Pressed-Flower Bar Soap

Spring is in full bloom—and so are these lovely handmade soaps. Pick your favorite flower—crushed rose petals, lavender buds, or bluebonnets—and try our easy melt-and-pour technique.

Learn how to make bar soap from our contributor Anusha Rajeswaran. To create these sweet-smelling soaps, you'll need a variety of dried flowers—we recommend trying wax flowers, spray roses, calendula, lavender buds, and other greenery. Small flowers fit best in the soap mold, and unscented or lightly scented flowers are good for sensitive skin. If you prefer a strong potpourri-like scent in your soap, simply add a few drops of essential oil (like rose or lavender) to the mixture. To determine how much glycerin soap base you need, follow a one-to-one ratio of clear soap base to white soap base with a light spritz of rubbing alcohol between the layers. (Here, we used a half pound or one cup of each.)

dried pressed flower soap bars
ANUSHA RAJESWARAN

What You'll Need

Materials

  • Soap mold
  • Glycerin soap, white and clear
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Dried flowers
  • 2 heatproof bowls

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle dried flowers into each cavity of the soap mold.

  2. Place the clear soap in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat at intervals of 10 seconds until completely melted.

  3. dried pressed flower soap bar step 1

    Pour 1/2 inch of the clear soap over the flowers in the soap mold; let dry for five minutes.

  4. dried pressed flower soap bar spraying

    Spray the rubbing alcohol on top of the soap.

  5. Place white soap in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds; stir. Repeat at intervals of 10 seconds until completely melted.

  6. dried pressed flower soap bar molds

    Pour the melted white soap to fill the rest of the soap mold.

  7. Allow the bar soap to dry for a minimum of 40 minutes before gently popping out of the mold.

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