Making soap can be a hot, involved and even dangerous craft. Try working with lye and bubbling cauldrons of the white stuff and you’ll be running to the nearest Target for some bars of Ivory. However, handcrafting soap is a different story utterly and completely. You can craft soaps into various shapes with multiple “add-ons” to suit what is in season and your personal taste. Much better than working with lye!
First things first, you need the actual soap base. Lucky for you, they can be shipped straight to your front door in these thick, heavy grids. Choose from Goat’s Milk, Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Oatmeal and Glycerin. I went with the classic Shea Butter and delicious looking Goat’s Milk.
Ingredients:
- Goat’s Milk Soap Base
- Shea Butter Soap Base
- Molds (purchase or use kitchen molds)
- Fragrance Oils
- Natural Elements and Fragrances
- Microwave
- Wooden Spoon and Microwave-safe Dish
The real twist in this process are the “add-ons.” I felt like a Cold Stone ice cream maker as I chopped up ingredients, mixed in oils and swirled them all into the hot soap mix. First on the list? Lemon Balm is growing in mass amounts in the garden, so I harvested some fresh, along with basil and lavender. To spike the fragrance even further, I added in synthetic oils for a punch.
My mixes?
Fresh Basil with Green Tea and Peony Oil with Shea Butter Base
Fresh Lemon Balm with Lemon Extract, Green Tea and Peony Oil and Shea Butter Base
Grapefruit Extract and Pomegranate Plum Oil with Goat’s Milk Base
Dried Lavender Flowers and Relaxation Oil with Goat’s Milk Base
The next step towards crafting those bars of soap into real bars of useable soap is buying a mold. You can buy soap molds for this very purpose, but I wanted to get a little more creative with my soaps and save a few pennies by using molds around the house. Non-stick pans are a great choice for soap molds and you probably have a few in the cabinet. I chose this mini-custard pan.
My second choice of mold is a silicon brownie pan. The non-stick pan worked well, but the silicon pan worked AMAZINGLY well for soap molding.
The pan can literally be folded and flopped and the soap pops right out perfectly. You might have a cupcake mold or mini-cake mold at home or you can find a similar brownie mold right HERE.
Directions for making your own handcrafted soap:
1. Clean, dry and chop all fresh herbs
2. Clean, dry and spray all molds with a little cooking spray
3. Break the soap into chunks and heat 30 seconds at a time in the microwave
4. Place fresh ingredients into molds
5. Pour hot, melted soap into molds (carefully!)
6. Be patient and wait 20-60 minutes until the soaps are fully hardened
7. Pop soap out of molds and enjoy!
You might have noticed in my soap descriptions that I included a few extracts in addition to the oils and fresh ingredients.
Those extracts are simply made by pouring vodka over lemon and grapefruit peels and allowing them to sit for several months.
So fresh from the garden and straight from the Consumer Crafts box…
Now we have soap!
So take a look outside your backdoor today and see what is growing!
Check around your house for items that could be used for molds! Could you make rosewater to add to a glycerin soap? Would those silicon cupcake molds work for pretty Aloe Vera Soaps? Perhaps you too, have some lavender ripe for picking! It goes great with Goat’s Milk Base!
Whatever ingredients you choose to mix and match, it is a fun process for adults and kids alike and the result is a hand crafted treat!
I made these soaps for years but didn’t know until now that goat’s milk is available. (Only had two types WAY BACK WHEN). They look beautiful when wrapped with tissue paper or waxed paper and tied with Baker’s twine or raffia. Keep it simple and it looks very Victorian.
…h and one brownie pan is 1/2- a whole block depending on how tall you make your soaps!
I used the bases separately, but have used them together as well. I don’t know about combining other bases with the glycerin soap — it might separate?
As far as the fresh ingredients — yes they eventually start to brown. I used some soap right away so it wasn’t a problem. After several months, when the basil soaps had turned a bit, I melted them all down together (about 2 min.) and simply remolded them as a brown soap.
Hope that helps!!
oops, forgot — where do you find the shea butter, etc bases? Thanks again
Great post – thanks. I haven’t done the melt and pour method is a long time but it now looks like there are much better options for base – even more fun
THNANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!!!
Since I am a true beginner…did you use both the goat and Shea bases together? Also , how much of the 2 lb block would I use to make, say one brownie pan of soaps?
do the soaps have a use by date/shelf life because of the fresh ingredients? any help would be good i want to make them for christmas presents but dont want them to rot
x
Oh that looks so fun! Had no idea it could be done in the microwave :O Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the tip Rebecca! It’s true! With the no stir method, the lavender is on the top of the soap only and washes out after a few uses. The oils and extracts are responsible for the scent of the soap from there on out.
Just an FYI, many herbs will turn your whole bar of melt and pour soap brown within a few days to a week or so in. Lavender especially. When I first started making soap many years ago I made lavender melt and pour soap only discover it was completely brown several days later.
They are totally easy Kim! Shaunte – THANK YOU and ice cream references come fast and quick in this house
Those are just beautiful, and look like they came from a high-end boutique, not a KITCHEN!
You had me at “I felt like a Cold-Stone worker!” HAHA!
Why have I not handcrafted soap before?! These look beautiful–and fairly easy, too. I think that I’m going to give these a try as handmade Christmas gifts…