DIY Glycerin Soap

Believe it or not you can make these soaps in your slow-cooker.

The Ingredients

(Soap-making supplies are available at craft stores)

oven-safe dish(es) (ramekins) to put in the crockpot
1 pound glycerin blocks
fragrance (extract or essential oil)
soap coloring
soap mold
a few wooden skewers for stirring

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Do not put the soap mold into your stoneware and add glycerin cubes, and turn it on. The mold will melt. And you will be annoyed when your husband says something along the lines of 'I thought that might happen.'

What you should do instead is put an oven-safe dish (or two) into your stoneware and add the separated blocks. Cover and cook on high for about 1 hour, or until the glycerin is all liquidy. Using oven mitts (trust me), carefully pour liquid glycerin into each mold. Add fragrance and color. A bit of fragrance goes a long way, but you do need quite a few drops of color. Stir with a skewer. Let soap cure for about 1 hour before removing from the form. If you wait until it’s fully cool, it pops out of the mold much more easily than if you try to rush it. Repeat steps until you run out of glycerin.

The Verdict

We really enjoyed making this soap. The kids had fun picking out colors, and liked using their creations. I pushed a foam sticker (minus the backing) into the soap while it was setting for some extra oomph. Something to note: Glyverin soap sweats. It surprised me, but evidently this is normal. Wrap your homemade soap in cellophane bags, not tissue paper, for gift-giving.

From Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O'Dea. Copyright (c) 2009. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.

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