Soap Making ideas

Use these creative soap making ideas to add that special touch to your handmade soaps.

There are a number of special ingredients beyond colorants and fragrance oils that you can add to your handmade soap that will give it that extra something.

• Chamomile flowers. Add whole or gound up chamomile flowers for a relaxing, beautiful scent and to give your soap healing properties.
• Lavender buds. Lavender buds provide both texture and flair to your homemade soap. Not only do the lavender buds look good but they keep some of their scent when added to the soap. Grind up the buds as whole buds can go brown.
• Fresh ground coffee. Coffee helps fight odors. Creat a coffee soap that can be kept by the kitchen sink to wash away kitchen and cooking smells such as garlic, onions and fish.
• Nuts and seeds. Soap making ideas for adding exfoliants to your handmade soap. Add bits of nuts and seeds to give exfoliating properties to your homemade soap.
• Dried herbs and flowers. When adding dried herbs and flowers sprinkle them on top of the soap that has just been poured into the mold or gently blend them in before you pour into the mold. Remember that dried herbs often bleed a brownish color into the soap over time. This looks fine if the soap is a natural color and can add to the organic look of the soap.
• Engrave or emboss your soap. Use a soap stamp. Center the stamp on the soap and tap with a wooden or rubber mallet to embed the design in the soap.
• Citrus zest. Add ground citrus peel to handmade soap to provide exfoliating properties and a stimulating scent.
• Embedded objects. Soap making ideas for children include embedding a small plastic toy in the soap. This works well with clear soaps. Put the object into the soap mold and then pour the soap mixture into the soap mold. This also works for embedding the rope for soap-on-a-rope.
Whisk or blend the additives in after you have reached an appropriate trace when using the cold process method. For any additives that you want suspended throughout the soap bar such as seeds add at a heavy trace to prevent them sinking to the bottom.

What is the best way to package your homemade soap. Some soap makers prefer to use no packaging but others regard the packaging as an important part of creating a quality, unique soap.

The key is to find cost-effective and simple ways of packaging homemade soap and not spend unecessary money and time on the packaging process. Here are some soap making ideas for packaging.

• Cellophane or plastic wrapping. Although this type of clear wrapping allows you to see the details of the handmade soap it is recommended more for soap made by the melt and pour method. A cold process soap will likely retain some moisture even after a sufficient curing time. The plastic or cellophane tends to make the soap soggy as the soap cannot breathe.
• Gift wrap. Interesting wrapping paper that fits the theme of your soap is always a good idea. There are so many designs to choose from that it is easy to match the gift wrap to the type of soap you are wrapping. You can completely wrap the bars individually and tie with a ribbon or raffia or just wrap a strip of gift wrap around the handmade soap securing it with a ribbon of some sort. Your label can be attached to the ribbon or stuck on the gift wrap.
• Handmade paper. Handmade paper with a small tag attached creates a natural, organic look.
• Copy and laser printer paper. This comes in many different textures and colors. A strip wrapped and secured around the handmade soap, cigar-band style, looks good especially if you layer a narrow strip of paper on top of a wider different strip of paper.
• Corrugated cardboard. Try corrugated cardboard or brown craft paper tied with twine or raffia or a contrasting pretty ribbon.
• Fabric. Different types of fabric wrapped around the soap create different looks. Soap wrapped like a gift in muslin fabric tied with twine looks natural and fresh, a strip of sacking or hessian looks rustic and earthy.
• Ribbons and raffia. Simply wind an eye-catching ribbon or strands of raffia around the soap. This is simple and easy.
• Boxes and baskets. These work well for a selection of soaps sold together as a gift. For example select a couple of botancial soaps and fill the box or basket with dried petals. Include a loofah or sea sponge in a basket with a couple of organic soaps.

Start Soap Making at Home

About Making Homemade Soap

Making Soap using the Melt and Pour Method

How to Make Homemade Soap from Scratch

Soap Making Supplies

Pricing Homemade Soap

Marketing and Selling Homemade Soap

Turn a fun and creative hobby making soap at home into a successful and profitable home business.