Making natural soaps

I’m becoming more mindful of the plastic I’m buying, particularly when it comes to household and bathing products. I want to cut down on what I’m buying both for myself and other people and think about alternatives to packaged shower gels and bubble baths. With that in mind, I decided to make these natural soaps using dried flowers and essential oils for Christmas gifts.

There is a very technical way to make soap. It can be quite dangerous and toxic. I have limited time and a toddler so I bought a ready-made soap base. I chose this one, which is SLS and paraben free.

I made chamomile and lemongrass soaps because I felt it would be soothing during these winter months. I have a lot of essential oils at home and so plan to experiment with a few flavour combinations.

This soapmaking method is so simple, yet still looks great.

The ingredients you need are

• A soap mould – I bought this one from Amazon
• Readymade soap base
• Dried flowers. I bought organic chamomile flowers
• Essential oils. I went for lemongrass
• A microwave (or a stove)
• A plastic jug
• A stirrer

The method

• Scatter the dried flowers on the base. They will rise to the surface once the soap base is poured in. I tried layering the soap but they didn’t feel that durable. I also think the soaps seem more natural when you can see the flowers more clearly.
• Cut the soap into roughly a bar of soap per soap mould. The soap cuts like butter so you’ll just need a kitchen knife.
• Put the soap base in the plastic jug and microwave. I blast it for 30 seconds and heat it up slowly to stop bubbles forming.
• Let the soap set slightly to get rid of any bubbles.
• Pour into the mould. Try to do this slowly and let the flowers rise up.
• Let the soaps set for a few hours.
• Wrap in beeswax or eco-friendly parchment paper