by Rustic Escentuals

The warm weather has me thinking of fruit salad — which is my go to donation to every BBQ. I thought it was a perfect time to show a tutorial with multiple bright colors and a lovely fruity scent. This is an advanced soap tutorial showing soap insert placement and embedding.

 
Supplies and Equipment Needed
Microwave safe glass containers (one 8 ounce and another 32 ounces)
Sharp knife to cut soap into cubes
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Butter knives
Rubber gloves
Silicone baking pan (9” X 9”)
Square Loaf Soap Mold
Disposable pipettes
Thermometer (to monitor soap temperature)
40 ounces Ultra Clear Melt and Pour Soap base
32 ounces White Melt and Pour Soap base
Gel Soap Colorants in Melon Red, Orange, Lime, Lemon Yellow, Purple, Blue, Magenta
Skin Safe fragrance oils in fruity scents
Straight Soap Cutter or Wavy Soap Cutter
Miter box

 
Making each embed slice:

Step 1: Cut up 8 ounces of Ultra Clear Melt & Pour soap base into small cubes using a sharp knife.

Step 2: Using a microwave safe container, melt the soap base cubes for 30 seconds. Repeat if necessary but be careful that you don’t burn or boil the soap.

Step 3: Using a disposable pipette, add about 3ml of Fresh Squeezed Oranges Fragrance Oil and stir carefully to incorporate thoroughly.

 
Step 4: Now add 4 drops of Melon Red Gel Colorant and mix slowly.

 
Step 5: Slowly pour the soap into a silicone pan. Spritz the soap with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any bubbles that formed while you were pouring.

TIP: Make sure the tabletop is level so that your embeds will be even all the way around.

 
Step 6: Let soap set for about 30 minutes. This soap slice is thin and will cool and set quickly.

 
Step 7: Repeat Steps 1 through 6 using different Gel Soap Colorants of your choice. I used Melon Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime and Purple. You’ll need to make a total of 5 soap slices for embedding.

 
Step 8: Measure and cut each soap slice to 9” x 3.5” in size (the loaf mold is 9 inches in length). It is better to cut slightly bigger than smaller. You can always trim it down if needed. Save any leftovers to make another loaf or for future soap projects.

Note: While I prefer the silicone pan mold to make the embeds, if you don’t have a silicone pan that is 9″ in length – you can always pour a thin layer in the bottom of the loaf mold.

Making your loaf:

Step 1: Now that you have measured and cut all of the soap slices, place each in your loaf mold straight up as seen in the photo.

 
Step 2: To help each slice stick in the mold, pour some melted clear soap base onto a piece of wax paper. Dip each end and quickly position it in the mold. Hold in place until set. Once all pieces are in, be careful not to bump into the mold.

 
Step 3: Add 32 ounces of White Melt and Pour soap base into a microwave safe container and melt the soap base in a microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, then repeat until melted.

Step 4: This will be left white. Add 15 ml of Raspberry Lilac Fragrance Oil and stir carefully.

 
Step 5: Spritz the embeds liberally with alcohol (don’t forget both sides). This will help the layers adhere to each other.

 
Step 6: Monitor the temperature of the soap – it shouldn’t be hotter than 135° to 140° to prevent the soap slices from melting. Pour slowly, filling each space caused by your soap slices.

Note: If you poured any white soap over the embeds, you can easily rub this off with a paper towel once the soap sets.

 
Step 7: This is a large amount of soap so let it set and harden overnight. The next day, slowly pull the sides away from the soap, turn over, and slowly press on the underside of mold to release the soap.

Cutting the Soap:

Cutting the loaf with a soap miter box in 1-inch increments will yield approximately 9 bars of soap.

TIP: For a different look, you can use a wavy or straight soap cutter.