10 Best Essential Oils to Make Your Soap Smell Incredible in 2025

Are you bored of store-bought soaps with limited fragrance options? Or perhaps looking for ways to infuse your homemade soap with irresistible fragrances? If so, you’re in the right place! Essential oils for soap making are the most popular choice when it comes to infusing soaps with naturally soothing fragrances. Essential oils won’t just add a delightful touch of fragrance to your soap—they will also impart skin-nourishing properties to them. 

Whether you prefer floral, citrusy, woody, or herbal aromas in your soap, there’s an essential oil to match your preference.In today’s blog, we’ll explore the 10 best essential oils for soap making in 2025—so you can craft beautifully scented, naturally nourishing soaps. Let’s dive in!

Why Use Essential Oils in Soap Making?

Essential oils provide natural fragrances to soaps. For soap making, essential oils are a natural and refreshing alternative to synthetic fragrance oils. Essential oils have a wide variety of aroma which makes it so easy to personalize your soaps to suit your preferences. Additionally, certain essential oils contribute to a rich and luxurious lather, making your soap-making experience even more enjoyable. By selecting the right essential oils for soap making, you can create fragrances that linger for a long time and give a delightful sensory experience with every use. Whether you prefer fresh, floral, or earthy aromas in your soap, essential oils have got you covered. 

Top 10 Essential Oils for Soap Making

As we have discussed the numerous benefits of choosing essential oils for soap making, we now present our list of top 10 essential oils for DIY soaps. All the essential oils mentioned in this list, have unique benefits and fragrance to offer to your DIY soaps. Feel free to choose one or experiment with a combination of them.

1. Lavender Essential Oil: 

Lavender essential oil is widely used in soap as its sweet, floral fragrance smells delightful when used in soap making. Lavender essential oil is steam-distilled from the flowers of Lavandula angustifolia. The steam-distillation process ensures a rich and concentrated aroma.Lavender essential oil goes well with citrus and herbal oils, which gives you endless creative combinations to experiment with. Fragrance of lavender essential oil remains stable in both melt and pour and cold-process soaps, making it a favourite fragrance choice for handmade soap enthusiasts. 

2. Tea Tree Essential Oil:

Tea tree essential oil is obtained from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia. Tea tree oil has a distinct, crisp scent that imparts a sense of freshness to DIY soaps. If you are someone who enjoys clean, earthy aromas in their soaps, you can combine tea tree oil with citrus essential oils like lemon or lemongrass or any herbal essential oil to make the perfect fragrant DIY soap. Tea tree oil maintains its integrity in different soap-making methods, ensuring that the soap retains its fragrance over time without fading quickly.

3. Peppermint Essential Oil:

Peppermint essential oil is obtained from mentha piperita herb and is renowned for its refreshing, minty fragrance. When added to a DIY soap base, peppermint essential oils impart cooling properties. Peppermint essential oil is an ideal ingredient for summer DIY soaps, providing a refreshing, cooling sensation with each wash and transforming your shower experience to the next level.

4. Lemon Essential Oil

Lemon essential oil is derived from the rind of fresh lemons through the cold-press method. This essential oil is known for its bright and zesty scent which makes it perfect for creating fresh summer soaps. Lemon oil pairs exceptionally well with floral and herbal oils like lavender and rosemary. Lemon essential oil has lightweight consistency which makes it easy to disperse in soap bases. Its vibrant scent remains strong even after the curing process, ensuring a fresh-smelling soap that stands out among homemade formulations.

5. Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Eucalyptus Essential Oil is derived from Eucalyptus globulus. Eucalyptus oil gives a natural cooling sensation, when used as an essential oil for soap making, due to its high eucalyptol (1,8-cineole) content. This cooling sensation can provide a mild tingling effect on the skin, making it a must for energizing and clarifying soap formulations.

And not just that—eucalyptus essential oil can impart a crisp and clean scent to your DIY soaps that will remain stable even after the process of curing. Eucalyptus essential oils' natural skin nourishing properties make it a valuable addition to handmade soaps, especially those designed for deep-cleansing or post-workout refreshment. 

6. Orange Essential Oil

Orange essential oil is derived from the rind of Citrus Sinensis. The perfect balance of sweet and citrusy notes in orange essential oil makes it one of the best essential oils for soap making. Orange essential oil’s addition will make your DIY soaps smell like the morning sunshine. Orange essential oil for soap making is often paired with spicy or woody essential oils like cinnamon and sandalwood to create a warm and luxurious scent. 

7. Rosemary Essential Oil

Rosemary essential oil is derived from Rosmarinus officinalis. Rosemary essential oil adds fresh and herbal scent to DIY handmade soaps. In soap formulation, rosemary essential oil goes well with essential oils of the citrus and woody family. The lasting scent of rosemary essential oil ensures a well-rounded and aromatic experience for handmade soaps. Its ability to complement both strong and mild fragrance essential oil makes it a valuable addition to DIY soap-making projects.

8. Sandalwood Essential Oil

People love sandalwood essential oil in soap because of its rich and woody aroma. The long lasting aroma of sandalwood makes soap’s scent feel indulgent and they lather luxuriously. The fragrance of warm creamy sandalwood essential oil is calming in soaps. In soap making, sandalwood essential oil blends beautifully with floral or citrus essential oils.

9. Chamomile Essential Oil

Chamomile essential oil is derived from the flowers of Matricaria recutita. Chamomile essential oil for soap making stands out because of its exceptional skin-calming and restorative properties. This oil has a soothing, nearly sweet herbal aroma that adds to the soap-making process. The warm, somewhat fruity scent is best for people who prefer soft, comforting fragrances. Chamomile goes well with sandalwood and lavender essential oil in the production of fragrant DIY soaps. The smell of chamomile essential oil is faint but distinguishable, making it a perfect choice for individuals with sensitive noses. 

10. Cinnamon Essential Oil

Looking for essential oils for soap making that will bring warmth and vibrancy to your handmade soaps? Cinnamon essential oil adds a cozy and warm scent to soaps, making them feel cuddly and inviting. This oil can be a great option for soap makers who want to experiment with strong and bold scents. By combining orange or clove essential oil with cinnamon oil in your soap base, you can achieve a delightful festive scent. Its strong spicy aroma is perfect for winter or seasonal soap blends.

How to Blend Essential Oils for Unique Soap Scents

You don’t have to stick to just one essential oil to craft your DIY soap; you can experiment with essential oil combinations for soap making to create soaps that are unique and delightfully scented. Complementary pairings like lavender with lemon offer a calming and refreshing aroma, while peppermint with eucalyptus provide an invigorating scent. For a warm, soothing soap you can experiment with cinnamon and orange essential oil.If you want your soap’s fragrance to linger for a long time, then consider adding long-lasting base essential oils for soap making. 

For example, if you're choosing a fresh fragrance like lemon essential oil for your DIY soap, you might want to pair it with an essential oil that has a longer-lasting scent, such as sandalwood essential oil. Letting the soap cure for 4-6 weeks also enhances scent retention.For proper dilution, go for 0.5 to 1 ounce of essential oil per pound of soap base. If it is convenient we would suggest our readers make cold process soaps rather than melt-and-pour soaps, as the previous one holds scents better due to their slower curing time.

Where to Buy High-Quality Essential Oils? 

If you are considering buying high-quality essential oils for soap making, it's important to choose reputable suppliers that are known for their quality and transparency. The Bulk Cart is one such trusted supplier, offering a wide range of natural essential oils and extracts. When buying essential oils for soap making, look for those labels that mention the exact ingredient used in the sourcing of the essential oil. If the essential oil is natural and pure, only its scientific name will be mentioned in the ingredient list with no additional additives. 

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, using essential oils for soap making not only adds beautiful, natural fragrances but also adds lots of skin benefits that elevate DIY soap creations. Each essential oil mentioned in this blog has unique benefits to offer that nourish the skin, when used in soap making. And not just that; you can even combine different essential oils to make a scent that is truly yours. 

So, don't be afraid to explore new combinations and scents—let your creativity run wild! And if you're ready to take your soap making to the next level, be sure to explore premium essential oils from trusted suppliers like The Bulk Cart. Quality matters when it comes to skincare, so choose wisely and enjoy the benefits of homemade, aromatic soaps that are as good for your skin as they are for the planet.

Disclaimer

The Bulk Cart supplies essential oil for industrial use only. We do not guarantee them to heal, cure, prevent, or detect any ailment or disease. The Bulk Cart does not ensure 100% accuracy of any of the information that is published here.

CAUTION: If pregnant, nursing, or under a doctor's care, consult a physician. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Avoid contact with eyes. Keep out of children's reach.