Do you buy your soap or body wash from the supermarket but you know it’s not good for your skin? I used to. The fact that most soaps are made of chemicals which are harmful to the body, as well as the environment, has made buying them off-putting to me. Another reason is that I never liked the fragrance of soaps that we get at the stores. Strong fragrances give me a headache.
I tried using mildly fragrant, supposedly natural body washes for some time. Then I realized that with each bottle I buy, I am contributing to the ever-increasing plastic waste that this planet definitely doesn’t need more of!! Even though I always put the used body wash bottles in the recycle bin, I believe they will mostly end up in a landfill. This is because less than 10% of the world’s plastic waste actually gets recycled according to a recent OECD report.
That is why I decided to make my own soap bars with my favourite scents and botanicals. It came out really well and I have since fallen in love with soap making. I knew that I needed to be very careful while using lye to make soap. I like to make things from scratch but I did not want to take any risks with lye and burn myself. After a long internal struggle, I made up my mind to make the soap bars using a melt-and-pour soap base.
I made the soaps with a goat milk soap base and it was super easy. You can make it too! Here is how I made the botanical soaps.
Things you need:
- Your choice of flowers and herbs
- Melt and pour soap base
- Baking tray
- Oven
- Double boiler
- Essential oils
Prepare the botanicals
First, I prepared the botanicals. I picked flowers such as roses, hibiscus and butterfly pea from my garden. I collected these flowers’ petals and kept them aside. I also collected holy basil and lemongrass and cut them into smaller pieces.
Then I placed them on a baking tray and dried them in the oven (150°C / 302°F) for 20-30 minutes. After drying, you can either crush them or cut the flowers and leaves into smaller pieces. If you do not have access to an oven, you can sun dry them by placing the tray in a sunny spot for 3-4 days.
Melt the soap base
I bought a goat milk soap base made of pure goat milk, lye, coconut oil and castor oil. It was free of parabens and sulphates which I was super happy about.
I cut this soap base into small cubes and melted the cubes in a double boiler on medium heat. Keep stirring the mixture to melt all the cubes evenly. You can also use a microwave to melt it.
Pour into mould
Then I put the dried botanicals in rectangular silicone moulds. You can use moulds of any shape but it has to be made of silicone. This is because it is easier to take out the soap from silicone moulds once it hardens. Silicone cupcake moulds could work too. I poured the melted soap on top of the botanicals and stirred it to mix everything together. I added a few drops of my favourite essential oils to this mixture and stirred again.
Essential oils for fragrance and natural colours
The essential oils I used were rose, vetiver and peppermint. You can use any essential oils of your choice. And you can even blend different essential oils together to get unique smells that you like. I recently purchased lavender and vanilla essential oils and they smell divine. I can’t wait to add them to my soaps!
I sprinkled the remaining botanicals on top of the melted soap to make them look pretty! I added cocoa powder to one mould to give it a bit of colour. I have to say it turned out pretty well. It turned a beautiful magenta colour and not brown as I imagined. Next time, I am going to mix in different natural colours like beetroot powder, turmeric, coffee powder, etc to make different coloured soaps.
I let these moulds cool for 24 hours in a cool, dry place. Et voila! Soaps with no synthetic fragrance, colours or additives were ready to use.
I loved the fragrance and texture of these soaps. The fact that I knew what went into making these soaps made me very happy after each use.
I wrapped the soap bars in a clean cotton cloth. I stored them in my cupboard and the whole cupboard started smelling so good! Each soap bar lasted a month and a half for me. I was really elated that I didn’t have to spend my money on buying harmful soaps or body washes each month. You can use clear glycerin soap bases too to make these soaps.
Homemade botanical soaps as gifts
Wrap them in cloth or brown paper, put them in a cute bag, tie a piece of herb or flower on top and gift it to your family and friends. These handmade botanical soaps make great gifts to give your loved ones on special occasions or any day of the year just to let them know you love them. I’m sure they will love this soapy goodness with natural fragrance and botanicals sourced from your garden.
Let me know in the comments below if you have tried to make your own soap and how it turned out!
