DIY Peppermint Soap

 This easy peppermint candy soap recipe makes a BIG batch of 16 (4 oz.) bars, so you’ll have plenty to use for handmade gifts. If you need less, simply halve the recipe.

What You’ll Need:

2 lbs. clear melt and pour soap base

2 lbs. white melt and pour soap base

Liquid soap colorant or pigment in red

1 oz. (or about 6 teaspoons) peppermint essential oil or peppermint fragrance oil, divided

A loaf soap mold or individual bar molds

Small spritz bottle filled with rubbing alcohol

STEP 1:

Cut the clear melt and pour soap base into approximate 1″ chunks. Place in a pot and turn on low heat to melt.

STEP 2:

Cut the white melt and pour soap base into chunks and place them in a second pot. Turn this on low heat as well and melt.

STEP 3:

Once both pots of soap bases are completely melted, add 15 drops red soap colorant to the clear soap base only (you can add a few more drops if you’d like a more vibrant color.) Leave the white soap base uncolored.

STEP 4:

Remove from heat. Stir half of the peppermint essential oil into each pot of base.

STEP 5:

Now, get your mold set up exactly where you want it, because once you start you won’t be able to move it for several hours.

Using two ladles, pour both soap bases into the mold at roughly the same time. Run the red down one side of the mold and the white down the other.

See the pic below? The mold is roughly half red and half white, but I’m not being very precise with it. (In fact, I’m being pretty messy because we’re making soap, baby!

Continuing filling the mold in this way until the base is used up.

STEP 6:

Immediately after the mold is filled, do a quick swirl. With a skewer or small silicon spatula, draw large circles from one end of the mold to the other.

Only one pass is needed. Keep your skewer on the bottom of your mold as you do this to swirl through the entire soap.

NOTE: You’ll have to work through Steps 5 and 6 very quickly, so that your soap doesn’t set up on you. If it does get too thick and you can’t swirl through, no worries, it will still be pretty as-is.

TOO FIDDLY? DO THIS INSTEAD:

If you don’t have a lot of melt and pour soap making experience, or if this whole process seems too fiddly for you, just do a dump swirl.

Ladle or pour the soap base randomly into your mold and call it good. It will still be lovely and unique, I promise!