A few weeks ago a friend and I experimented with soap making. Neither of us had done it before. It's quite easy! Here are some notes if you'd like to try it yourself:
- We followed the basic recipe from Martha Stewart, but did some of our own mixes like lemon & lime and orange & lemon. We also did a few bars with oatmeal and honey. Grapefruit rind seemed like the easiest one to chop up in the food processor. For herbs, we didn't bother with the food processor and just peeled off or cut the leaves.
- We used the clear glycerin soap base from Hobby Lobby that comes already chopped up into smaller blocks to save time. The craft stores also sell lots of variations: olive oil, shea butter, goat's milk, etc. For this first time, we wanted to keep everything simple.
- We used lots of recycled containers as molds: the bottom of milk and single-serve ice cream containers, water bottles, and yogurt cups. The water bottles had interesting ridges in them.
- Your add-ins will sink to the bottom! If you want to have them mixed throughout, you'll need to create your soap in stages. Pour in some soap base, add some of your peel, and let it set before finishing off the soap with another layer. (If you're a jewelry maker who uses resin, you'll know exactly what I mean.)
- If you've sprayed or coated the containers with cooking spray (or something similar), most soaps will pop right out of the container. If they don't, you can use a knife to cut around the edges. If you've used recycled packaging, you can just cut it right off if the soap doesn't come out. (I only had trouble with the water bottles; everything else popped right out.)
- Soaps will last about 3-4 months, according to the Martha Stewart website.
If you've ever made soap (or lotion or lip balm), I love to hear your tips!