Make Your Own Melt & Pour Gardener's Hand Soap

Melt and Pour soap making is so easy, even I can do it! In fact, I've done it once before with these DIY Lavender Bar Soaps. It's a great way to save some $$$ on those fancy artisan soaps, to stock up on a vital household necessity using ingredients you're comfortable with and also makes for a lovely gift. I start my soaps with this oatmeal soap base, and with Pesach drawing near, using up the brick I had left in the pantry seemed a perfect way to contribute to the preparation project at hand...

As it is also the beginning of gardening season here, lots of dirty hands are coming in the house. (Not to mention the rest of the body--these are great in the bath and shower as well.) Some folks like to wear gardening gloves and although I am often rather sensory averse to certain textures (and you'd think dirt would be one of them), I love digging right into the soil bare handed. But when I do get inside, I want something to rub those dirt covered fingers clean again and somehow I just feel better using a good ol' fashioned bar of soap. Even better if it's hydrating like oatmeal soap is! And even better still if it happens to include some of my garden harvest!

Last week, Y and I traveled to our local garden nursery for two plants. Parsley and chamomile for his Peter Rabbit Garden Birthday Party. Rookie parent mistake bringing your budding green thumber to a garden nursery for two things. He fell in love with a broccoli plant and spent a good 20 minutes running his hand over various herbs and smelling them. How could I (a plant hoarder) say no to just a few additional starter plants on our way out?

I did, however, promise myself that I'm not going to "save" my herbs until the end of the season this year, but rather use them throughout their production period and I got started right away with these Gardener's Hand Soap Bars:

You will need:

• 1 lb oatmeal soap base
• lemon, rosemary and peppermint essential oils*
• fresh lemon balm, rosemary, mint (I used spearmint) leaves*
• silicone soap molds
• 1 quart sized crock pot and metal mixing bowl in comparable size or microwave safe glass dish and microwave
• metal soap tins for storage (optional)

*I used this particular combination of herbs and essential oils, but you can pick and choose your own variety!

Instructions:

I use the crock pot method for melting my soap base but if you prefer to microwave your soap base in a glass dish, you can do that instead. Just work over a medium heat setting, stopping every so often over the course of 3-4 minutes to check and stir. In the crock pot method, I fill the crock base with water about half way to create a "water bath." Place your soap block (you can cut it down with a sharp knife for more even/faster melting if you wish) into a metal mixing bowl and slip it in over the water bath. Cover your crock pot and turn onto low heat. Once your brick is melted completely (you'll want to check every half hour or so to make sure you don't burn it), you can turn the heat off and add in several drops of your oils until you've reached your desired scent. Next, grab a small handful of leaves from each of your herbs and finely chop them into the mixture. I used kitchen shears for this. Mix your concoction once more (I like using either a plastic spoon or wooden craft stick) and pour into your soap molds. You can pop the mold into the fridge or freezer for faster solidifying, but it will work just fine to leave it out at room temperature as well. I happened to leave mine out and went to go pick up S from school. Once we got home and settled in for afternoon naps, my soaps were done and ready to be popped out of the molds and stored in metal tins.

Although I did this project solo, you could involve children with it. As it gets quite hot to handle, adult supervision and support is a must. Children can definitely help with selecting scents, cutting herbs, pouring in drops of oil and mixing as well as popping the finished bars out of the mold and into storage tins if you're using those. I think the one thing I love best about soap making is how excited everyone is to wash their hands well and frequently afterward! That's always a bonus...

You can store and use your Gardener's Hand Soaps at home or save a stash to mail out for mother's day. They would make an equally lovely hostess gift or gift for a gardener you know and love. So don't be afraid to get your hands nice and dirty out there as you begin prepping your soil for planting this season! Hands and children, for that matter, are washable--you'll just need a really great bar of soap when you get in.

Happy Playing!