Sunday, April 10, 2011

Tutorial: Two-Sided Loofah Soap

Here are instructions for a fun soap making project to do at home. It's a two-sided loofah soap! Scrubby on one side, smooth on the other. Supplies you'll need:

  1. white soap base

  2. clear soap base

  3. loofah

  4. a mold that will fit your loofah

  5. fragrance oil

  6. color

  7. rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle

Measure the height of your mold and use a sharp knife to cut your loofah so it's half the size. My mold is 1 1/4" high so I cut my loofah to 5/8". Be careful not to cut your fingers! I got my loofah from Sahara's Supplies. Cut up and measure out enough clear soap base to fill half your mold. (You can purchase cheap melt and pour soap base at most craft stores but if you'd like a quality base I suggest finding a source online) My mold holds 6 ounces so I needed 3 ounces of soap for this step. Melt the soap in your microwave (about 30 seconds should do the trick) and mix in your fragrance oil. I used 1/4 tsp of Raspberry fragrance, also from Sahara's Supplies. Place your loofah in your mold and pour the melted soap on top of it. Spritz with the rubbing alcohol to remove any bubbles that may have formed. Allow this to cool for approximately 15 minutes. The soap will need to be hard enough to pour another layer on top without melting it. This next step is the same as the previous step, but using our white base. I chose to add some color to mine. I used "chameleon" mica from Sahara's Supplies. The picture doesn't do it justice but this is an amazing red with silver mixed into it.

Need a tip on mixing mica so it blends properly? I add the mica to my fragrance oil first. Mix well and then add a bit of the soap base. Mix well again before adding the rest of the base.

Now you're ready to pour the melted soap base on top of the first layer but first, spritz a bit of the rubbing alcohol onto the first layer to help them adhere. Allow the soap to cool completely. After it has cooled, you're ready to remove it from the mold. Congratulations! Now you're ready to hop in the shower with your fun new soap! If you make this project let me know how it goes!

2 comments:

Splurge Sisters said...

Cute, I love your individual mold.

MamaMay said...

Linked to you!

http://allawesomelinks.blogspot.com/2011/06/two-sided-loofah-soap.html