Refreshing the Scent in Melt & Pour Soap Bars

Last week I was asked by my son-in-law and grandson to make some glycerin soap bars with the scents of Lavender and Lemon. I made a double batch and added about 12 drops of Lavender essential oil to one batch and 12 drops of Citrus Bliss essential oil to the other. Citrus Bliss is a blend of oils, including: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin Sweet Orange, Tangerine and Vanilla. A nice blend, but definitely not very “lemony.” I also added just 1 drop of soap tint to each batch (purple for the lavender and yellow for the citrus) to better tell them apart.

When they were cool, I was concerned that they didn’t have a very strong smell, especially of lemon. After letting them sit for a week, I decided that I needed to add more essential oil before I could hand them off.

So, this week I unwrapped the bars, chopped them up and put them back on the stove to melt them down.

These are the lavender bars.
Chopping the soap into small pieces help them melt quickly.
Ready to go into the pan of water on the stove.
Who knew 1 drop of yellow tint would make them so YELLOW!

Bring the pan of water to a boil and turn down to simmer until the soap is melted. A little bit of white vinegar in the water will keep our hard water from leaving sediment on the pan and the outside of the glass measuring cup.
I added an additional 15 drops of essential oil to each batch. I thought Lemongrass would enhance the “lemon” scent.
Let the soap bars cool for about 2 hours before removing the from the molds.

I felt better about these bars. I’ll wrap them individually in plastic wrap so they won’t absorb moisture from the air. Hopefully they’ll be just what my boys were expecting! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

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