I’ve always been intrigued by the world of soap making. Choosing your own ingredients to make your own special scent, adding colors and textures to make it aesthetically pleasing, and then getting to share those goodies with friends and family just sounds like the best thing ever.
I’ll admit that I’ve been an admirer for some time, but the thought of taking on another hobby that can be very involved was pretty intimidating … until I heard about melt-and-pour soap bases, that is.
Craft stores sell soap bases that you literally heat up in your microwave (or on your stove top) and then add whatever ingredients you want to customize your own soap bars. Now THAT I can get on board with.
Ingredients:
-10 oz goat’s milk melt-and-pour soap base
-1 grapefruit (only zest half the grapefruit)
-1 tbsp poppy seeds
-10 drops of grapefruit essential oil
-4 drops of peppermint essential oil
Supplies:
-plastic bowl for heating in microwave or pot and glass bowl for double boiling
–grater (for zest)
–silicone mold
Step One: Cut your soap base into cubes. I used 10 oz of soap for 5-6 bars.
Step Two: Zest your grapefruit and have your poppy seeds and oils handy.
Step Three: Melt the soap base in the microwave (in a plastic bowl) or double boil it on the stove top. I used a wooden coffee stirrer to stir as I went. It’s really important not to burn the soap while melting, so I microwaved in 30-second increments.
Step Four: Once your soap base is entirely melted, pour into a measuring cup. Add your oils, grapefruit zest, and poppy seeds. Give a quick couple of stirs to evenly disperse.
Step Five: Pour the soap into the silicone mold and let harden. I transferred mine to a glass measuring cup with a pour spout for easier pouring. Mine took about 2–3 hours to harden completely, but I let it sit in the molds for longer just to be sure!
Step Six: Once your soap has hardened, pop the bars out of the molds and wrap up to gift to all of your friends! This is my favorite part by far!
The poppy seeds in this soap are great for exfoliating the skin, the goat’s milk is great for moisturizing, and the grapefruit oil is said to balance skin discolorations and keep skin glowing. I love any sort of citrus scent, so paired with a small amount of mint this is one of the best soaps I’ve ever smelled. So fresh!
I have to admit, I was a little nervous about adding fresh ingredients to soap since it just sits on a shelf, but the glycerine in the goat’s milk base that I used is supposed to act as a preservative and keep the grapefruit rind from molding. Whew.
That’s good news because no one wants a moldy bar of soap as a gift, no matter how sweet the gesture! Happy soap making! xo. Katie
P.S. If you liked this post, we’ve got lots more DIY soap recipes in our archives.
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Supplies
- 10 oz goat’s milk melt-and-pour soap base
- 1 grapefruit (only zest half the grapefruit)
- 1 tbsp. poppyseeds
- 10 drops grapefruit essential oil
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
Equipment
- plastic bowl for heating in microwave or pot and glass bowl for double boiling
- grater (for zest)
- silicone mold
Instructions
- Step One: Cut your soap base into cubes. I used 10 oz of soap for 5-6 bars.
- Step Three: Melt the soap base in the microwave (in a plastic bowl) or double boil it on the stove top. I used a wooden coffee stirrer to stir as I went. It’s really important not to burn the soap while melting, so I microwaved in 30-second increments.
- Step Four: Once your soap base is entirely melted, pour into a measuring cup. Add your oils, grapefruit zest, and poppy seeds. Give a quick couple of stirs to evenly disperse.
- Step Five: Pour the soap into the silicone mold and let harden. I transferred mine to a glass measuring cup with a pour spout for easier pouring. Mine took about 2–3 hours to harden completely, but I let it sit in the molds for longer just to be sure!
- Step Six: Once your soap has hardened, pop the bars out of the molds and wrap up to gift to all of your friends! This is my favorite part by far!
Credits // Author: Katie Shelton, Photography: Sarah Rhodes. Photos edited with Piper from the Signature Collection
I just made this recipe, converted to 284g. They look great, but it only yielded 3 bars, approx. 7cmx5cmx1.5cm. Any ideas?
Just made these as Xmas gifts. It has just occurred to me will they keep until Xmas with the rind in them? Will they go mouldy?
Hi, I have just come across this site and recipe, I did all that was instructed but the sent is really minimal, I assume the oil it too hot for teh seesntial oil but I am aware that there is a limit to how much I should add for safety on the skin.
quality Tissarand and Plant Therapy oils were used.
Any suggestions? Im just practising for Xmas gifts
Thanks
This is amazing! i am a beginner and this seems so pretty. thank you !
when I make soaps with something in it, it always falls down to the bottom (or in some cases) rises to the top. At which temperature do I have to pour the soap to guarantee suspension? Or anything else I need to do? Thank you! k
I typed Test test just in case l have to sign up and thats what l’m not prepared to do; just to answer 1 question.
So at what temperature? You microwave the soap for 30 seconds then stir if you can – then you microwave for another 30 seconds, take it out of the microwave and stir. If its not all melted you can do another 30 seconds. Then pour into a measuring cup and add whatever is in the recipe – then pour it all into molds…
I have tried adding things to melt and pour and most things all fall to the bottom. (Becoming the top)How do you keep the zest suspended? Thanks in advance.
I’ve tested this receipe and it’s so great ! the smell is really great. thank you !
Hi! I have friends allergic to peppermint oil so I could just leave that out right? I’m not sure about allergies to the grapefruit oil but if there are the poppy seeds and the real grapefruit chills be able to do it right?
Yes- just omit it or replace it with Spearmint. xx
Hi!
I am making these now. I don’t have a weigh to measure mass – is 10 ounces about 10 cubes? Is that how you measured it??
I didn’t know that it is so easy to make a soap! The recipe looks gorgeous, I definitely will try it. 🙂
Where do you get soap base from?
It’s linked in the post (from Amazon) 🙂
I made a version of these bars this weekend, thanks for the inspiration and the tutorial!!
http://www.edieandandy.com/2014/05/make-11.html
These look amazing! I would pay for these, but even more exciting to know I can make them 🙂
This is just beautiful! I love Katie’s DIYs.
I am a blogger and a soapmaker. I have my own small homemade soap business and I’ve been looking for a silicone mould that looks exactly like these. Does anyone know where I can get it? 🙂
www.joanofjuly.com
Oh I cannot wait to make some of these!!!
Love this, where did you find your soap mold?
We make soaps regularly at work using melt and pour bases. We chop up the soap base and melt it in a slow cooker…this sounds like it takes longer than your method of the microwave, but there is no chance of the soap burning. It is also less fiddly than a double boiler method. We only add the essential oils just before pouring, so as not to evaporate them off whilst we are melting the soap.
Anyone try this yet & know how it feels on your skin? I’m trying to avoid that tight, squeeky feeling that some soaps give.
Two of my favourite scents, I have to try this!! Do you know if you could use metal molds for this? I have some pretty shapes I would love to try.
Stay tuned for the DIY rug post 🙂
-Jacki