Make Your Own Soap Tutorial

 

Sometimes I need to reinvigorate my creative juices, and the best way for me to do that is run away from the sewing machine & make something, do something, learn something new. A few months ago the boys and I tried our hands at soap making. That experiment of course, included Legos too. 

Today I'll show you how fun & easy it is to make your own soap, and remind you that Mother's Day is just around the corner! 

 

You'll Need: 
Soap Molds (Mine were purchased from Hobby Lobby but you could also reuse different types of containers like a milk carton bottom)

Pure Glycerine Soap (found at craft supply store)

Essential Oils for sniffing

Coloring (food coloring, natural dyes, or again I picked soap coloring available at craft store)

Add ins (I'll be included some recipes at the bottom of the tutorial for inspiration)

Measuring Cup

Microwave 

1.) Melt your glycerine in microwave safe container. Heat for no more than 30 seconds on high. Stir and continue heating in short intervals until soap is melted. 

2.) Once soap is completely melted, you'll add your coloring and scents. I used 5 drops of oil per bar of soap and added until it tickled my fancy.

3.) Pour melted soap into molds along with add ins. (Pictured here is my orange peel citrus soap) Oh and a quick tip I had some issues with my add ins floating to the top and asked my friend Liana of The Coconut Crush for some help, she said "pour a thin layer, let it set up completely, then right before you pour the rest at a cooler temp, spritz cooled layer heavily with alcohol"

4.) Allow bars to cool for 1 to 2 hours. Stick the soap molds in the fridge for 15 minutes and the soap will pop right out.

Citrus Herb Soap 
Lemon and/or Orange zest, Basil, Rosemary, Mint (or any herbs of your choosing!) Puree herbs in food processor and squeeze out excess water in paper towel- Add 1 tablespoon per bar.

Orange Peel Soap 
Orange zest, or chopped orange peel + 5 drops of orange essential oil (Great tutorial showing you how to make orange oil from orange peels from Condo Blue)

Sugar Cookie Soap 
Use 5 drops of Sugar Cookie Fragrance oil

Vanilla Soap 
Use 5 drops of Vanilla Fragrance, and here's another tip! Liana tells me that generally speaking anytime you add vanilla scent to soap it will turn brown. This is what I used and it did not turn brown.

Rose Garden Soap 
Rose petals (boil them in distilled water before adding to soap) and rose oil. Make your own rose oil here.

See? That wasn't hard at all. The boys love making soap, especially when we're putting toys inside. This tutorial can be tweaked to create really cool birthday party favors, customized gifts for teachers, family, and friends. It's recommended to use your soap (or gift it away) within a year- however it won't get rancid or grow mold. Eeew! It will just lose its moisture and appear crumbly. Until then store it in an air tight container or seran wrap and tape closed. Now get soapin'!