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Easy Loofah Soap Recipe (Melt and Pour)

An easy melt and pour soap recipe with an invigorating twist: loofah in the center helps exfoliate your skin and a citrusy fragrance leaves you ready to seize the day.

This soap recipe is an easy way to get into soapmaking. All you need to do is melt and pour! The finished bar is exfoliating and refreshing. Feel free to add your favorite colors and fragrances to make it your own.

bars of soap in stack

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s easy! Cold process soapmaking is great, but this recipe doesn’t require you to work with lye.
  • Fun to customize. Pick your favorite colors and fragrances to personalize this bar.
  • Exfoliating and refreshing. This loofah soap recipe has an exfoliating loofah sponge in the middle, which makes it perfect for travel since there’s no need to pack a washcloth or scrub brush. If you’re looking for something extra refreshing in the morning, this soap is perfect. Pink colorant and a bright citrusy fragrance help make it even more cheerful.

🧼 Ingredients and equipment

sponges, mold, and other supplies laid out on counter

📖 Instructions

Step One: Prepare your ingredients

Place the loofah pieces into each cavity of the soap mold, cutting into smaller pieces if necessary. It’s best to do this before preparing the soap so that it doesn’t begin to cool as you get everything ready. Measure out any color or fragrance oil you are using.

Step Two: Chop and melt the soap base

chopped and melted clear soap

Using a sharp knife, chop up. the melt and pour base. This is just to make the melting process faster, so there’s no need to be precise.

Step Three: add Color and Fragrance

clear pink melted soap in pyrex dish

 If you are using powdered colorant such as mica, mix it into the rubbing alcohol to help it disperse better. (If using liquid color, just add directly to the melted soap.). Mix in the fragrance and stir well with a spatula

Step four: Pour and let cool

Pour the soap batter over the loofah sponges. If they stick out a bit on one side, that’s okay. You can use a toothpick to hold down the loofah as you pour if you want it fully covered.

Let the soap cool for 4-8 hours, then remove from the molds.

Variations

Of course, you can pick any fragrance and color you like! I loved the bright, fresh combination of pink and a grapefruit fragrance. But a sweet or floral fragrance would be great with this recipe as well.

If you don’t want to add any color, the soap will still be pretty with just the clear melt and pour base.

Tips for Success

Melt and pour soap needs to cool at last 4 hours before being removed from the mold. After it is hardened, it doesn’t need to cure the way cold process soap does, but it will last longer if you wait a week before using it.

Sometimes the loofah slices will be larger than your soap mold. You can cut them down to fit easily, either by cutting them in half or trimming them into a smaller circle.

Be sure not to overheat the soap when you are melting it! Heat it in bursts, stirring in between. If the soap gets too hot it will become hard and rubbery and you won’t even be able to mix things in.

If you make soap regularly, you’ll want a separate spatula and measuring cups. At the very least, be sure to soak the tools you used in a solution of vinegar and water to remove any lingering fragrance.

More lye-free bath and body projects

stack of round, pink finished bars

Recipe

hand holding loofah soap
5 from 2 votes

Easy Loofah Soap Recipe

Print Recipe
An easy melt and pour soap recipe with an invigorating twist: loofah in the center helps exfoliate your skin and a citrusy fragrance leaves you ready to seize the day.
Prep Time:30 minutes
cooling:2 hours
Total Time:2 hours 30 minutes
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Equipment

  • Microwave safe mixing bowl or large measuring cup
  • Spatula
  • Individual cavity soap mold (round is best)

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds clear melt and pour soap base
  • 8-12 loofah slices
  • 2 tablespoons fragrance oil such as grapefruit
  • 1/2 teaspoon colorant
  • 1 teaspoon rubbing alcohol (if using powdered colorant)

Instructions

  • Prepare the mold and loofah slices. Place the loofah pieces into each cavity of the soap mold, cutting into smaller pieces if necessary. It's best to do this before preparing the soap so that it doesn't begin to cool as you get everything ready.
    dried loofah pieces in soap mold
  • Cut the soap base into chunks. Using a sharp knive, chop up. the melt and pour base. This is just to make the melting process faster, so there's no need to be precise.
    cutting board chopping up base
  • Melt the soap base. Place the soap pieces into a microwave safe container such as a large Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave in 30 second intervals until it is completely melted. (The soap will be very hot.)
    partially melted clear soap base
  • Add the color and fragrance. If you are using powdered colorant such as mica, mix it into the rubbing alcohol to help it disperse better. (If using liquid color, just add directly to the melted soap.). Mix in the fragrance and stir well with a spatula.
    spatula mixing pink colorant into liquid soap
  • Pour the batter into the molds. Pour the soap batter over the loofah sponges. If they stick out a bit on one side, that's okay. You can use a toothpick to hold down the loofah as you pour if you want it fully covered.
    pyrex container of soap batter pouring over loofahs in mold
  • Allow to harden at least 4 hours. Let the soap cool for 4-8 hours, then remove from the molds.
    cooled bar of soap being removed

Notes

For this soap, I used a pink mica from Nurture Soap and Energy Fragrance from Brambleberry.
The loofah will seem very rough at first but will quickly soften after the first use.  
Keyword: beginner soap recipes, loofah soap recipe, melt and pour soap recipe
Servings: 9 bars
Author: Katie Shaw
Did you make this recipe?If you loved it, please leave a review!

I hope you enjoy this easy, beginner-friendly soap recipe!

signature with strawberries

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