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5 Natural, Herbal Melt

& Pour Handmade
Soap Recipes
You can
make
today!


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Melt & Pour Soaps

Make Natural Soap With No Lye Involved

I’ve written before about making handmade soap with no lye in this
article: The Only Secret to Making Handmade Soap With No Lye. Melt &
Pour soaps are a wonderful gateway into learning to make your own
handmade soaps, and you can make some truly beautiful soaps with this
method.

Refer to the article above for directions on making melt & pour
soaps. You can use these methods for almost any melt & pour recipe!

By the way? Melt & Pour soap making is an excellent project to do

with older children (10 and above). You do need to monitor every action
as you are working with hot melted soap, but if you use common sense
and make sure they understand the safety factors, this can be wonderful
for most children.

With that said: Burns can happen, so please be sure to use all
precautions (general stove top safety), and avoid all distractions while
making these projects. Also, as the adult, be sure you are the one pouring
the melted soap into the molds if your child is on the younger side.

You can purchase all your supplies at Amazon for your convenience.
I’m not allowed to put Amazon links in an eBook, but I’ve linked to
Amazon directly for you, above (afflink—see note below). You can also try
Starwest Botanicals, which is where I buy most of my herbs, powders, and
especially essential oils for soap making, etc. 


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Items You’ll Need for Natural Melt & Pour

Soap

1) Heat: A double boiler for melting the soap on the stove top. We don’t
have a microwave oven, but you could also use a pyrex pitcher with a
microwave. Just heat for very short bursts (20 seconds or so), then stop
and stir. Then repeat until the soap is melted.

2) Soap base. There are many kinds of soap bases. I recommend you
purchase them from Amazon from a reputable company like
Stephenson or from a bulk supplier like Starwest or Bulk Apothecary
and NOT from a craft store. The bases in craft stores are usually low
quality and also cost more.

3) Herbs. You can use herbs in powdered or whole form to give your
soaps some texture and color! Play around and be creative! Here is an
article about natural ways to color your handmade soaps that will help
you decide which ones you want to buy. ***If you can’t find the herbal
powder, you can powder your own with a spice grinder!

4) Clays. Natural clays come in some really beautiful colors: purple

(Brazilian purple clay), pink (rose kaolin), brick red (Moroccan clay),
green (French green clay), and white (kaolin). You can also find shades
of browns and yellows! Refer to the article (same as above) about how
to color your handmade soaps naturally.

5) Textures: There’s a LOT you can do about adding texture to your

soaps. You can try adding salt, seeds (raspberry and poppy are two
favorites), jojoba beads (these are often artificially colored—just a
heads’ up), pumice, or ground/whole oatmeal. You can also try adding
different flowers, although many herbs turn brown in soap over time.

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6) Fragrance. Stay away from fragrance oils. They contain chemicals, and
companies do not have to state if these are dangerous, or even what
they actually are. Even fragrance oils that state “natural” are often
made in a lab, as long as the molecular structures are “close” enough.

Use essential oils, if you can. They do cost more, but your body and
mind will thank you for this natural gift. You can count on the most
beautiful scents, and NO hormone disruptors. Starwest Botanicals is my
favorite place to buy essential oils for soap making because they have
quality oils in different quantities so you can get enough for a batches of
soap.

Start out with 1 teaspoon of essential oil per pound of melt and pour
base. Then you can add more if you want a stronger scent. Remember to
stir the essential oils in right before you pour the melted soap into the
molds.

7) Soap Molds. I love silicone molds best for Melt & Pour (or any kind of
soap making, actually). This is because the soap is easy to remove from
them, unlike the wooden soap molds. You can also purchase really
cute soap molds. Want hearts? Want diamonds? Want a pattern in your
soap? There’s a soap (or candy) silicone mold for that! I like the Wilton
silicone molds for making smaller soaps, and if they are small enough,
they can double as a mold for making lotion bars too!

8) 99% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol in a spray bottle. This is used to

spritz the tops of the soap after you pour the liquid into the mold.
What happens quite often is little bubbles form on top. The spray of
alcohol helps remove them.

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NOTE: A quick note about soap amounts. Soap bases usually come in 1
pound blocks, or loaves that weigh several pounds. You cut them all up
the same, into cubes to melt down.

But so you know about how much soap you’ll need, 1 pound of soap
base is 16 ounces. Most bar soaps range from 4 to 5 ounces. So you can
see you can yield about 4 smaller bars of bar soap from one pound of
soap base.

Also, if you are using cute molds for smaller sized soaps, know that a one
pound soap base will make many little bars of hearts, shamrocks, or
whatever kinds you want to make. After you make your first batch, you’ll
have a feel for how much base you’ll need for the amount of soap you
want to create.

Once you start making melt & pour soaps, you’ll start looking around at
all the different silicone molds online or in your local craft store (I love the
Wilton section) for little or decorative molds that work great for pouring
soap.

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Basic Melt and Pour Instructions

Step 1) Cut your soap base into approximate 1 inch chunks.

Step 2) Gather all your other supplies: colorant, essential oils,

rubbing alcohol spray, textures, etc.

Step 3) Melt your base down. I like using a double boiler because I
can watch it to be sure it doesn’t get too hot. Many people use a
microwave oven in small bursts, then stir, then a small burst of heat, until
all melted.

Step 4) Add your clays, herbs, and essential oils. Stir well. NOTE: If
you are working with heavier additives, be sure to let your soap cool to
about 115 degrees, stirring constantly so you don’t get that “skin” on top
before adding your additives (including clays).

Step 5) Pour carefully into your soap molds. If you are layering two
different colors, wait until the surface of the bottom soap is around 115
degrees. If it is too hot, they will melt together. If it is too cold, the layers
will separate after cooling. This is a tricky technique, and is all about the
temperature. But you can sure give this a try!

Step 6) Add any embellishments to the top of the soap: Try adding
a layer of neat texture to the top, like walnut shells, cinnamon, chocolate,
or flower petals too! The possibilities are endless!

Step 7) Spritz the surface with rubbing alcohol to get rid of bubbles.

Step 8) Leave it totally alone to cool completely. If you move it while

it is cooling, you risk getting wrinkles on top. Remove, cut and enjoy! :-) 


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Honey & Calendula Golden Soap

This soap is a favorite of so many! The honey in the soap creates a

wonderful experience for your skin, and it also contains healing powers.
This soap is translucent because of the glycerin base it’s in, and of course,
the golden color is from the honey.

You’ll need:

Honey Soap Base: 1 pound will make about four smaller bars of soap, to
give you an idea of amounts.

Calendula Petals: I love using calendula in soaps because they are one
of the few flowers/petals that don’t turn brown. They retain their color, so
are just lovely!

Essential Oils of your choice: Because of the color of this golden soap, I
love using essential oils with a citrus overtone: Orange, Lemon,
Grapefruit. And by adding a bit, not too much, of Patchouli, you’ll have a
lovely scent that is grounded.

Here are honey & calendula soaps just poured into the mold. These come
out just beautiful! 


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Rose Goat Milk Soap

Goat milk (or any milk, for that matter) provides a spa-like experience for your skin. It
lathers well, and some milk soaps still contain the lactic acid which acts as a gentle
and natural exfoliant on the skin. This simple recipe uses rose petals. You’ll want to be
sure they are organic, because roses are one of the most sprayed commercial plants.

You’ll need:

Goat Milk Soap Base in the amount you desire.

Organic Rose Petals or Buds

For Color: Rose Clay, about 1/2 tablespoon per 1 pound base. If you
want a “pinker” soap, try 1 teaspoon of Madder Root for 1 pound of base.
You can also powder up some rose petals, but these will be a little
browner in your final product. However, the scent may come through!

If you keep the soap pure white, you can sprinkle the tops with bright red
rose petals for a dramatic look—- just beautiful!

Essential Oils: A nice blend for this soap is Geranium, Lavender, and a
tiny touch of Patchouli. You can also use Palmarose instead of Geranium
essential oil. Rose essential oil is prohibitively expensive for soap making.
But Geranium and Palmarosa in the right proportions can create a really
similar and beautiful scent. They are also calming and soothing for
women.

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Pink Raspberry Seeded Soap

This is a fun soap that uses tiny raspberry seeds for texture and effect. Like the rose soap
above, you could choose to keep the block white, and sprinkle them on top for a pretty
contrast. I’ve included directions for using clay in this recipe, idea though.

You’ll need:

White Soap Base

Rose Pink Clay (optional) Approximately 1/2 tablespoon per pound, less or more as you
like.

Raspberry Seeds If adding to the soap, you’ll want about 1 tablespoon per pound. Or, if
sprinkling on top you won’t need as much.

Essential oils of choice. I think Lavender is a great option for this soap!

(I have an article on the website about the best essential oils to use for soap making. It will
help you decide on essential oils to buy and blends to make.)

Follow the normal Melt & Pour directions from the article.

However, if you are going to use the raspberry seeds inside the body of the soap, allow the
soap to cool to around 115 degrees or so, stirring constantly so you don’t get a film on top
while it’s cooling.

You need the soap cool enough to hold the seeds in a suspension, but not starting to solidify
yet. Raspberry seeds, as far as textures go, are on the heavy side. You may want to just go with
sprinkling them on top.

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Lemon & Rosemary Kitchen Soap

Lemon & Rosemary are fabulous odor fighters and also have some disinfectant
properties, making them excellent for removing grime and smells in the kitchen.
Here’s what you need to make this soap:

You’ll need:

1 pound Clear Soap Base (or more, if you want a larger batch)

1 teaspoon almond or grapeseed oil, for a bit of extra moisturizing.

1 teaspoon powdered Rosemary. NOTE: The powder will give the soap a grainy
look and feel, which is great for exfoliation and texture. If you want more of an “herby”
look, then use regular dried rosemary, crushed a bit. You won’t have the exfoliation,
but you’ll have a pretty soap!

Lemon essential oil. Start out with 1 teaspoon per pound.

Gardener’s Soap
Gardener’s soap is known for getting the dirt and grime out of the wrinkles of your
skin and helps with dirt under the fingernails too. This is a pretty green soap. Here’s
my recipe for the melt and pour version:

You’ll need:

1 pound white, shea butter, or goats milk soap base

1 teaspoon of pumice, finely ground. You could substitute with Oatmeal, finely
ground, too.

1/2 tablespoon of nettle powder for color. Mix this in 1 tablespoon of olive oil
before adding to your soap base and stir really well.

Topping (optional): Ground Walnut shells or Cinnamon—-The brown is a pretty

contrast to the green and adds some extra exfoliation.

Essential oils of choice.

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My Friend,

The sky is truly the limit when making any kind of soap. Melt and pour is especially fun
because you don’t have the worries about working with lye, and you can be really
creative with the additives you use.

It’s also a less expensive way to start learning soap making techniques before
jumping into making soaps with lye.

Real quick, I wanted to mention the luffa soaps, which are all the rage right now.

These are very easy to make. You just get the luffa wet until it expands all the way.
Then you cut it with sharp scissors into a width you like.

Lay it into whatever soap mold you are using and pour your soap base around the
luffa.

As the luffa soaks up the base, you just continue adding more until your mold is filled.

I’m not personally a fan of these because of the potential bacteria they can harbor. If
you choose to make a melt and pour luffa soap, be sure to use essential oils with
antibacterial properties, like lemon, peppermint, rosemary, etc.

And that’s it for Melt & Pour Basics! I hope you enjoyed this little guide. Let me know if
you have any questions.

Also, as a member of the Healing Harvest Homestead Resource Library, I would LOVE
if you have ideas for other projects you’d shoot me a quick email and let me know
your thoughts!

You are a wonderful source of inspiration for me, and I love to hear from you!

Hugs, Health, & Self-Reliance,

Heidi

P.S. Be sure to check out the other resources in the library! You’ll find other things to
make, do, and try!

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Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any errors you make based on my instructions.
Please be sure to use common sense, especially if you are creating with children. You
can see my full disclaimers here.

Copyright: This material is the property of Healing Harvest Homestead. I give

permission for you to print it out and use it for your creations. Please do not re-sell
this information.

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