I was walking around Anthropologie the other day feeling inspired and overwhelmed (as usual) with the beautiful clothes and home décor. Secretly their décor is my favorite section; I saw these big and pristine glass jars filled with fancy gourmet soaps. I thought, “I need that for my bathroom!” Immediately I started doing homemade soap research and decided to make my own.
There are two ways to make soap – the cold press way which is a bit lengthy and intimidating for a newbie like myself or the easy kit way. I went with the easy way and picked up a two-pound block of Goat’s Milk soap base from my local craft store, a soap mold and some essential oils.
I decided to make a poppyseed citrus soap using grape fruit essential oil, lemon zest and poppy seeds. You can make your own delightful combinations with a little experimentation.
Supplies Needed:
Two-pound block of melt and pour soap base like this (it doesn’t have to be just goat’s milk). Please not that I only used one pound and used the other half to make this Coffee Mint Soap.
Molds for your soap – silicon are the easiest for getting soap out but tend to be a little pricier. Want to skip the molds? Try using cupcake liners in muffin pans instead.
15 – 20 drops of grapefruit essential oil
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
1 lemon, zested
A glass or plastic microwave safe bowl.
Wooden chopsticks or popsicle sticks for mixing.
- Cut half of the soap block up into cubes, again I only did a one pound batch of soap and am saving the rest for later.
- Add the soap to the bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring with the wooden stick each time until the soap is completely melted. You do not want to burn your soap!
- Add poppy seeds, lemon zest and essential oil. Stir well.
- Carefully and quickly pour your soap into the molds. The soap does harden fast so you don’t have a lot of time.
Give the soap at least 3 hours to harden before popping out of the molds. I like to do 5 or 6 hours
Now you can wrap your soap with twine or brown paper, give to friends or put it in a beautiful glass jar in your bathroom.
The tiny poppyseed feels amazing on your skin and is a great way to exfoliate.
Happy soap making! And check out my latest – Homemade Coffee Mint Soap Bars!
[…] If you need a natural gentle scrub, make this poppy seed soap bars. You’ll need two-pound block of melt and pour soap base, molds for your soap, 15 – 20 drops of grape fruit essential oil, 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds, 1 lemon, zested, a glass or plastic microwave safe bowl, wooden chopsticks or popsicle sticks for mixing. Cut half of the soap block up into cubes, again I only did a one pound batch of soap and am saving the rest for later. Add the soap to the bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring with the wooden stick each time until the soap is completely melted. Continue reading the tutorial in the source. […]