Soap balls make excellent homemade gifts, they are reasonably cheap to create and you can make a few or a whole batch of them in a number of different varieties.
You will need 4oz (100g) of grated soap for each soap ball. I’ve found the best and easiest soap to use for making soap balls is a simple bar of olive oil-based moisturizing soap such as castile soap. But that’s not to say you can’t make soap balls with a store-bought bar of soap, you’ve just got to dampen the grated soap with oil and then work the soap together with a bit more vigor.
These DIY soap balls are adorable, and they look and smell lovely when displayed in a bowl or on a pretty plate in the bathroom.
What you will need
- 4oz (100g) grated soap
- ½ tsp essential oil per ball
- Hand full of dried flowers or herbs
Note:
Try to use the flower or herb that matches the essential oil used; for example:
- Red rose petals – Rose essential oil or Geranium essential oil
- Orange flowers – Neroli essential oil or Mandarin essential oil
- Lavender buds – Lavender essential oil
- Mixed herbs – Clary Sage essential oil
- Cinnamon bark pieces – Cinnamon essential oil
- Poppy seeds – citrus or spicy oils like Lemon essential oil or Sandalwood
Method
- Weigh 100g/4oz grated soap for each ball and mix in the essential oil you have chosen.
- If the soap feels dry add a little oil or water to soften and moisten it.
- Mold the soap into a ball shape by squeezing and rolling in the hands until its compact and without air bubbles. This is relatively easy with handmade soap, you can pretty much scoop it all up and mold it in one go. Store-bought soap is a lot dryer so you will almost certainly need to add water or oil to it. Start with a small amount of soap and manipulate it into a small ball then just keep adding more soap a little at a time squeezing and rolling in the hands as you go.
- Coat each ball in the appropriate flower or herb (the one that matches the essential oil used) If the herbs or flowers do not stick, moisten the surface of each ball by rolling it between palms moistened with oil.
- Allow the soap to dry for a week before using.
I’m sure you will enjoy these pretty little soap balls as much as I do!
Are you giving a homemade soap gift this year? What are you making & what ingredients are you using?
I love this ball! I’ll do it right away!