How to Make New Soap From Soap Scraps

Homemade soap molds come in a variety of shapes.

Those small scraps of soap that are too little to handle in the bath do have a use. You can repurpose them into new bars of fragrant soap. Making your own soap allows you to alter the color or fragrance to fit your personal preferences. Soap makers can also add glitter, dried flowers or other decorative objects to their soap. Making new soap from old scraps is a simple process.

Things You'll Need

• Towel
• Knife
• Saucepan
• Water
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• Fragrant essential oil
• Food coloring
• Wooden spoon
• Soap molds

Instructions

1. Collect your soap scraps until you have 2 cups. Keep the scraps wrapped in a clean towel until you collect enough.

2. Finely chop the soap scraps with a sharp knife and pour the chopped pieces into a saucepan. Fill the pan with water until you have covered the soap and leave it to soak for 24 hours. Stir every four hours with a wooden spoon.

3. Put the saucepan on the stove at high heat and bring the scraps to a boil. Immediately remove the mixture from the heat and stir in 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil.

4. Add food coloring of your choice, two drops at a time, until the mixture is the color you want. Add 1 tbsp. of essential fragrant oils. Stir the mixture again with the wooden spoon.

5. Pour the mixture into soap molds. Leave the molds in a cool, dry place for two weeks to cure. Remove the new soap from the molds.

References

• Soap Nuts: Making Something From Scraps
• "It's So Natural: Put Those Scraps to Good Use"; Alan Hayes; 2002

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish