Making Soap With Neem Oil

 The other day, I decided to make some soap with some neem oil that I received for free from Amazon in exchange for testing it out and writing a post and review. I have never used neem oil before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it had a strong scent, but I was unprepared for HOW strong it was! It may be a case of just growing accustomed to it, that may come in time. Anyway, I did some Google searching and decided to make some soap. Neem oil is suppose to help skin conditions, which we have some of in this family. I like to make hot process soap, instant gratification and all. Let me tell you, if you think neem oil smells bad when cold, it gets much worse when you heat it up!!! However, once the soap was finished the smell was barely noticeable. I also put lavender essential oil in the soap once it was finished. So, it smells really good now. So far I am really liking the soap. It's a harder bar than some of the soap I've made in the past, which means it lasts longer. That's always a plus. The soap is quite gentle and cleans well. It doesn't foam up too much, but enough. I haven't noticed it it's helping with any of the skin conditions (skin yeast rashes mostly), but I'm hopeful. Overall, I really like this oil, except for the smell! I am no soap making expert, but this is the recipe I came up with, you will want to double check it before using it yourself:

Neem Oil Soap

22.17 ounces of Coconut Oil (76 degree)
38.01 ounces of Olive Oil (Pomace)
3.17 ounces of Neem Oil
9.05 ounces of Lye
21.13 ounces of water

Look up ways to make soap before attempting this, you can't just mix it all up or you will get hurt. There are tons of crockpot soap tutorials out there. This is the one I started with: http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/how-to-make-soap
This recipe will fit in a rectangular cake pan. I oil the pan before I poor the soap in to make it easier to get out later.