How to Make Soap & Body Washes

Making your own soap and body wash saves money and eliminates unwanted chemicals that may be found in store brand. Melt-and-mold soaps are practical and creative. When making soaps and body wash a soap base is needed. Bases may be a pure soap, a blend of detergents or both. Customize to fit your personality with colors, scents and designs. Make several bars of soap and bottles of body wash to give as gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Melt-and-pour soap base
• Molds
• Essential oils
• Additives
• Dyes
• Castile soap

Instructions

Bars of Soap

1. Cut the melt-and-mold with a knife, like cutting a piece of cheese. A pound of base soap usually yields 4 to 6 finished bars.

2. Melt the soap base in a double boiler, let most of the soap melt then turn off the heat. Cover the top of the double boiler with a lid and allow the rest to melt on its own.

3. Add essential oils if desired using 3 tsp. per pound of base. Pour the oil into the melted soap, and mix well. If the product is not mixed thoroughly, hot spots of excessive fragrance will occur.

4. Add color a little at a time until the color of choice has been achieved.

5. Customize soap by adding additives such as almond oil, vitamin E, oatmeal or loofah. Use 1 to 3 teaspoons per pound depending on personal choice.

6. Pour the soap into the molds. Spritz the top of the soap with alcohol. The alcohol will cause bubbles to disappear.

7. Allow the soap to sit in the molds for 15 minutes to a few hours to harden.

8. Remove the soap from the molds by turning upside down and gently press the bottom. The soap will pop out easily if fully hardened, if the soap does not pop out easily let it sit longer.

9. Wrap the bars of soap in plastic wrap until ready for use.

Body Wash

1. Pour 4-ounces of Castile liquid into a 16-oz. bottle. Add 4-oz. of water.

2. Add 2 to 3 drops of essential oil and shake well.

3. Pour in desired color a little at a time, until the liquid, becomes the color desired. Mix the color by shaking well.

4. Place desired additives in the bottle and shake well.

5. Body wash is ready to use.

References

• Herbal Remedies at Home: Body Wash
• "Melt & Mold Soap Crafting"; C. Kaila Westerman: 2000
• "Natural Beauty"; Gail Ferrer-Halls: 2006

Resources

• "Soap Making It Enjoying It"; Ann bramson: 1975