We have a funny story in my family. That involves me. And soap. See, about 30 years ago, my mother put together a beautiful present for me to give to my first grade teacher, but as a six year old, I just couldn’t appreciate it. Because it was soap. It was from Crabtree & Evelyn- remember them? They were fancier than Bath and Body Works is today (so very nice soap….it wasn’t like we slapped a gift bow on a bar of Ivory or anything), but I didn’t understand that there were levels of soaps….In my little 6-year-old-mind I was basically inferring that I thought she wasn’t clean by gifting Mrs. Parks with soap. I did give the present to my first grade teacher and reported when I got home that I had told my teacher it was “All my mother could afford.” Ahem….Don’t kids say the darnedest things? Well, this same little girl grew up and now loves soap (and also loves to give it as gifts…you know to teachers, so her own kids can incredulously say, “We are giving my teacher SOAP?!” (Yes, this HAS happened!) Cue the Disney Theme Music …the African sun stretching across the horizon….”It’s the circle of life….” Yep, we’ve come full circle.
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I Pinky Promise- DIY Soap IS Easy!
My daughter and I made some soap recently to give to some family members (we don’t need to infer anything about their cleanliness…they really could use some soap…JUST kidding Mom and Dad!). You know what? I have been curious about making soap for the longest time. And always got scared off. I figured it must be hard or everyone would be doing it….But you know what? Here’s a little secret….it is SOOO easy! I feel it is my duty to let this be known to all of my crafty/ semi-crafty/wannabe-crafty friends! Ladies! If you can turn on a microwave, you can make soap! Really! Who knew?!
Soap Making Essentials
Now the first thing we have to get straight is that we aren’t technically MAKING the soap….I mean, we are, but we kinda aren’t…. When you make spaghetti, most people don’t make the actual noodles first. Nope, they use a short cut and buy them already made. Well, you know what friends? Rejoice because you can buy soap already “made” and ready to be doctored up. Any craft store will have blocks of soap. I opted for the “shea butter” variety because, let’s face it, this skin ain’t getting any younger….
You can find melt-and-pour soap base on amazon here.
Soap Making the Easy Way
Now for the “You won’t believe how easy this is” Part:
Here’s the secret that I couldn’t believe….All you have to do is melt the wax according to the directions, add an essential oil of your choice and then pour (carefully) the hot wax into molds. Boom! That’s it! And then you can be “zestfully clean” (after you’ve let them cool, of course).
(Again- read directions on the wax and be careful!)
With my block of wax, I was able to make 10 bars of soap; 3 different kinds. The only difference was the essential oils used.
I made: peppermint, lavender, and citrus blend. I got a little creative and added some dried lavender to the soap with that oil and also added some orange zest and rosemary to the soap with the citrus blend oil.
Tip: I added 10-15 drops of my essential oil to the melted soap base. This is a personal preference for how little/much you might want.
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