Do you think making homemade soap is hard?
Well, it’s not.
Hand milled soap is the easiest way to learn soap making without any real skills.
What is Hand Milled Soap?
It even sounds fancy, but really it is not. It is taking any soap and grating it or chopping into small pieces, then melting it back into soap. This is also know as rebatching soap. Need a way to use leftover small soaps from hotel rooms? Then hand milling soap is the answer. Or you can create a custom soap bar to give as gifts.
You can learn more about the process here.
Homemade Hand Milled Soap
(affiliate links are used, so I make a tiny commission)
Hand Milled Soap
I just love the idea of making my own soap without having to deal with the caustic lye. I purchased a slow cooker at a resale shop just for my homemade beauty products.
But this one at Amazon is under $10. Making hand milled soap is a terrific way to get into soap making with kids. You can purchase soap molds and soap cutter to make any size bars you wish. The possibilities of scents are endless with essential oils you can add. You can even add small toys to the soap to make it fun for the kids.
For a great lasting scented bar, I would recommend about 20 drops of essential oil for every bar you add for a fragrant scented soap. One inch wide is a good length for cutting bars. I like a moisturizing soap bar for the winter, so I like to include the Shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and essential oils. These are the ones I recommend and you can find them in my Amazon store. The soap doesn’t lather as much, but it still cleans and does its job. My skin is gets so dry in the winter, this soap is perfect for extra dry skin like mine.
What You Need for a Home Spa Day
If you want to have a home spa, see my other homemade DIY beauty products to learn how to make homemade bath bombs, therapeutic bath salts and sea salt body scrub. These homemade beauty items make excellent gifts or create them for a fun spa party.
Hand Milled Soap or Rebatch Soap
Ingredients
- 5 bars of soap natural or castille soap is best
- 1 cup water
Optional for a moisturizing soap
- 2 oz. Shea Butter for a rich moisturizing soap
- 2 table spoons Coconut Oil
- 2 table spoons Olive Oil
- Essential Oils for fragrance
Supplies Soap mold Soap knife Whisk Slow Cooker
- 1 Soap mold
- 1 Soap knife
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Slow Cooker
Instructions
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For this soap I used a combination of Dr. Bronners castille bar soap and a few bars of Ivory soap. This is what I had on hand. You can grate or chop the soap in small pieces.
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Then add the water, soap, shea butter, coconut oil and olive oil to a slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on high and let cook down into a liquid. Keep in mind the more oils and butters you add the less lather your soap will have. I wanted a moisturizing soap for winter, so I added all the optional oils and butters. Also the more water you add the longer time it takes for your soap to dry out. But more water makes it easier to pour into the mold.
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Let all the ingredients hang out in the slow cooker on high for about four hours. After about two hours stir with a whisk. Then stir vigorously every 30 minutes to make sure all the soap is melted and does not burn.
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After four hours all the soap should be melted. Right before you pour the soap into the mold add 1-2 teaspoon of essential oil and whisk into the soap. I like to use a lavender and bergamont oil to make a relaxing soap. I decided on a silicone mold for my soap. Pour or scoop half the soap into the mold. Tap it on the counter to get out any air bubbles that may have happened when scooping out the soap. Add the rest of the soap and tap once again to get out any air bubbles.
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Let set for 24 hours or more before you unmold your soap. After 24 hours, carefully unmold your soap. Now is the time to cut it into bars, since it is still really soft. Using a soap knife to cut the soap into bars about an inch wide. It feels just like butter when you are cutting through it.
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Now let it cure for at least a week or two before you use it or gift it.
Hi Amy. I just signed up on your list. I hope to be able to learn to make soap bars and then be able to make shampoo bars, as well as other products that I normally purchase. This recipe looks great! By the way, it is really neat that you live in Frisco! I just relocated from Frisco to Tampa, Florida!
Thanks Leah! I am so glad you are here. I would love for your to share your soap when you make it on my Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/mainlyhomemade/
Amy, Bless your heart!! Thank you for explaining this for me! I was thinking this very thought though wondering why I couldn’t Rebatch Ivory or Castille soaps and make a nice scented fun soap. I had not thought of using all those little hotel soaps to make something useful from them. I’m so glad that you mentioned that!
Thanks!!
Hi Amy, I’m glad I found your site. I’m in the middle of moving in to our new home so trying to make soap anytime soon is out of the question. But I will definitely give it a go once free. I do want to ask though, would it be possible to combine castile soap and glycerin soap (or any other soap like goat’s milk or milk & honey) in place of Ivory? Thanks in advance!
Great question Malou. I have not combined soap before. But I think it would work if all the soap are hard and not liquid. If you try this out please post and tag me. I can’t wait to see it and share with all my fans. If I give it a try I’ll let you know. Best of luck on your move and your first batch of soap.