DIY Lavender Oatmeal Soap (Oily on a Budget Series)

Today's post is really more of a recipe than a post...  I really love Young Living's Lavender Oatmeal Soap, and to be fair, a bar does last me 3-4 months, but each bar is $10.25 (wholesale/member pricing).  I decided to try my hand at soap making to see if I could make some a little more cost effectively.  The end result was 9 bars of soap for about $1.94 each!  That's a win for me!  I plan to use some of the bars for myself and to give some as teacher presents.  Without further ado, here's the recipe:

DIY Lavender Oatmeal Soap

2 lbs Honey Soap Base

1 cup Rolled Oats

25 drops Young Living Lavender

Put the cup of rolled oats into a food processor and pulse a few times to chop them into your desired texture.  Cut the soap base into 1/2 inch cubes and add to a microwave-safe measuring cup with a pouring spout.  Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.  Add in the oats and stir.  Add in the lavender essential oil; I used 25 drops for this amount of soap, but you could use however much you desire.  Pour into your soap molds and let cool.

I used a soap mold I purchased from Amazon, but I had more of the mixture than I anticipated and ended up using a silicone cupcake tray as a mold for the extra mixture.  Click here for the soap base I used, and click here for the soap mold I used.  There are TONS of cute molds on Amazon to choose from, so shop around!

This is the first post in a new series I'm starting - Oily on a Budget!  I realize that finances can be a limiting factor for some people, and I believe that essential oils are SO awesome that they should be accessible for everyone in EVERY home!  Stay tuned for more tips and recipes.

Double, Double Oily Trouble

**See the end for the TL;DR because this post is kind of lengthy.

I used to be a huge hater of network marketing.  I wouldn't try any of the products because I didn't want to get nagged to make purchases again and again and again.  I thought they were a pyramid scheme, more focused on adding new members and not focused on the products themselves.  It was a huge turn off.  I'd unfollow people on social media that posted anything about network marketing products.  You know what is the biggest turn off ever? People that post constantly about their business and nothing else; am I your friend or just another prospective sales opportunity?  Don't even get me started on people you don't/hardly even know sending you a friend/follow request just to immediately try and sell you some products you never even expressed interest in.  I once had someone I hadn't talked to in YEARS message me telling me they had a product that would help me lose the weight I'd kept on after having my kids...  I don't know a quicker way to piss someone off than to call them fat and then ask for their money.  Instant block.

Then I had a friend that decided to stay home with her daughter instead of going back to work after her daughter was born.  She posted on Facebook that she couldn't imagine leaving her daughter and was going to try and make some extra money sharing her passion for Young Living essential oils.  She followed up by telling people she wasn't going to post much on her personal social media page and that she had started a Facebook group for people who were more interested in learning about oils.  I had always been curious about essential oils (I'm kinda crunchy and a pharmacology nerd) and decided to join the group - just to learn more.  I ended up going over to her house to see the products and learn a little more about them.  The starter kit was a little expensive for my taste, so I ended up ordering some cheaper oils from Amazon that had good reviews.  They smelled okay, but I tried diluting them and rubbing them on Aidan's chest when he got a cold and he broke out in a huge rash.  Maybe you got what you paid for.  I ended up buying the Premium Starter Kit from Young Living with Christmas money I got as a present last year and received it in January 2017.  Over the past year, I have fallen head over heels in love with the products.

I have replaced every cleaning product I used in our entire house with Thieves Cleaner.  It's safe to use around kids and pets and it smells like Christmas.  As a nurse, I've seen horrible things happen to kids that get into regular cleaning products, and I knew I wanted to get rid of hpusehold products that could hurt my kids since they get into EVERYTHING.  I use Copaiba for Max when he's cutting teeth.  Copaiba is a relative of the cannabis plant and had some similar properties to CBD oil (look it up!).  I have an oil that helps me more than anything else I've ever used when I get the sniffles; I diffuse that and I can breath through my nose again!  I use a couple different oils to support a good night's sleep.  Switching back and forth from a night shift schedule to a normal people schedule had me so messed up, until I found the magic combo of Sleepyize and Cedarwood (psssttt... it even works on my kids).  I use Lemongrass essential oil instead of nail polish remover.  Lavender Lip Balm has help me kick Chapstick to the curb (I used to have to have a Chapstick within arm's reach at all time).  I use a DIY face serum instead of the expensive serum I was using before.  My immune system was shot after having 2 babies in 2 years; I caught everything that was going around.  I've used YL supplements and oils to support my immune system and I've been healthier than I have been in a long time!  People, I could go on for HOURS about all the uses!

I've been thinking about writing this post for about 6 months now, but every time I go to write it, I chicken out.  Or I find something else to work on.  Procrastinate.  Come up with an excuse.  The thing is, I'm scared.  And I'm normally not someone to worry about what other people think about me.  I've spent my whole life being weird, and I like it.  I own it.  So why is this one thing making me so nervous?!  Probably because I really value my integrity.  I really pride myself on the fact that when I say something, people can know that I'm telling them the honest truth.  Maybe it's the nurse in me; I'll tell you the truth (gently) even if I know it's going to be hard.  I used to tell people about the Young Living products I love and say, "You can trust me; I don't sell them!"  Somehow, in my mind, it detracts from the dependability of my statements when I could make money off my recommendations.

But guess what?  I can't stop talking about the products I love because they've changed our lives!  And I'm going to take a leap of faith this year and start talking and teaching about these products more.  I promise that I won't share much on my personal social media accounts because that's not what I'm about.  If you don't care about essential oils, that's ok!  I just wanted to put this rambling post out there to say, if you're interested in learning more about oils, tell me!  I'd love to get together and talk about them.  Or send you some samples.  Or loan you a diffuser.  I'm also going to start a Facebook group about my oils (or potions as my husband and coworkers refer to them) if you'd like to learn more.  I'll share some DIY recipes, products I love, and do some occasional classes to share more interesting oily info.  If you think essential oils are crap/snake oils/trendy and don't really do anything, but just want to support me; you're welcome too (here's to you Mom and sister).

So here's the TL;DR:

1. Gosh this all makes me nervous.  I don't just want to make a buck off my friends.
2. I really value my integrity and I intend to keep it; I'll always tell you the truth.
3. Young Living Essential Oils (and other products) are badass and have been a total game changer for our family - and that means a lot coming from a nurse.
4. I'm going to start sharing/teaching/talking more about YL products in my oily Facebook group Double, Double Oily Trouble if you're interested in learning more.
5. If you made it through this whole post, I'm impressed!