Learn how to incorporate herbs, flowers, essential oils, and other natural ingredients into melt and pour soap base, no handling of lye required!
Possibly the most often expressed sentiment I hear when it comes to soap making, goes something like:
That is a completely justified fear and one that I shared for a very long time. It took months of research before I felt comfortable enough with the idea and even then, I had my husband handle it for the first few batches. (Here’s an article I wrote about why we need lye, so you can learn more about why it’s necessary for soapmaking.) If a complete chicken like myself can now handle lye like a pro, then you should be able to do so too, one day!
However, until you’re ready, or if you just aren’t interested into that kind of soap making – I’m here to tell you how to create your own unique herbal soaps, without handling the lye part. It’s so safe, your kids can help you!
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If you’re interested in combining natural colorants, essential oils, herbs, and flowers with melt and pour (glycerin) soap base – you’re going to love my new print book, Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps – just released today!
It includes 50 fun recipes, design tutorials, and lots of helpful information on infusing soap base with herbs and flowers, and usage rates for natural colorants, essential oils, and other ingredients sourced from nature.
It’s available for order from your favorite local bookstore, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, and wherever books are sold.
If you’re a palm-free soaper, look for SFIC’s Clear or White Palm Free Soap Bases at Soap Goods or Wholesale Supplies Plus. Those who aren’t palm-free may enjoy the somewhat more moisturizing SFIC’s Goat Milk, Cocoa Butter, or Shea Butter soap bases from one of those aforementioned places or Bulk Apothecary or Bramble Berry. (SFIC bases rank high in my eyes because their motto is: “As natural as we can make it” which appeals to my crunchy side, plus their bases feel nice on my skin.)
Other bases to try include Stephenson Donkey Milk, and Wholesale Supplies Plus DF (detergent free) Three Butter soap, and their DF Baby Buttermilk soap base.
Before adding a natural colorant to soap, most will do best if you dilute them with about 2 to 3 times as much rubbing alcohol first.
Here are a few ideas for natural colorants. The amounts given are for 4 ounces of soap base:
Green: French green clay (1/2 tsp per 4 oz), chlorella powder (1/8 tsp per 4 oz)Yellow: lemon peel powder (1/2 tsp per 4 oz), saffron powder (just a tiny pinch)Orange: tomato powder (1/8 to 1/4 tsp per 4 oz), turmeric (1/8 tsp per 4 oz)Pink: madder root powder (1/8 to 1/2 tsp per 4 oz), rose clay (1/4 to 1/2 tsp per 4 oz)Blue: indigo powder or woad powder (1/8 to 1/4 tsp per 4 oz)
I also have several pages of helpful colorant samples in my print book, Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps, as shown in the photo above.
Use EO Calc to determine the right amount for your projects.
Read more : DIY Room Spray with Essential Oils
A few to choose from include:
If you’d like to add dried flower petals to melt and pour, it’s good to be aware that most will turn brown or discolor. Calendula petals will hold their color, and bachelor buttons (cornflower) will keep their pretty blue when sprinkled on top, but the rest won’t be attractive over time.
This is my favorite thing to do with melt and pour. It’s a good way to let kids gain hands-on experience making herbal soaps, but they don’t have to handle lye or anything unsafe to do so.
I have an example of this technique shown in the Jewelweed Melt & Pour Soap recipe in my article, Preserving & Using Jewelweed. (Scroll down to #4 on the list.) Plus, of course, more examples and recipes in my Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps book! 🙂
Other herbs to try infusing include:
There are so many creative ways to use melt and pour soap base; I love that I can get my kids involved too!
Here’s a recipe from my new print book, Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps.
Featuring a one-two-three punch of aloe powder, aloe gel and aloe soap base, this soap has a creamy lather that leaves skin soft and smooth. Aloe is prized for its ability to soothe itchy, hot or inflamed skin conditions. Although you could add essential oils, I prefer this soap completely unscented, in keeping with its gentle nature that makes it suitable for sensitive skin.
Yield: five 3.25-ounce (92-g) soaps
This post – How to Make Herbal Soap Without Handling Lye {melt & pour} – was originally published September, 2013 and updated November, 2019.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Recipe
This post was last modified on 01/11/2023 16:29
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