Recently I saw some striped bars of soap, thought they looked cute, and had the classic, “I could make that!” realization. I had soap base leftover from my coffee mint soap, so all I needed was some soap colorant. Turns out it’s just as easy as it seems: pour colored soap in layers, then slice it up to reveal the stripes. Super simple, but the graphic stripes really make an impact.

Supplies:
Soap base – I used this Goats Milk Glycerin Soap.
Soap colorant – I used this ArtMinds colorant, in blue.
Measuring cups
Knife
Cutting board
Soap mold – I used a mold I made out of cardboard and tape.

Steps:
1. Cut the soap base up into chunks, and place it into a microwave-safe container. Melt the soap according to the directions on your package. I melted mine in 30-second increments, stirring between heating, until it was fully melted. The amount will depend on the size of your mold, but I think I used about 2 1/2 cups of melted soap, total. Divide into two equal amounts.

2. Add colorant to one container of the melted soap, and stir until the color is evenly distributed. I originally wanted a navy blue color, but even though I used most of the bottle of colorant, the soap didn’t get much darker. If you want dark, saturated color, you might want to try different colorants.


3. Pour the first layer, using half of that color. This will ensure that your stripes are even. I didn’t keep very good track of how much soap I was using, so my stripes aren’t the same sizes. Also I probably could have done one more white stripe on top for perfectly-proportioned bars. (Perfectionism is a disease!)

Let the layer cool until solid. I stuck my soap in the freezer to hurry the process along. Then pour the next layer. Repeat until you’ve poured all of your layers.

4. After you’ve poured all of your layers, let the soap fully solidify overnight before removing from the mold. I had to destroy my mold to get the soap out, but that’s ok, since it was from the recycling bin in the first place.

5. Slice up your striped bars.


Wouldn’t these be great in a nautically-themed bathroom? And you could put together a great little gift set with a bath tray, some bath bombs, and a couple of bars of handmade soap.