Do you want to make your own soap bars in less than 10 minutes and with no dangerous chemicals to handle? Melt and pour soap bars are the way to go. It’s so fun to personalize these soaps with your favorite scents and colors. I use them as hand soaps in my bathroom and kitchen, and I have found them to be easy stocking stuffers and gifts. Using soap bars is a great way to cut down on your plastic waste by reducing plastic packaging. It also takes less energy to transport soap bars since liquid soap is heavier and bulkier.
Melt and pour soap base 101
If you make soap from scratch, you will need to use lye (sodium hydroxide), which is a chemical that is caustic and requires care and protective gear when handling. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t do well enough in chemistry lab to want to deal with lye. So I was very excited to learn about melt and pour soap bases. These ready-made bases are produced through the mixing of fatty acids and an alkali (like lye). In addition to the ease of using the melt and pour method, another great perk is how quickly they are ready. You don’t need to wait for the soap to cure for weeks like you would if you make them using a cold process method. The ingredients in the melt and pour soap bases vary based on brand and type (more on that below), so you can look for the one that best matches your skin type.
Can you make soap without lye?
If you are worried about having a caustic chemical in your soap (either by the melt and pour method or the traditional method), that’s a natural reaction. However, once the soap base cures, no lye remains. You can’t make soap without lye unless you use potassium hydroxide. Potassium hydroxide is an alternative chemical for creating soft and liquidy soaps.
Kinds of melt and pour soap bases
There are several kinds of melt and pour bases that you can commonly find at home craft stores or online:
- Goat’s milk – Goat’s milk produces a nice lather and contains Vitamin A, which is good for your skin
- Shea butter – Shea butter is very nourishing to the skin because it is high in vitamins
- Castile – Castile soap is environmentally friendly because it made from vegetable oils rather than animal fat
- Clear glycerin – This soap is great for embedding fun colors or shapes
- Honey – Honey contains antioxidants and can help skin glow
Choose your color and scent
You can easily personalize the soaps with different colors, shapes, scents, and textures. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Goat’s milk base, ground oatmeal, and lavender
- Cocoa butter base, used coffee grounds, and sandalwood
- Shea butter base, turmeric (for a natural yellow color), and orange scent
I liked using turmeric as a natural colorant. If you want a rainbow of colors there are special soap dyes you can get at home craft stores or online. You can also personalize the shape of the soaps by buying different molds. Think circles, flowers, and even these cute paw prints.
Caring for your melt and pour soap bars
Now that you have your soap bars, it’s time to put them to use! To extend the life of your soap bar, you may want to consider getting a soap holder. The holders have slits to prevent the soap from sitting in water when it is not being used. These are plastic free.
One of the things that I like about this recipe is that I can usually get a few months worth of soap bars from a single batch. You should keep any extra soap wrapped up to prevent the soap from pulling moisture from the air and forming dew drops. Store them at room temperature in a cool, dry place. I keep mine in a basement bathroom drawer.
How to wrap them as gifts
Soap bars can be cute party favors for baby showers, weddings, and the holidays. I’ve put some directly in stockings before as stocking stuffers. I’ve also seen some tied simply in a bow with twine.
Cost
The cost of making the soaps will vary based on the products you use, but I’ve calculated mine to cost less than $1 per bar (not counting the cost of the mold). Even if you buy cheap soap at the store, you are still likely paying a dollar for a bottle, so you will come out ahead by making your own. To lower the cost even more, you can often buy larger quantities of the base at a lower cost per pound. The essential oils can also be used in other DIY products, such as homemade shampoo bars, and the silicone mold can be used to make brownies or other baked goods.
Have you made melt and pour soaps before? I’d be interested to hear what scent and texture variations you have tried!
Melt and Pour Soap
Equipment
- Heat resistant spatula
- Microwave safe bowl* I use my pyrex glass measuring cup because it has handles which makes it much easier to remove from the microwave without burning myself
- Soap mold
- Spray bottle with 91% isopropyl alcohol Used for getting out air bubbles
Ingredients
- 1 pound Melt and pour soap base
- 25 drops Essential oil** any scent you like
Instructions
- Prep your soap mold by spraying each section with the 91% isopropyl alcohol.
- Using a knife, carefully cut the block of melt and pour soap into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Put the soap cubes into the microwave safe bowl and microwave at 45 second intervals, stirring after each 45 seconds. This requires some patience because there can be some stubborn pieces. Once you get closer to the end, you may want to reduce the interval of time down to 10 seconds to prevent the soap from burning.
- Once all of the cubes are fully melted let the bowl sit for a minute, then add the drops of essential oil and stir gently but thoroughly. Stirring too vigorously will add air bubbles to the soap, which is not desired.
- Add the used coffee grounds and mix gently again.
- Pour the mixture into the soap mold, filling each container to the top.
- To get rid of bubbles at the top, spray with isopropyl alcohol.
- Let the soap set for several hours. I typically make my soap at night and let it rest until morning to ensure it has hardened.
