DIY Melt and Pour Exfoliating Loofah Soaps (Easier Than You Think!)
Pamper yourself or friends and family with these EASY to make exfoliating soaps using a melt and pour soap base, natural Loofah, and essential oils!
The rough and fibrous texture from dried Loofah can be a great natural exfoliator on any rough skin area. Combining it with a high quality soap can be a really fun gift idea or something to treat yourself with at bath time. Using a melt and pour soap base is also a very easy idea because it melts quickly and smoothly in the microwave, so this entire project doesn’t take long at all.
I’m adding in Plant Therapy Lavender and Chamomile essential oils ~ both because of the appealing natural fragrances, as well as relaxing and calming properties. This would be really nice to use before bedtime! 😴
DIY Melt & Pour Loofah Soap
Supplies Needed:
- 2 pounds Melt & Pour Soap Base (I used Stephensen Shea Butter)
- Natural Loofah
- Silicone Mold (I used this one)
- 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil
- 10 drops Chamomile Essential Oil
Directions:
1.) Slice Loofah using a bread knife into about 1/4 inch or so rounds.
2.) Place slices into silicone molds. (If molds are to small, cut Loofah to fit.)
3.) Cut soap into chunks so it will melt easier, and place into microwave safe bowl or Pyrex.
4.) Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted.
5.) Stir in Essential Oils.
6.) Pour into molds. They will harden as it cools. (It only takes maybe 30-45 minutes to completely harden and probably faster in the fridge.)
7.) Remove from silicone molds once hardened.
Notes:
- I didn’t have a Pyrex large enough to fit all the soap at once so I split mine into a few batches of melting and it worked fine.
- There are different types of soap base available that would work great with this idea such as a honey glycerin, so just use your preferred kind.
- You can also use the essential oils of your choice as well as other fancy soap add-ins such as dried lavender, herbs, etc. The possibilities are endless.
- The number of soaps made from the two pounds of soap base will depend on how deep you pour as well as the size of your molds. I was able to make 6 larger heart shaped and 3 regular muffin sized soaps in total.
I plan on trying a rosemary lemon blend to use in the kitchen next!
I really LOVED how my soaps turned out! They smell AMAZING.
I used one last night in the bath and it was a nice treat! I’m actually gifting a few to my mom tomorrow as part of her birthday gift and can’t wait to give them to her! ❤️
Written by Lina for Hip2Save. Lina is a proud mom of 2 small kids who loves photography, all holidays, cooking, thrift store makeovers, bargain shopping, and DIY makeovers. Her goal is to create a beautiful life and stylish home on a dime! To see all of Lina’s DIY/Crafts created just for Hip2Save, click here.
How neat and super cute!
Thanks!
Very neat idea! I also make Vicks tablets and homemade bath boms. Can I email you guys stuff about how to make them?
Please share your vicks tablet recipe.
Yes, please share! ; )
Sure my email is Lina@hip2save.com 👍
I’d love to Learn the bath bomb recipe!!
Please share! My daughter loves bath bombs! She would especially love to make them herself!
Can I know how to make bath bombs? My little one wants me to make one
Do not use chamomile if you are pregnant.
Just out of curiosity… why can’t pregnant women use chamomile?
I was also told no lavender when I went to get a massage. Not sure why exactly.
Lavender is extremely high in plant estrogens; using lavender skin products is like using estrogen cream. It’s bad in general (lavender bath wash has been known to cause the growth of breast tissue in infant boys, for example) but especially bad during pregnancy when adding lots of extra hormones can really mess things up.
This information is actually incorrect. The study that showed that Lavender was estrogenic, was with a product that contained Lavender and Tea Tree. There have been many, many studies on Lavender alone that prove that Lavender is in fact not estrogenic and there is no known cause for concern to be used with pregnant women (or boys). In fact, we know that the major constituent found in Lavender, linalool, is safe to use during pregnancy. You can learn more about it here: https://roberttisserand.com/2013/02/lavender-oil-is-not-estrogenic/
And as far as Chamomile goes, both Chamomile Roman and Chamomile German essential oils are safe to use while pregnant. There are extra precautions when using any essential oil while pregnant though. Those cautions include extra dilution of the oil, Plant Therapy’s Certified Aromatherapists recommend a general dilution of 1-2%, and it is recommended that essential oils not be used topically during your first trimester.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me directly at Retha@planttherapy.com. The information provided above is approved by Plant Therapy’s Certified Aromatherapists and Robert Tisserand who is the author of Essential Oil Safety and has been studying and researching essential oils for over 45 years. Thanks and I hope you found this information helpful.
Thx .this a gr8 idea , just think ,the molds u could use ,can be endless ..keep up the good work.
Thanks! And yes very versatile
I can’t wait to try! Thank you so much for posting where you purchased the needed items.
Love the idea.. love the touch with the marbled paper heart on top!!!
Saw that little project on HIP, too!
Oh thanks Shari! I loved that fun shaving cream craft ❤️
You can get recipes for bath bombs and homemade Vicks shower tabs on Pinterest !! So many recipes !
These are so cute and I love the idea of having the loofah in the soap.My kids and I made heart-shaped oatmeal soap on a rope last year. I just melted regular soap bars in the microwave(pink colored soap), added oatmeal and a string, poured into a mold, and then let harden. It was a fun project for the kids for Valentine’s Day. I will not be as smooth and pretty as these but is fun for a quick, cheap, little project. Also, my kids have a lot of allergies and this way I could use the soap that I know they can use without any issues.
thanks Jennifer! How cute about the soap on a rope project! Yes this idea is so versatile 👍