by Rustic Escentuals

An adorable guest soap tutorial with added poppy seeds and a moisturizing oil. This will make a wonderful last minute gift that looks anything but last minute! This tutorial will make 16 Berry Swirl guest soaps.

delightful soaps to charm your guests!

 
Supplies and equipment needed:
Microwave
Microwave safe glass container
Sharp knife to cut soap into cubes
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Butter knife for stirring soap
Measuring spoon
Rubber gloves
Disposable pipette
Guest Size Swirl Soap Mold (8 cavities – .5 ounce capacity each)
Thermometer to monitor soap temperature
10 oz Ultra Clear Milk Melt & Pour soap base
Poppy Seeds
Strawberry Musk Fragrance Oil
Gel Soap Colorant in Black Cherry
Apricot Kernel Oil

gather your basic supplies

soap mold, fragrance oils, and other supplies

apricot kernel oil for extra moisturization

 
Step 1: Cut up 10 ounces of Ultra Clear Melt & Pour soap into small cubes using a sharp knife.

Step 2: Melt soap base in a microwave safe glass container in 30-second bursts until melted. Do not burn or boil, this will result in a poor quality rubbery soap. If there are any small chunks of soap left, stir slowly; the heat of the soap will melt these small chunks.

Step 3: Use a thermometer to monitor the soap base temperature. I don’t like to add any fragrance oils or additives when the soap is too hot, so I wait for it to cool to about 145 degrees.

Step 4: Using a disposable pipette, add 4 ml’s of Strawberry Musk Fragrance Oil. Stir in slowly until fully incorporated. TIP: Always stir the soap base slowly after adding anything; this will help minimize bubbles in the soap.

add 4 ml of fragrance oil and stir slowly to combine

 
Step 5: Add 3 drops of Black Cherry Gel Soap Colorant and stir slowly.

add 3 drops of gel soap colorant and stir slowly to combine

 
Step 6: Add 1/4 teaspoon of moisturizing Apricot Kernel Oil. Your soap will look a bit clouded, but will clear up after stirring for a bit.

stir in your apricot kernel oil and stir to combine

 
Step 7: Slowly add 1/4 teaspoon of poppy seeds to the soap and stir slowly. You can add more or a bit less, but try to keep the total of any additives that you add to the soap to no more than 1/2 tablespoon per pound of soap base.

add poppy seeds and slowly stir to combine

 
Step 8: As you learned in the Exfoliating Massage Bar Tutorial, the trick to keeping your exfoliant suspended throughout the soap is to keep stirring slowly while you let it cool. It won’t be ready for pouring until you see the soap getting thicker. This take a bit of patience, you don’t want to pour it until you reach this point. If a thin skin forms on top of the soap, don’t stir it back into the soap – just nudge it over to the side of your container before pouring.

to keep your exfoliant suspended, continue to stir until soap cools a bit

 
Step 9: When ready, pour the soap slowly into the mold.

slowly pour cooled soap into your mold

 
Step 10: Finish off with a final spritz of alcohol to remove any bubbles.

spritz with rubbing alcohol to remove any bubbles that might have formed

 
Step 11: Wait 2-3 hours for the soap to completely harden.

let soap harden for 2-3 hours

 
Step 12: Turn the mold over carefully and slowly press on the bottom of the cavities to release the soap. Do not force it. If the soap won’t come out, wait another 1/2 hour or so. You can even pop the soap in the freezer for 5 minutes then try again.

Have fun and enjoy!

have fun with your cute and functional little soaps!