone liner-Large Tall and Skinny  or

• Small tall and skinny

• Heat safe spatulas 

• Digital scale

• Infrared Thermometer 

• Safety goggles

• Nitrile gloves 

• Quilted mason jars for FO/EO 

• Work Apron with pockets 

• Electric Kettle -to melt hard oils in a hot water bath

• Parchment paper (if using wooden mold)

  Optional but lovely:

  • Oat grinder or coffee grinder

  • Soap cutter & molds

  -perfect for beginners

  • Soap stamp

— Soapmaking Hobby 🪵