Homemade soap making is fun for any age and for kids, soap making allows them to be creative, have fun and end up with a usable product. I know when my kids were small, they absolutely loved making their own soaps, and what better way to get them into the tub!Now, I’m going to give you a couple of different recipe ideas, the first one being very simple and suitable for quite tiny children. The second one can still be made by kids but definitely needs constant adult supervision because a microwave and sharp knife is needed.Right, lets get the kids soap making and creating lovely bubbles!Recipe 1
Ingredients:
Soap Flakes (or some bars of pure soap grated finely into a powder)
Liquid Food colouring
Water
Vegetable oil
Bowl
String (if the kids want to make soap on a rope)How to make it:
1. Pour about 3 cups of soap flakes into a large bowl
2. Add 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of water with a few drops of food colouring added to it.
3. Mix the ingredients with your hands until it forms a consistency like play dough
4.To shape it, take a drop or two of vegetable oil and rub it between the palm of your hands – now shape anyway you wish.
5. To make a soap on a rope, cut a piece of string and tie the ends together. Push the knotted end gently into the finished shape.
6. Let the completed soap stand to set over nightIf you are using grated soap, you may not need as much water to mix to a dough like consistency.
Alternatively, let the kids roll out the dough to the required thickness and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Another soap on a rope idea is to cut out two shapes of different coloured dough and sandwich the string between the two shapes.Recipe 2Items that you will need:Sharp knife
Scented oil
Sparkles or glitter (optional)
Coloured glycerin soap
Soap moulds
Spray vegetable oil
Glass measuring jug
Toothpicks
Cutting board
Decorative packaging (optional)How to make it:1. Lightly spray the soap mould with vegetable oil to prevent the soap from sticking alternatively grease the mold with a little vaseline2. Cut the glycerin soap into small cubes3. Place the cubes into a glass measuring jug4. Put the glass jug into the microwave and heat on high until the soap has melted. This can take about a minute.5. It’s important to do this next step quickly because melted glycerin soap soon hardens.
Add a couple of drops of your chosen fragrance. Bubblegum fragrance is a great choice because it smells so yummy! Also at this stage, if you want, add a few sparkles or glitter and stir around using the toothpick.6. Carefully pour the melted soap into your moulds and leave for at least half an hour7. When the soap has cooled and hardened, carefully pop it out of the mould8. The soap is now ready to be wrapped in your choice of packaging, or, if making a special gift for someone several soaps could be put into a small wicker basket.Take care to supervise kids soap making in the kitchen at all times and ensure they wear aprons and use an oven cloth when handling hot pans and ingredients.