How to Melt and Pour Glycerin Soap

If you like those brightly colored translucent soap bars found in health food stores and boutiques, you’ll love making your own glycerin soaps and creating a variety of designs and patterns. Once you become familiar with the technique, you can dress up your glycerin soaps with additional tiny soap shapes inside to give as handmade gifts for family and friends.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Glycerin bar
• Glass bowl
• Rubbing alcohol
• Soap coloring gel
• Soap fragrance (optional)
• Microwave
• Wooden spoon
• Small spray bottle
• Molds

1. Purchase glycerin soap in large cubes at your favorite craft or hobby store. In general, a 2-lb. bar of glycerin will yield eight 4-oz. gift bars.

2. Cut half of the bar into small 1-inch cubes and place them in a large glass bowl for melting.

3. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high at 30-second intervals, stirring after each one. When the glycerin soap is melted, return the bowl to your work area.

4. Notice if there are any small bubbles on the surface of the melted glycerin. This is common throughout the soap-making process but bubbles are not desirable in the bar of soap itself. Lightly spray some rubbing alcohol on the surface of the melted soap and the bubbles will quickly dissipate.

5. Separate the melted glycerin soap into three or four separate bowls so you can vary the colors in your soap bar. Choose colors that complement each other. For instance, soap you’re making for Independence Day might include small bits of red, white and blue in a translucent bar. Use your imagination.

6. Add soap gel colors to the separate bowls, one drop at a time. These are strong colors and it takes only a drop or two to get the hue you want. Stir after each drop. Add soap fragrance at this point, if desired.

7. Pour your melted soap colors into separate plain square molds and let them set overnight or until the soap is very firm. Remove the hardened soap by carefully bending the sides of the mold until the soap inside releases and falls out. Chop the colored bars into small chunks.

8. Place the small chunks into the bottoms of decorative soap molds and melt the second bar of clear glycerin soap.

9. Pour the clear glycerin over the colored chunks in the molds. Allow the molds to set overnight and remove your custom soaps, ready to wrap in plastic wrap and give to friends.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you understand the process of making glycerin soaps, you can make an infinite variety of designs, colors and fragrances.