Monday, May 6, 2013

How to Make Paprika and Poppy Seed Soap

Hi my name is Lisa and I am a soapaholic. I seriously love, love, love handmade soaps and lotions.

Since we are fans of hygiene, and I found a very past its prime bottle of poppy seeds in the back of the pantry, I thought I'd make myself a little Happy Mother's Day to me gift of poppy seed soap.

I also turned to my spice rack for non artificial soap dye. Paprika works for dying Easter eggs, let's see if it works for dying soap red (it does! The soap does not turn our skin colors either.)




How to Make Quick and Easy Paprika and Poppy Seed Soap - Artificial Dye Free!


You will need:

4 cubes (each cube equals 1 ounce) of aloe glycerin melt and pour soap base for each 4 ounce bar of soap you want to make (I bought mine here.)
Soap mold (I bought mine here)
Poppy seeds
Paprika
Essential oil or one of my DIY herbal extracts (how to make lavender, how to make mint) - optional
Glass measuring cup
Metal fork
Microwave oven or stove and double boiler full of water
Small spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol  



Make it:
  
1. Melt one to two cubes of soap base in the microwave or double boiler on the stove. Since I am using as using such a small amount of soap base, it took 5 to 10 seconds in the microwave to melt.

I'm meeeeeeeeeeeeeelting! What a world! What a world!
(Can you name that movie?)

2. Add a few shakes of paprika and stir it with a fork to color the soap. 

 Be careful, the paprika may clump.

3. Pour a thin first layer of soap into your soap molds and allow it to cool (15 minutes or so.) This way when we add the poppy seeds to the soap, the add in will not automatically sink to the bottom of the mold (the top of the soap.)



4. Sprinkle pop seeds on the cooled soap layer. Use a light hand when you are putting additives in your soap. If you add too much the soap may not clean and lather as well as you might like. 

Poppy seeds!

5. Melt the rest of the soap base microwave or double boiler on the stove.

6. If you want scented soap add a few drops of essential oil to the melted soap base. How much you use depends one how heavily scented you want your soap. The general rule for a heavily scented bar of natural soap is to add 4 to 5 drops of fragrance oil (less if you are using a concentrated pure essential oil) per ounce of soap base. My DIY essential oils will work for melt and pour soaps like this but will not if you are making cold process soap.

7. Add a few shakes of paprika to the melted soap base and stir gently with a fork to reduce the chance of creating air bubbles in the soap. 

 
Shaky! Shaky!

8. Spray the poppy seed layer of soap in the mold with rubbing alcohol to allow the next layer of soap to stick to cooling soap in the mold, and pour the final layer of soap in to the mold.




9. Remove any bubbles from the top of your soap pour by spraying it with rubbing alcohol as needed.

10. Allow the soap to set for several hours until hard. I let mine set overnight.

11. After the soap sets release the soap from the mold by press on sides of mold to loosen the soap from the soap mold. 


No artificial dyes, fragrances, or colors - just soap!

12. Scrub it up with your homemade soap!

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