DIY
Pamper your skin with homemade exfoliating soap—here’s how to make the perfect gift
Exfoliating soap makes a delightful gift! This soap gets its exfoliating power from a loofah sponge. Fill a 0.5-liter drink can with soap, and you’ll have enough slices to both keep and give as gifts. This recipe makes one soap log.
Exfoliating soap—materials
- 0.5-liter drink can
- Loofah sponge (about 13 cm)
- 400g of clear soap base from a craft store
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 10–20 drops of essential oil, such as fresh-scented rosemary or lemongrass
- One drop each of yellow and blue food coloring, or green food coloring (or soap coloring from a craft store).
Looking at the colorless soap base and dry loofah sponge, you’d never guess the beautiful soaps you can create with a bit of dye and fragrance oil. A wonderfully affordable gift idea!
Loofah soaps make perfect gifts because you can customize them for each recipient. For example, add a couple of drops of pine scent for someone who loves woody fragrances, lavender for floral lovers, or orange for children.
Exfoliating soap—instructions
- Cut off the top edge of the drink can with scissors to create a cylinder mold with a bottom. Wash the can and boil it for a few minutes to sterilize it, just as you would a jam jar. Let the can cool and dry.
- Cut the soap base into pieces and melt it in a water bath or microwave according to the package instructions. Add the essential oil, baking soda, and coloring to the melted base. You can mix green color from blue and yellow dyes, or use green coloring directly.
- Stir until smooth. Baking soda changes the translucent base to a satin matte. If you prefer a clear and translucent soap, omit the baking soda.
- Push the loofah sponge into the can and pour the melted soap base over it. If the sponge tries to float to the surface, press it down gently with a fork until it stays submerged.
- Let the soap solidify for 10 minutes or until it feels firm. Then peel the can off in strips around the soap.
- While it’s still slightly soft and warm, cut the soap log into slices at your desired thickness. In this recipe, the soap slices are just under 2 cm thick.
- The soap slices are ready for use the next day, once they have fully hardened.
Tips!
- A colorless or clear soap base combined with baking soda creates soaps with a satin-like, translucent finish. When using a clear base, the loofah sponge shines beautifully through the soap. However, you can use any soap base you like.
- Note that in this recipe, the loofah sponge used is about 13 cm long. If the sponge is shorter, there will be some empty space in the can. If it’s longer, you should trim it to fit the can mold.
- While the soap slice is still soft, you can make a hole for a hanging cord using a straw.
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