Easy Craft Ideas -
Melt and Pour Soap Recipes

When it comes to homemade crafts, Melt and Pour soap recipes are fun and easy. Once you have the general procedure down, be creative with molds, colors, and fragrances.

The sky is the limit, and these easy craft ideas make for great homemade gifts.

Melt and Pour

In general, you will follow these instructions for all your melt and pour soap recipes:

Caution: Use appropriate safety equipment when handling or working around hot soap liquids.

Supplies and Ingredients

• Base soap (Castile)
• Sauce pan
• Molds
• 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup
• Fragrance (essential oils e.g. vanilla, lavender, etc.)
• Colorant additive
• Additional additives as desired (ground seeds, ground oatmeal, etc.)
• Rubbing alcohol and spray bottle

1. Start your double boiler boiling. A quick makeshift double boiler I use is a saucepan with about 2 inches of water, and a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup sitting right in the middle.
2. Measure fragrances, colorants, and any other additives that you will be using with your soap recipe. This will make for quick work when the time comes.
3. Weigh out the appropriate amount of base soap, and cut it into small (1/4 inch) strips. Place the strips into the Pyrex measuring cup and cover with plastic wrap (or aluminum foil). You can gently break up the clumps of soap with a spoon, but Do Not stir vigorously as this will cause the dreaded Air Bubbles.
4. After the soap is completely melted, let it cool slightly (2 minutes), then add the other components in this order (there is a reason):
1. Fragrance
2. Color (A little at a time. Can’t remove color, so be careful)
3. Any additional components e.g. seeds, ground oatmeal, etc.
5. Pour the warm mixture into your clean molds. The molds should not require any additional preparation.
6. If small bubbles appear on top, spray the surface with a small amount of rubbing alcohol.
7. Once in the molds, allow the soap to sit for approximately 60 minutes (or until it is hard and cool).
8. Remove the soap from the molds. If you are having trouble, place the molds in the freezer for a short time (15 minutes). But do not allow the soap to freeze.

That's basically all there is to this soap recipe. Now relax and enjoy your creation. Or give it to someone else as a unique, thoughtful, and useable gift.

Try some of these easy Melt and Pour Soap Recipes. - Enjoy!

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For more detailed information, you may want to pick-up the book Super Soapmaking Secrets by Sandy Simmons.

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Citronella Soap

• 1 cup grated Castile soap
• ½ cup water
• 10 drops citronella oil
• 5 drops eucalyptus oil
• 1 tbs. dried, crushed pennyroyal leaves

Note: American pennyroyal was used extensively by Native Americans to treat a variety of ailments from headache and stomachaches to irritated eyes and fevers. Citronella is commonly used as an insect repellent.

Melt soap and stir in water. Mix ingredients into the melted soap – water mixture. Using a hand mixer, whip the soap until it has about doubled in volume. Spoon the soap into your molds making sure to push the soap into all corners of the mold.

Cold Cream Soap

• 4 oz. Castile soap
• 2 tsp Cold Cream
• 10 drops fragrance oil
• 1 drop coloring (optional)

Melt soap, then add cold cream and stir gently until well blended. Remove from heat. Add fragrance and color. Pour into mold.

Cookie Cutter Soap

• Soap base (opaque)
• Fragrance (your choice)
• Color (see below for ideas)
• Cookie sheet (at least ½” edge)
• Knife to swirl colors
• Cookie cutters

Melt soap base. Add fragrance. Pour the base onto the cookie sheet. Add color as desired, and swirl the colors in the base.

Some interesting Cookie Cutter Soap Recipe Ideas:

• Patriotic: Use white soap with red and blue swirls. Maybe use Star shaped cookie cutter.
• Christmas: Use white soap with red and green swirls. Use Christmas cookie cutters
• Candy cane: Use white soap with red swirls. Use peppermint fragrance and candy cane cookie cutters.

After the soap hardens, pop the block out of the cookie sheet. Use the cookie cutters to cut out the interesting shapes.

Earthly Pleasure Soap

• 1 lb Glycerin soap
• 1 tbs. Clay (often can get bentonite clay (Aztec Secret) at a local herb shop)
• 2 tbs. Jojoba oil
• ¼ cup Distilled Water
• Color
• Fragrance

Melt Glycerin soap. Add a small amount of melted Glycerin soap to the clay and mix into a paste. Mix Jojoba oil and Water into the melted Glycerin soap. Add the clay paste to the melted Glycerin soap mixture. Add chosen color and fragrance. Pour into molds and allow to harden.

Gentle Scrubber Soap

• 8 oz. Castile base
• 2 tbs. white cornmeal
• 1 ½ tbs. fine pumice
• 1 tbs. bentonite clay (often can get bentonite clay (Aztec Secret) at a local herb shop)

Melt base and add fragrance. Stir in cornmeal, pumice, and clay until all ingredients remain suspended in the mixture. After stirring, the soap should have cooled and thickened a bit. Pour into molds, and allow to harden.

Beeswax – Honey Soap

• 4 oz. Castile soap (opaque)
• 1 tbs. beeswax pellets (found at Joann Fabrics, AC Moore)
• 1 tbs. honey

Melt beeswax pellets, set aside but keep warm in liquid state. Melt base soap. Mix melted beeswax into melted base. Add honey and stir gently until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into molds.

Honey Oatmeal Soap

• 3 oz. Castile soap (opaque)
• 1 tbs. Oatmeal
• 1 tsp. Honey
• Vanilla, or almond, or Oatmeal, and Milk and Honey scent

Melt soap. Add honey and several drops of fragrance. Grind ¾ of the oatmeal in a coffee or similar grinder until it is powdery. Gradually add oatmeal powder into warm soap mixture while continually stirring. Continue to stir until mixture is fairly cool and thickens a bit, and then add the remaining whole oatmeal. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens like pudding, then pour into your mold. It must be thick enough to maintain the oatmeal suspended.

Jojoba - Beeswax Soap

• 1 lb. Castile Soap
• 1 tbs. Jojoba oil
• 1 tsp. beeswax

Simply melt Castile base soap and beeswax and stir together while adding Jojoba oil. Pour mixture into mold and allow hardening. The resulting bar will be hard and will last a long time. It does however lather slower.

Lavender Beeswax Soap

• 4 oz. unscented glycerin soap
• 10 drops lavender fragrance
• Purple colorant
• 1 tsp. beeswax (grated)

Melt glycerin soap. Stir in grated beeswax until it also is melted and evenly mixed. Remove from heat and add color and fragrance. Stir gently until all is well mixed. Pour the mixture into your mold and allow to harden.

Colorful Confetti Soap

• Mix and pour soap base (transparent)
• Mix and pour soap base (opaque)
• 3-5 colorants
• Fragrance (your choice)

Melt transparent soap and distribute into 3-5 dishes (as many as you have colors). Color and mix each dish of melted transparent base. Pour into separate molds (one for each color). Allow to harden. After hardening, pop out and cut into ¼ to ½ inch wide confetti strips. Melt opaque soap. Mix in chosen fragrance. Spray confetti strips made earlier with alcohol (prevents bubbles) and place strips in your final molds. Allow opaque base to cool until a skin has formed twice (otherwise you may accidentally melt your confetti). Pour the slightly cooled transparent base over the confetti in the molds. Allow hardening.

Note: This soap recipe works well using tube molds (can use PVC tube with end cap). Use larger pieces of confetti sprayed with alcohol and, place them into the tube mold. Pour transparent base into mold. After hardening, push soap out, and slice.

Almond – Peach Soap

• 1 lb. Melt and pour base
• 2 tbs. Almonds (finely ground)
• 1 tsp. Peach fragrance

Melt base soap. Stir in ground almonds and fragrance. Pour into molds.

Shea Butter Soap

• 1 lb. Melt and Pour base soap (opaque)
• 1 tbs. Jojoba oil
• 1 tsp. Shea Butter
• 1 tsp. grated beeswax
• Fragrance (your choice)

Melt base soap. Mix in Jojoba oil, Shea Butter, Beeswax, and fragrance. A hand blender works well to completely combine ingredients. Pour into molds and spray surface with alcohol to prevent bubbles. Allow hardening. This soap recipe makes for a wonderful moisturizing bar.

Wheat Germ Soap

• 1 lb. Melt and Pour soap base
• 2 tbs. Wheat germ (finely ground)
• 1 tsp. Sweet almond oil
• ¾ tsp. Sandalwood fragrance oil

Melt soap base and add the ground wheat germ, almond oil, and fragrance. Pour mixture into molds. Spray surface with alcohol. Allow hardening.

Orange Peel Oatmeal Soap

• 4 oz. Melt and Pour base soap (transparent)
• 1 tbs. Oatmeal (finely ground)
• ¼ tsp. Orange peel (grated)
• ¼ tsp. Orange colorant
• 4 – 5 drops grapefruit seed extract
• 1/8 tsp. Sweet orange oil
• 2 drops Vitamin E

Grind oatmeal with a coffee or similar grinder into a fine powder. Melt base soap. Add colorant, grapefruit seed extract and vitamin E. Allow to cool slightly, then add fragrance, ground oatmeal and orange peel. Stir until the oatmeal is distributed evenly. Allow the soap to cool sufficiently (heavy pudding consistency) and pour into your molds. This consistency will keep the oatmeal suspended and not floating to the top in the molds.

Excited About Peace Soap

• Melt and Pour soap base (opaque)
• Dried lavender
• Dried chamomile
• Dried orange peel
• 10 drops Fresh Rain fragrance

Grind lavender, chamomile, and orange peel into a fine powder. Melt base soap. Add ground lavender, chamomile, and orange peel, and drops of fragrance. Pour mixture into molds. Wake-up with this wonderful soap recipe.

Orange Peppermint Soap

• 16 oz. Melt and Pour base (transparent)
• 1 tsp. Sweet orange oil
• 1 tsp. Dried crushed peppermint leaves
• 1 tsp. Ground orange peel
• 1 tbs. Aloe vera gel
• 5 drops Orange colorant (alternative: Use food coloring – 3 drops red, 2 drops yellow)

Melt soap base. Add all ingredients and stir gently until well mixed. Pour into molds. Can use a bread loaf pan or small molds. Allow hardening then either pop out of molds or remove from bread pan and slice into desired bar sizes.
Note: This soap recipe has been used successfully to cleanse oily skin and relieve teenage acne.

Milk and Honey with Oatmeal Soap recipe

• 16 oz. Melt and Pour base soap (opaque)
• 1 tbs. Beeswax pellets
• ¼ cup Oatmeal (finely ground)
• ¼ cup Powdered milk (finely ground)
• 3 tbs. Honey
• 1 tbs. Vanilla fragrance

Melt soap base. Melt beeswax pellets. Pour melted soap and beeswax together, add all other ingredients and stir gently but mix completely. Allow cooling to a pudding consistency. Pour into molds or a bread pan and allow hardening. If using bread pan, slice into desired sizes after hardening.

Coconut Citrus Soap Recipe

• Melt and Pour Coconut Milk base soap
• 1 tbs. Lemon Juice
• 1 tbs. Sugar
• 10-20 drops Mango, Orange, and Peach fragrance
• 2 Vitamin E gel tablets
• 1 tbs. Olive oil

Melt soap slowly while adding the vitamin E gel tablets. Once melted, add, lemon juice, sugar, fragrances, and olive oil. Lubricate molds with olive oil. Pour melted mixture into molds and allow hardening.

Cocoa Shea Butter Soap Recipe

• 4 oz. Coconut oil soap base (opaque)
• 1 tbs. Shea butter
• 1 tbs. Cocoa butter
• 10 drops Butter maple fragrance (or vanilla or coconut)
• 3 drops Yellow colorant

Melt base soap. Add melted shea and cocoa butter, fragrance, and color. Pour melted mixture into molds and allow hardening.

Disclaimer: I'm a proud affiliate for the book Super Soapmaking Secrets, which means that if you buy it through a link on this page, I'll earn a commission (without you paying a penny more, of course) which is money I spend, for example, on hosting and maintaining my websites (and paying my bills, so thanks:)

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