How to Make Homemade Natural Sented Soaps

Homemade soaps are fun to make and can be personalized to suit your needs.

Making your own homemade, natural-scented soap is both a practical task and fun project. Soap bought at the store often has additives, perfumes and chemicals that can irritate sensitive skin. By making your own homemade soaps, you know what ingredients are going into the soap you're using to wash your skin. Use supplies from home and the store to create soap with your favorite natural scents. Natural soaps, made without chemicals, will clean your skin without removing all the natural oils or irritating the skin.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring cup
• Cheese grater
• Unscented white bar soap
• Heat-resistant glass bowl
• Pot
• Oatmeal
• Measuring spoons
• Honey
• Almond oil
• Spatula
• Petroleum jelly
• Soap molds
• Cooling rack
• Plastic wrap
• Large mixing bowl
• Soap flakes
• Olive oil
• Wooden spoon
• 5 small bowls
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Poppy seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Wax paper

Instructions

Oatmeal and Honey Soap Bars: A Hot Process Soap

1. Grate 3/4 cup of unscented white bar soap into a heat-resistant bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water but do not stir the mixture.

2. Fill a pot one-third of the way full with water and heat to a simmer. Set the glass bowl with the grated soap and water on top of the pot. Allow the grated soap to melt, without stirring, then remove the pot from the heat.

3. 

   Use a spatula to fold and pour your homemade soap solution.

   Add 1/4 cup of oatmeal, 1 tbsp. honey and 1 tsp. almond oil to the soap solution. Carefully fold the added ingredients into the soap solution by scooping your spatula down toward the bottom of the pot and slowly lifting it back up to the surface. Fold the ingredients only long enough to mix them.

4. Rub a thin coating of petroleum jelly all around the inside of your soap molds. This will make it easier to pop out the soap once it has hardened.

5. Use your spatula to fill the soap molds slowly with your oatmeal and honey soap solution. Fill the soap molds almost to the top, then place the soap molds in the refrigerator until the soap feels hard to the touch.

6. 

   Oatmeal, when added to soap, soothes irritated skin and moistens dry skin.

   Pop your oatmeal and honey soap bars from the soap molds. Set the bars of homemade soap on a cooling rack and place the rack in a cool, dry place so the soap can cure for three weeks. After three weeks, wrap your soap bars in plastic wrap and store out of direct heat.

Seed and Spice Soap Balls: A Cold Process Soap

1. 

   Olive oil, when added to homemade soaps, adds a soothing moisturizer.

   Measure out 1-1/2 cups of soap flakes and pour into your large mixing bowl. Add 5 tbsp. each of water and olive oil. Mix the first three ingredients using a spoon.

2. Use your hands to knead the soap mixture until it has the consistency of play dough. Continually turn the ball of soap mixture over and press into the dough with the heels of your hands. Divide the soap dough into 16 equal parts using a tablespoon.

3. 

   Ground cinnamon adds a fragrant, natural scent to your soap.

   Prepare your soap ball seeds and spices by placing 1 tbsp. each of the ground cinnamon, ground ginger, poppy seeds and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Use a separate bowl for each spice and each type of seed. Fill your fifth small bowl with cool water.

4. Take each soap ball, one at a time, and dunk it in the bowl of water. Roll the soap ball around in your hands to ensure the entire surface is coated with water. Dip the ball into one of the four coatings and coat well.

5. Press the soap balls that have been dipped in seeds between your hands to adhere the seeds to the soap. Cold processed soap does not need to be cured, so the soap balls are ready once they're coated.

Tips & Warnings

• Homemade soaps make a great gift but always make sure the recipient isn't allergic to any ingredients used to make the soap.

• Cold process soap recipes make a great family project in which to include the kids.

References

• Country Farm Lifestyles: Soap Making Recipes